Recently, we visited France to go to a party in Savoie not far from Mont Blanc. Our nearest airport was Geneva. We had some time to kill in Geneva and we arrived at lunchtime. Our timing could not have been better ; we arrived at the main station in Geneva and just a stone's throw from Rue Du Mont and one of my favourite restaurants - the Café de Paris Chez Boubier.
I have eaten is this restaurant tons of times when I did projects in Geneva and the atmosphere and quality of the food does not change; the place is expensive but excellent. My expense allowance did not allow me to eat there everyday, however, but just once a week or so.
Basically, there is only one main course and this is entrecôte steak served with the famous Beurre Café de Paris sauce and chips or french fries if you have pretension to being posh. If you order the steak rare then you will not be disappointed. The Café de Paris sauce was invented by Monsieur Boubier in 1930 at this very restaurant and it was an immediate success.
The recipe for the Beurre Café de Paris sauce is a closely guarded secret. It is mustard based and has a large number of ingredients. A chef friend of mine, who has worked in Geneva, has identified most of the ingredients from just tasting the sauce. It is only fair that it remains secret but from my friend's description we can certainly confirm what he told us.
So what is special about this restaurant? It is right in the heart of Geneva which in itself is special.
There is only one starter which is green salad with a rather lively and tangy vinaigrette sauce. The steak and sauce are wonderful and this main course is simply the best in the world for meat eaters. There is a range of traditional French style desserts. There is a limited range of wines but they all go well with the cuisine. The restaurant is in a traditional Parisian style.
For the two of us we selected a 50 cl bottle of Swiss wine - Merlot Réserve Germanier. This is not the best wine and we could have done better by ordering a bottle of French Bordeaux but we were in Switzerland and we were obliged to drink local wine.
Our meal cost about 150 CHF which is not cheap at about 118 quid, or 148 bucks. French workers in Geneva, of which there are many, would have to pay 140 EUR for two so not many of them will visit for lunch every day, if at all. Had we really hit the wine trail we could have spent an awful lot more.
For a visit on impulse this was rather a lot for us pay but we were on holiday and it was worth every penny and we could thank our lucky stars that we could still afford it even after a 15% drop in the pound.
Café de Paris style restaurants have spread across the world and another one of my favourites is the Relais de Venise in Port Maillot, Paris. I highly recommend them but only if you are feeling lucky or rich.
http://www.chezboubier.com/fr/
http://sauvage.savoie-mont-blanc.com/
http://www.savoie-mont-blanc.com/en
