After we were briefed that the we were called to review the new menu — the old menu contained names and dishes that were so authentically French that hardly any guests could pronounce them let alone eat them — we began with the first course.

A beautiful sourdough bread bowl, crisped to a perfect brown on the outside, but softer than cotton on the inside, was placed on our table. Inside it was a broccoli and cheese soup that had to be eaten with bread sticks placed on the side. The cheese was so stringy that it stretched a mile but is sure to be a visual treat for curious children. The taste, well, there was little to complain about. For those diners too accustomed to spicy food, this will serve as the perfect starter to adjust your palate to what’s coming next.

One starter after the other, we got to try some vegetarian and non-vegetarian options but our eyes and even hearts stopped at the sight of bacon wrapped chicken. We learned that night that French cuisine is not always bland but has a hot touch to it through a delightful red chilli sauce that reminded us of African pili pili sauce. The spicy chicken wings (extreme), which everyone warned us was indeed extreme, was another eye-opener on this subject.

While the chef regretted not being able to serve us his trademark pork ribs, the main course we tucked into was no less. A huge wheel of Parmesan cheese is left upon the counter which when slightly heated with a blow torch, melts into a thick liquid. This was generously lathered onto a plate of pasta, accompanied by shrimp and saffron. We were pleasantly surprised to note that the salty but otherwise bland pasta didn’t disappoint us, but had the opposite effect. The hero of the night was a medium rare beef steak — “I will not serve it to you any other way even if you ask for it,” Chef Kaushik laughed — over which a mushroom and onion sauce was poured. The meat was tender and not chewy, which was a treat for us Chennaiites who are normally exposed to tough meat.

Just when we thought the ordeal was done, out brought the chef a towering slice of chocolate cake, consisting 24 layers of sinful chocolate in different ways. We know the restaurant is close to Marina Beach but little did we expect cake resembling a light house to appear! Without wasting a single bite though, we polished it off… over three days of course.