Le Gambetta - Reservar uma mesa

This is my third visit to Gambetta over many years. It has been consistently serving great experimental food , and with all great experimentation there are occasional things that do not work but that is acceptable. In general what works here is almost everything and there is a richness of variety and the experience is over all very enjoyable. I have always thought that thier tasting menu was what to go for because this is where you want to experience the wide repertoire. So the mise en bouche was remarkable with crab meat wrapped with smoked salmon and a delicious oyster amongst others. This was followed by a starter which was a modern take on Paella and this was very effective. John Dory based plate followed and then a sort of 'panache' of three different bits of lamb including some offal which is not to everyone's taste. The dessert was a mixture based on lemon and was excellent but what didn't work was the wasabi 'creme brule'. This was indeed an amazing gastronomic experience. I chose the wine pairings with the meal chosen by the restaurant. This cost and extra 43 Euro per person for 4 glasses of wine of 10 cls each. This was not good value. The wine with the starter was a rather indifferent wine from the south west of France which was a blend of Ugni Blanc. The wine with the John Dory was a good Graves. But the greatest disappointment was the red which was a Morgon 2010 followed by a pleasant sparkling Saumur with the dessert. So why was the wine so disappointing in a region that is so rich with all sort of wines a sthe Loire valley? Why was there no dessert wine from Vouvray or cotes de Layon with the dessert. I already had a pink sparkling Saumur as an apparetif and another sparkling one with the dessert simply was an anticlimax. As to the red wine, this was unpleasant. The reason for this I suspect is that the wine has been opened more than 24 hours before and then treated with a vacu-vin. This method leaves a wine that looses it flavour but maintains all the heaviness. There is a distinct character to such a wine. I commented on this to the waiter and did not drink the wine but there was no reaction from the waiter or the owners and no attempt to address this in any way. A similar experience had occurred to me previously in a previous visit in which I mentioned this to the waiter who told me there was nothing wrong with the wine and refused to replace it. So this experience would not put me off Gambetta because of the quality of the food. What it would do however is to avoid the wine pairings and choose from the extensive and great wine list with numerous half bottles. I would advise others to do the same.

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The restaurant is discreetly situated on a quiet street and you could easily pass by. Don't! The excellent reviews and the Michelin star do not tell a lie. It is worth travelling to Saumur just to eat here. We ate there on a quiet midweek evening recently and enjoyed a very fine meal. After very careful consideration we opted for the menu 'Au Plaisir Des Sens' with accompanying wines. Naturally we started with a glass of champagne, which was accompanied by a quartet of aperitifs, one of which was an oyster. When I confess an allergy my tray was whipped away but quickly returned with a replacement for the offending mollusc. Then a beautiful little amuse bouche and the first course - gambas garnished with carbon accompanied by a tiny salad laid around the edge of the plate, with a ginger and saffron broth poured over it. The wine is a white from South West France and I regret that I cannot remember the name, but it was an excellent opening to the flight of wines. The we had Saint-Pierre cuit à 45°C / Couteaux à la Grenade / Quinoa d’Anjou au Citron Noir / Ecorce de Yuzu. This was accompanied by a Chablis Premier Cru, 'Monts de Tonerre'. To freshen our palettes before the main course a Rafraichissement Avocat / Sésame wasabi, Infusion pétillante agrumes – citronnelle - combavaThe main course was lamb. Agneau Fermier / Salsifis – Daïkon aigre doux – Ail Noir / Un lait de chèvre à ma façon, to be precise. All the food is very beautifully presented, but this course is arranged on the plate to look like a crescent moon with stars. The wine to accompany it is a Beujolais.The dessert is a variation autour du Citron: Jaune / Lime / Combava and accompanied by a Cremant de Loire. We decline coffee, but accept the tiny sweets that would have accompanied it. Throughout the meal we are offered fresh bread rolls of various flavours, I particularly liked the walnut bread. The service is very, very good and the whole ambience is of a restaurant that takes food seriously, but is not intimidating.

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A good restaurant, rather well hidden in Saumur – however the food was worth the trip. Interesting canapes – 4 different ones – followed by an asparagus course with brilliant fresh bread. Then a foie gras and tofu dish – beautifully presented and tasty. Next langoustine with a yuzu broth and then fish with razor clams before an avocado mousse as a cleanser. Then smoked lamb and artichokes, appearing from under a cloche filled with more smoke. And we finished with an assiette of lemon – a glass with lemon jelly, lemon mousse and lemon foam, topped with a lemon pearl – a lemon sponge with lemon sorbet and a pipette of lemon liqueur – and finally a hot lemon soufflé light as air. Yumm!! All beautifully present and accompanied by specially chosen local wines carefully matched to the dishes and served by helpful and friendly staff. Definitely worth the visit.

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We enjoyed a lovely dinner. We had the 5 course tasting menu, scallops, John Dory, lamb and lemon dessert. The scallop dish was perfection on a plate, the John Dory was interesting but delightful, the lamb slightly disappointing, and the lemon soufflé yummy, i didn't find the mousse in the glass worked, perhaps it wasn't properly set? In retrospect I wish we had asked to substitute the duck for the lamb. The amuse bouche were amazing, particularly the avocado ice cream with lemon sauce, I could have eaten a whole bowl of that - WOW!! Also, the finale dessert of passion fruit curd with kiwi fruit was just magnificent. We had 4 glasses of wine too and the bill was 230 euro which was very reasonable. Service was very professional and the male waiter we had spoke very good English. Thank you for a lovely meal.

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Eaten twice here recently, and an excellent experience. Cuisine is extremely good. Of the starters the foie gras in mushroom soup is simply lovely with enormous depth of flavour. The gambas and confit egg aren't bad either! Main of noir de bigorre ( black pig from the Pyrenees I believe) with a croquette of meat with jus was gorgeous comfort food. Cheeses were excellently aged and many unusual varieties which was very interesting. Chocolate desert featured a black olive ice cream which brings one up a bit short, but was quite lovely. Really good amuses bouches and petits fours as well, makes this a superb choice for an excellent dinner. They do a quick lunch too which I'd like to try sometime.

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