Restaurant review: Terroir Parisien in Central – fantastic French food let down by service

A brief rant. Over dinner at Terroir Parisien in Landmark Prince’s, my guest is in the middle of a story that is so engrossing we’ve stopped eating and are leaning in, the better to hear over the high noise level. “Can I clear your plates for you?” asks the waiter, interrupting the denouement.

My hand banging down on the table in annoyance made the people at the table nearby turn around in surprise, and I gave the waiter a death glare. It wasn’t as if he were bringing food to the table that needed to be served hot or cold, as the case may be; he was clearing up – something that could have waited for an appropriate break in the conversation, if he had been trained better.

Was it also part of his training to tell me that a sweetbread is an organ meat? Do people really think it’s a type of gluten-heavy carbohydrate?

Having got that off my chest, I’m pleased to say that the food is good. Terroir Parisien is the bistro by Yannick Alleno, who is perhaps better known for his three-Michelin-star establishment in France, Pavillon Ledoyen.

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The meal wasn’t faultless: the bistro classic of onion soup with Comté cheese (HK$118) was watery, rather than being intensely oniony.

But my starter of grilled line-caught mackerel fillet (HK$168) was fantastic, with vivid flavours. It came with four types of cauliflower – purple, green, white and yellow – with a tangy, mustardy vinaigrette, the acidity of which balanced the rich oiliness of the mackerel.