3 most attractive French restaurants in Bandung
French restaurants and cafes are mushrooming in Bandung, the city has even been dubbed as Paris van Java since colonial time.
For those longing to taste the many choices of France's elegant cuisine while visiting the capital city of West Java, here are our top three picks.
L'Societe
This newly opened restaurant occupies a prominent location in the Dago area on Jl. Ir. H. Juanda 106. Its building looks modern, light and chic with open air balcony overlooking the street.
The restaurant and balcony occupies the second floor, while its third floor is home to a lounge with music from a DJ in the decks.The dining area on the second floor is elegant with a semi open kitchen on on side and chefs in aprons and tall white hats.
L'Societe's name itself derived from the French for company, said the restaurant's marketing and communication staff Lulu Waluya Hadiman.According to Lulu, L'Societe offers French fusion fine dining where its French chef Simon Baudoin creates new innovative cuisine using some of French foods' basic and classic ingredients and elements such as foie gras and black truffle.
The restaurant's signature dishes include grilled salmon and Black Angus Tournedos. Others include L'Societe Pumpkin Soup (priced at Rp 50,000), duck breast with red fruit and honey sauce, asparagus and sarladiase potatoes (Rp 175,000) and Oyster with garlic persillade (Rp 30,000 per piece) also tasted good and beautifully plated. Prices at L'Societe range from Rp 50,000 to Rp 500,000.
Paris Villages
Conveniently located in a shop house at Setrasari Mall in Jl. Surya Sumantri, the cafe offers attractive interior elements that are all about Paris, from pictures of the Eiffel tower, vintage French text and flat screen mounted on the wall displaying famous tourism objects in Paris. But those are not mere gimmicks.
Paris Villages is the brainchild of couple Junifia and Laurent Perre. Junifia is originally from Bandung but she lived in France and it was there that she met Rouen city native Perre.
"I love Indonesian food," said Perre. "Even so, sometimes I miss French cuisine but it was so hard to find its original taste here."
Thus, when the couple moved to Bandung, they decided to open Paris Villages in late 2012.
According to Perre, a lot of Indonesian "French" dishes such as cordon bleu and canard confit were not like the real thing.
Through Paris Villages, Perre wanted to offer authentic French food, without MSG, additives, food coloring or preservatives.
"My grandmother and mother's home cookings was also our inspiration," added Perre.
Salade Cesar, Les Escargots de Bourgogne (priced at Rp 70,000 [US$6.1]); beef fillet with blue cheese (Rp 96,000); Tartelette au Citron Meringuee and Tartelette au Chocolat (both Rp 39,000) are some of the delightful options available.
Paris Villages opens from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Tuesday to Saturday and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays and is closed on Mondays.
Belle Vue
Nestled on the fifth floor of GH Universal Hotel on Jl. Setiabudhi 376, Belle Vue French and Italian Bistro Restaurant offers an attractive dining area overlooking Bandung.
For those visiting for the first time, its favorites include Escargots vol au vent (priced at Rp 45,000) and Poulet au champagne (Rp 120,000). The latter is shimmered chicken in champagne with jasmine rice and watercress. The fresh watercress gives a nice balance to the thick creamy sauce.
Belle Vue is open daily for 24 hours, ready to welcome guests at any convenient time.
Read also:
