Restaurant review 1. Toulouse, France

This is actually the second part of the food review that I posted up earlier today. However this is the restaurant review that I mentioned earlier.

So here are the list of dishes that are available under their 21.50 Euros menu.

There's prawn and smoked salmon verrine, beef carpaccio, pork ham bruchetta for starters.

And there's also duck confit, foie gras, scallop cassoulet, beef tartare and many more.

The restaurant only starts serving at 8pm onwards. 

Oh and not to mention, the restaurant is actually in the basement. As you can see the main interior is like a tunnel. It has two separate sections, above is the main section, and the other section is not shown. The left part where the waiter is standing, there is the micros for cashiering and on the right, there is the kitchen. I will show more about the kitchen later on. The restaurant wasn't ready to serve as their servers are not in yet, so we were told by the chefs to have a seat first, waiting for their staff.

Yes I was quite worried if I am actually entering a dungeon in Toulouse. It was dark at the staircase but as I arrive at the scene. It was quite pleasant, it gives off a warm mood, this really works well especially during winter season. Note the tourist in the picture, he seems pleased to be in the picture. In addition, this is a concept that is not really used back here in Malaysia, there is sofas for customers to wait while they can relax  and warm themselves up. It is a good concept, however with Asian customers, who doesn't like to wait much for their food, perhaps it may work in the mere future. 

As you can see for yourselves, the interior is really amazing. The walls and ceiling are connected with thin bricks, compiling one by one till it reaches the ceiling. I am still puzzled on how the ceiling can actually hold all the weight of the building built on top. When there wasn't any conversation, I would just stare at the walls and ceiling, thinking how much effort of sweat through the brows it took to build the entire basement. I can only imagine that this tunnel or rather basement could have been used during the second world war, however it still looks cool and beautiful at the same time. 

Yes the are quite a number of tables in the restaurant, approximately up to 50-70 pax total. Note there is also another section available. The atmosphere is quiet as we dined in because we were the first customer. But as the clock ticks, two by two and four by four, the crowd spills in, filling up the empty tables. The music, well of course, its French. I can hardly understand what they are actually singing, but the music that in motion, now that I can understand. Its slow moving, melancholic music, well this works goodly enough to blend in with the slow paced dining experience. It affects the mood when one does something together with music. I feel much relaxed after walking for quite a distance as we were sort of lost as we had no bearing around the Capitole.

Their style of table presentation is rather casual than a fine dining, really basic but with their own identity. Like any other restaurants, their glassware is placed on the table, and the guests will be served a bottle of cold water automatically. There's nothing unordinary about that.  And yes, in the meantime I can already smell my food being prepared by the chefs. My tummy has been growling for food since I ever had lunch, and in colder weather, we tend to eat more than usual. The food being prep smoulders the entire floor with fantastic odour and aroma. 

Well of course, in the land of glorious food, they have limited amount of staff in any working restaurants. In this particular one, there is only 2 chef and one kitchen helper to ooze out the dishes to the dining tables. Yes the service was great, and the food comes slowly, it is only logical to think that Europeans love to spend hours for dining. I didn't manage to ask the chefs to take a picture as they were really busy during the peak hours. One does not simply rush the waiters for their food, they will not be taken kindly. Again, that is part of the European culture context, particularly in the food service. Staffs are limited and the amount of paying guests are huge. 

Obviously this is not part of the restaurant, its just around the corner of the restaurant,  but what I am trying to show you is that, at 9pm in which the picture was taken, the busy streets of Capitole is completely empty. Not a single person that I can actually see within 500 meters ahead, Its probable that because of the rain, many have fled the area, but this is actually common in France or in most European countries. It would be impossible to see such scene in any part of Malaysia I would dare say, you can always see mamak (Indian Muslim cafe) stalls anywhere and its mostly till late at night. It was such a great experience having to dine in a French restaurant, a totally new experience for me. Personally it was really worth going and If the future allows, I would return for another round.