Le Fantin Latour

Después de trabajar durante nueve años como segundo de Marc Veyrat, en 2005 Stéphane Froidevaux abrió su primer restaurante, el minúsculo L’Antidote en Monêtier-les-Bains, donde cosechó un éxito inmediato tanto de crítica como de público. En julio de 2007, con 34 años, por fin se instaló en un local a la altura de sus capacidades. El Fantin Latour, una finca señorial en pleno centro de Grenoble, es un restaurante elegante y espacioso desde el que After working for nine years as second in command under Marc Veyrat, in 2005 Stéphane Froidvaux opened his first restaurant, the miniscule L’Antidote in Monêtier-les-Bains, where he was an instant success with both critics and his public. In July 2007, at 34 years of age, he finally landed himself in a restaurant worthy of his capabilities. The Fantin Latour, a stately establishment in the center of Grenoble, is an elegant, spacious restaurant from which Stéphane pursues the path that he began at his first restaurant.

One thing to keep in mind: for lunch, the restaurant works like a brasserie (under the name 18:36), proposing various menu formulas that range between 16 and 20 euros. At night, however, Froidevaux prepares his aesthetically impressive cuisine where the traditional settings of white, round plates are substituted by rectangular slate dishes, adorned with different types of wood, flowers, leaves and moss. Froidevaux is capable of offering the most subtle, delicate pairings with powerful contrast without losing the harmonic balance, creating menus that leave no one indifferent. The outlines of the “Froidevaux style” have already been laid down, it will only gain in definition if Stéphane knows how to play his cards.

We chose the Ascensions des cimes tasting menu, comprised of ten dishes.
After an hors d’oeuvre served to us in the large garden terrace, we continued on to the table where we started with a few toasts of duck foie gras mi-cuit under a chiffonade of snow peas with basil topped by a slice of apricot in syrup. The dish, served over a piece of slate stone (like the rest of the menu) and decorated with mountain flowers, evokes an image of a flowery meadow, but one that is very balanced. The next dish from Froidevaux adds temperature and texture contrasts to the sweet-sour game of the previous preparations in a pear coulis with crispy vegetables and a green tea mousse presented in two versions: a room-temperature glass and an ice cream to be eaten with a spoon. Excellent. We continued with a “vertical” monkfish filet, in other words–skewered, cooked to perfection, covered with kaffir lime zest and finely chopped almonds, served with a dill-smoked lemon cream. A remarkably finished, original recipe with almost violent flavors that perfectly prepare the palate for the dish that follows: swordfish, inspired by the recipes of the Provence region, served over a hot stone with green and black olives, capers, eggplant caviar, thyme, sage and rosemary, accompanied by an ice cream and juice made from wormwood–a veritable explosion of Mediterranean flavors. We then moved on to a superb grilled lobster with orange-artemesia sauce, after which we were served a refreshing shot of pepper-peach-mint juice. The next dish is a truly original interpretation of filet mignon, presented perfumed with herbs and sesame seeds, soaked in a milk foam aromatized with queen of the meadow–an intensely aromatic mountainous flower–placed over a red currant compote and topped with wild spinach, amaranth and sprouts. We finished with an absolute ‘must’ of the house: the amazingly fragrant Sisteron lamb, accompanied with pineapple, herbs and melon skin. Indispensable. After a carefully selected assortment of cheeses served together with an ice cream made from nepeta flowers and a fig-lemon mousse, we tasted the wild strawberry mille-feuille, lightly perfumed with cardamom, and an extraordinary fruit medley with seasonal vegetables infused with mead, dandelion and jasmine accompanied by a raspberry sorbet and a gigantic wafer.

Without a doubt, the best restaurant in Grenoble, one of the most interesting in the region and one of the most promising in the whole of France.