Le Patton: an unbiased review
Le Patton in Fontainebleau: market-fresh, well-executed French cuisine in a majestic, converted home.
Just outside the center of Fontainebleau, Le Patton, with its beautiful garden, terrasse and glass roof, boasts culinary excellence in a unique setting. The restaurant is a member of the ‘College Culinaire de France’ which certifies home-made (“fait maison”) cuisine using high-quality products as well as a standard for hospitality.
They also (primarily) cook with local produce from the Ile-de-France region while respecting seasonality.
The restaurant is housed in a charming converted Bourjeois villa from the XIXth century. You can dine in one of the cozy living rooms, or in the back with a view of the stunning garden or the wooden deck and terrasse.
While the decor is typical of the Bourgeois style, the modern glass roof with a black metal structure and the refined yet not overly-pretentious cuisine are enough to not make you feel like this restaurant only caters to an older generation.
My recommendation: go there for lunch! The lunch menu changes every day and features 2 appetizers, 2 main dishes, and 2 desserts. While the price of the menu is not set, each course is priced the same (which made me wonder why not just offer a fixed-price menu?). The total for all 3 courses came to about 35 euros per person, with moderately-priced high-quality wines by the glass ranging between 6 and 10 euros.
Here’s what I had:
Appetizer
Credit: Gitanjali Roche
Main dish
Credit: Gitanjali Roche
Dessert
Credit: Gitanjali Roche
Credit: Gitanjali Roche
Overall I would highly recommend this restaurant if you’re looking for a slightly upscale dining experience in a very special setting. It’s off the beaten tourist track so you’ll mostly be dining with locals, as well as the local expat community. It’s a family-owned restaurant with a team of 3 in the kitchen, and I honestly enjoyed my lunch and my glass of white St. Veran tremendously. The fish was cooked to perfection (which is always a good sign) and the garlic cream was well-balanced ( n other words, I didn’t leave with major garlic breath!)
I haven’t tried out the a la carte dishes or the dinner menu, but the prices are quite a bit steeper at dinner time (which is totally normal for France).
I’ll definitely be heading back soon to see what the dinner menu is like! (And I also hear their English-style Sunday brunch is a huge success).
Let me know if you try out Le Patton and how you like it!
