Sunday night I stepped in out of the rain and said hello to my dinner. “Robert,” having just descended from the spit, was resting quietly on the counter. The suckling pig would soon be joined on the table by a roasted Coucou de Rennes. But at this early hour, before the others arrived, there was time to sip my wine and watch Marie-Aude sharpen her knives.

My friend turned up and we sat down to share a slice of house-made foie gras. With a puddle of green tomato jelly and aided by a crémant de Jura, it was well-worth the €14 add-on.

The “official” dinner menu began with a salad of sucrine, pomegranate and échine de porc Noir de Bigorre (baby Romaine and high-falutin’ pork belly). Not bad, but not at all in line with my previous meals in this space. It isn’t Spring – I know, I know – but it’s hard to adjust one’s expectation. Then again, I may have just been distracted by what was happening in the kitchen:Is that not hot?

Back at the table: A heaping bowl of pork and bird, with chunks of roasted squash. A “creamless” gratin (with plenty of duck fat) on the side. It was good – copiously so – we couldn’t possibly have finished.

Dessert was pear cake with a side bowl of yum. The latter might have been raw crème fraîche and pear compote. Or it might have been some-other-fruit compote. That detail disappeared along with the last drops of an under-ripe Pommard.

So what did I think of my first visit to Table 28?
It wasn’t anything to do with why Daniel Rose is famous. It wasn’t the kind of thing that made me once write this. But hey,  it was a warm and welcoming place to share some satisfying food. I had a wonderful night and can recognize that this, more than anything else, is the aim of Table 28. So bravo Daniel, it’s good to see you smile.

Table 28
28 rue de la Tour d’Auvergne, 75009
Reservations: 06 42 87 79 64
Menu for €38 (starter, main, dessert) and wines ranging from affordable to stoopid.

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