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Same look, new tastes

A French chef adds spice to Le Patio's menu
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By Dave Faries
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
June 27th, 2007 issue

VLADIMÍR WEISS/THE PRAGUE POST
Lighting up Národní: inside the eclectic, multipurpose expanse known as Le Patio.
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Le Patio

Národní 22
Prague 1–New Town
Tel 224 934 375
Open Mon.–Fri. 8 a.m.–11 p.m., Sat.–Sun. 10 a.m.–11 p.m.

Food ***
Service *
Atmosphere **
Overall **

FROM THE MENU

Quiche Lorraine 180 Kč
Salad with goat cheese 250 Kč
Escargot Bourgogne 190 Kč
Tandoori chicken 340 Kč
Lamb with gingerbread crust 460 Kč
Beef filet with Roquefort sauce
460 Kč

Le Patio looks the same as always.
The entry: still cluttered with café tables overseen by an array of hanging lamps. Upstairs: the usual vantage points, looking down on guests and passers-by. Back toward the kitchen, a more elegant dining area. And, of course, the distinctive two-seat table rigged on the scaled-down bow of a mock ship.
Only the chef, French import Georges Rognard, has changed.
But the new guy’s presence transforms the restaurant from a charming oddity to a quaint destination — semantics, certainly, but with an important difference in emphasis. Destination restaurants are worth a short detour, places with some intrigue that you book for get-togethers.
Consider Rognard’s interpretation of lamb rolled in a gingerbread crust. Although the natural flavor of the meat yields to other ingredients, it clings to the palate long enough to make a tender, musty impression. This sensation is quickly subsumed by the familiar zing of gingerbread, nudged along and rounded out by a layer of caramelized sugar resting beneath slices of lamb. It builds from a simple balance of meat with sweet spice to a robust combination with a well-developed, bitter-sweet foundation.
OK, maybe it’s not enough to justify a long drive in from the panelák. At the very least, it’s worth a jaunt across Most Legií.
The chef’s touch with escargot Bourgogne shows more delicacy. Served in the shell, the garden pests have a grassy taste, sort of like sweet mulch. Butter perked with balanced blasts of garlic and herbs falls contentedly into a supporting role — a fatty, pungent chorus. Duck magret is tender and gamey with a densely flavored reduction. And where other restaurants douse beef in a harsh Roquefort sauce, Le Patio’s chef prefers to mute the sharp cheese and rinse out its strident side with cream, producing a smooth, creamy thing that treads lightly across the filet. As a result, the rich notes of medium-rare beef find harmony with the sharper (and usually dominant) bite of Roquefort.
Rognard’s kitchen is on less solid footing when it breaks from Continental techniques. Tandoori chicken, for instance, ends up as rather dull white meat drawing character from a rub consisting, visibly, of several spices. Only turmeric asserts itself on the palate, gritty and somewhat earthy. It leaves faint golden streaks in a thin pool of vaguely minted yogurt not really worthy of mention. The other accompanying dip, mango chutney, stands out: fruity molasses in flavor with a spicy undertone.
While the Quiche Lorraine was served a bit cool on one visit (allowing the pie crust to soften), the balance of salty, smoky ham with onion and custard still came out right. Even simple presentations throw surprisingly fresh flavors at the palate: The goat cheese salad offers bitter greens and cherry tomatoes that burst with the flavor of sweet wine and mellow-tart curd, all dressed in a simple yet eloquent vinegar and oil.
Le Patio’s faults are more often found in service and ambience, and the latter is marred only when blaring live bands drown out conversation. On one visit a new waiter botched an entire course and, for an encore, trotted out with a plate of carpaccio intended for another table.
Assuming you pick the most French-looking items on their menu, and they end up in front of you, and management scratches the evening’s entertainment schedule, Le Patio is a reliable destination.
On my last trip, the flustered waiter seemed more confident: no mistakes and an amiable manner.
The restaurant still suffers visibility problems — that hasn’t changed. It’s easy to miss if you’re looking up at Café Louvre or, with a glance at Le Patio’s storefront, mistake it for an antique furniture shop.
The new guy behind the stoves, however, proves that one person can make a big difference.

Dave Faries can be reached at dfaries@praguepost.com


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