As it was customary during those times, Mr. Procopio started serving coffee and hot chocolate on marble tables at his establishment but, as the true innovator that he was, soon added his own distilled alcohols and home-made ice-creams, these latter the first ever to be sold in Paris.
Dining at Le Procope felt very much like dining in a sort of time capsule. The restaurant is quite large for Paris standards, and has two floors. Tables are crammed throughout different areas that don’t necessarily follow a pattern, and all are quite close to each other. But even though you may listen to pieces of your neighbor’s conversation, the feeling is quite cosy, as in Paris people are reserved and maintain a low tone while sitting at the table.
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Crisp white tablecloths, old books and
ancient paintings of its regulars. Le
Procope
is a place of history. |
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| Part of a ceiling, showing original text for the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” from August 1789. |
Le
Procope is known both for its large oyster platters they serve mostly as a
tourist attraction, and traditional French bourgeois dishes, such as Coq au vin, or Tete de veau, prepared as it was when the restaurant first
opened. It really intrigued me how some
of the biggest minds mankind has produced would have eaten. I ordered the Tete de veau, which came cooked in its own tarragon-flavoured juice,
its recipe kept from the restaurants old records.
I was quite surprised at the simplicity of
the dish. It was very much like the
Argentinian “puchero” my mom used to serve, the meat boiled until it falls of
the bone and one doesn’t even need a knife to cut it, served alongside
vegetables like carrots, potatoes and some other white one that escaped
me. At first, I thought it too simple
for the price paid (27.70€), however, it makes sense that back in 1686, people
ate from the land, in a natural, made-at-home way. I suppose the cost is due to the traditional
fame associated with the restaurant, or maybe the fact that it is served in a
traditional copper saucepan (yes, they use these things in actual restaurants
in Paris!), which the waiter leaves with
you so you may serve yourself later at your own pace, and also dip the bread
into the wonderful juices. A truly
convivial dish, which can very well serve two, especially if ordering an
appetizer and a dessert.
As
for the proverbial dessert, and continuing with the idea of tradition in mind,
the Sabayon Glacé à l’Amaretto fitted
the Procope’s beginnings as an ice-cream parlour.
It was the perfect end to a copious meal,
light, a mixture between a mousse and an ice-cream, served along a croquant
tuile (which could have been more croquant) and wonderful Amaretto caramel
sauce.
The
whole lunch, with drinks included, cost 57.10€.
I found it overpriced, but then again, at a restaurant where history is
its protagonist, one can only expect to pay more. At least, the food was good, with a nice “homey”
feeling, and it set me up for the rest of the day, which turned out to be quite
wet and with lots of walking to do. It’s
what Paris is all about.
