Restaurant review: Great potential

Le Monde. Berzei Str., tel 0736 10 10 10

I have always liked this building. Le Monde is in the premises formerly known as Restaurant Elements, almost opposite the Big Generali Building. Elements spent a fortune on the premises when it was theirs, but inexplicably they went bust. It languished unoccupied for nine months until recently new owners took over the site.

Michael Barclay

It was a wise choice because the original Elements design is still in place. The decor is wood, with a large white marble center ‘gondola’ bar and table livery in purple and black, a similar color theme to restaurants Mju and Mangradora. And why not, for it works well!

But I wasn’t happy with the menu choices. They have a French chef, so I expected to see ‘sexed up’ contemporary (not haute cuisine) French cuisine. But no. There was nothing French about it, as all the dishes could be best described as ‘European bistro’. OK, that is my impression, it does not mean that your choice is the same as mine, and you may well love what they offer. So let me list a selection.

For starters there was a choice of beef burger, chicken pate, melted Mozzarella and vegetable salad, Caesar salad, Greek salad House style and Dorada Tartar with citrus and ‘perfumed oils’. Well, if that excites you, go for it. What we went for was a perfect beef tartar, amusingly presented in a glass on a bed of ice, together with a joke egg filled with ketchup. A nice touch.

We followed with an equally perfect risotto made with sparkling wine and flaked Parmesan. Both of these starters were comfortably large, and we were pleased. But it then went downhill. For we ordered the most expensive item, an Argentinean steak with béarnaise sauce at a whopping RON 125. Mains were acceptable at an average price of around RON 60.

Our waiter told us it was a fair price as the steak was a giant, around 400 grams. So we ordered it “medium rare.” I even went to pains to tell him that our version of medium rare was the way the French cook it (seared on both sides and nearly raw in the middle). He nodded reassuringly. But when we received our eagerly anticipated dish our instructions had been ignored and it came the traditional Romanian way of being burned and overcooked.

Likewise with my main of Dorada. I ordered it to be s-l-o-w-l-y grilled and coated with butter, and then to leave it for five minutes to rest and to let the fibers relax. The kitchen ignored me and, again, did it the same way as the steak, overcooked, and as dry as a bone. This was sad as I had two giant fishes, and the House was generous with its portions.

But the culprit was soon found, for the French chef was not in the kitchen at the time. If he had been, I have no doubt that he would have reined in his Romanian assistants to ensure that the customers’ instructions were obeyed!

We passed on duck breast with lemon grass and anise, and Moroccan chicken with couscous, fruit and nuts. And that (together with a few desserts we did not try) was the menu. It is a short one, and I like that, for at least you know that everything on the menu will be in stock in the kitchen. My dining companion was an old friend, visiting Romania for the first time. Before we left to go to Le Monde, he asked if I was taking him to one of the top restaurants in Bucharest. “Of couse,” I replied. But I lied. The irony is, that with a few changes, Le Monde really has the potential to shine.

My advice to them would be to tear up the menu and start again. But I may well be wrong. Maybe my expectations are placed too high, and it could well be that their customers like this safe and familiar menu over my choice of adventurous, risky, leading edge stuff.

In any event, I sincerely recommend the place. Irrespective of my reservations expressed herein, we experienced a calm, friendly relaxing atmosphere and I will definitely return.

mab.media@dnt.ro