L’Huitrerie Regis: Calling all Oyster Lovers, B+
After morning of tedious errands and weekend traffic on Saturday, Bruno and I were hungry and in the mood for a treat, so we entertained a variety of different possibilities for lunch–a steak tartare and a glass of Morgon vieille vignes at the cafe Le Nemrod in the rue Saint Placide, maybe a bowl of Pho with Nems (deep-fried Spring rolls) at Noodle No. 1 in the rue Saint Anne in the 2nd, perhaps a pizza…but nothing really hit the spot until we happened to get stuck parking in the garage under the tragic Marche Saint Germain in Saint Germain des Pres (I say tragic, because this soulless shopping mall a la americaine could and should have been renovated into one of the greatest food markets in Paris; as it is, they’re just a couple of food shops in one corner of the place, but they hardly compensate for the color, animation and good times available at a really great city market like the Mercat Santa Catarina in Barcelona). On the way into the market, we passed L’Huitrerie Regis, and I suggested oysters.
Five minutes later, we were happily settled in this vest pocket dining room with white-washed walls, a small serving bar, and seven tables set with white table cloths and pretty blue serving plates drinking an excellent Sancerre and nibbling a saucer of saucisson sec while waiting for the amiable oyster shucker to prepare our feast, two dozen Speciales de Claire Garnier No. 3 from the Marennes d’Oleron on France’s Atlantic coast. Served with good bread and Echire butter, these plump bivalves had a sublime taste of the sea and lightly roasted hazelnuts. I wondered if a dozen apiece might be a bit too gourmand, but we scarfed them down in a haze of pleasure–the elegant older man with the beautiful camel’s hair coat at the table next to us felt compelled to tell us that it had been a longtime since he’d watching other people eat as much as he had while observing us, punctuated only by sips of that excellent Sancerre, the ideal recipe for a perfect Saturday lunch.
L’Huitrerie Regis, 3 Rue Montfaucon, 6th, Tél : 01.44.41.10.07. Métro: Mabillon ou Saint-Germain. Closed Mon. and mid-July to end of Sept. Avg 40 Euros.
