LA GOULUE

La Goulue just opened on Royal Palm Way in Palm Beach. It is the sister of the well-known fashionable Manhattan eatery. The New York restaurant is run by Jean de Noyer. The Palm Beach establishment is run by the more affable Thierry Miroir - also the owner of Blue Provence just down the street from La Goulue. Palm Beach’s location is managed by a youthful and charming Mathieu Potelle - clearly a comer in the restaurant world.

Much effort was made to make the decor authentic Parisian bistro style and they achieved this quite well - except that in Paris bistros, the tables are much closer together – even in this time of COVID-19. The French doors open to the street, let in the delightful Florida breezes, and allow for plenty of air circulation. 

The open kitchen is beautiful and worth a visit. It is a big improvement over the Manhattan kitchen. Also the restrooms are very Toulouse-Lautrecian. Visit them too!

La Goulue was the stage name of  Louise Weber, a Parisian dancer who was a star at the Moulin Rouge cabaret in Montmartre in the 1900s. It means “greedy girl” in slang, and comes from Louise’s habit of picking up a customer’s champagne glass and drinking it while dancing.

The restaurant  menu closely adheres to a Parisian bistro with snails, cheese soufflé, mussels and typical cuts of beef. We began with fresh oysters and La Goulue’s signature dish “Le Soufflé Au Fromage” -- both delicious. Then we followed with the two specials of the day “Vol Au Vent” ($40) and “Brnzino En Croûte de Sel” ($48). The wild mushroom pastry puff was as authentic as it gets in Paris and delicious. It was however not served in a standing puff as in most Paris bistros, but rather with the pastry puff mixed in with the mushrooms.

The roasted branzino arrives as a complete fish encased in a salt crust and it’s huge. The waiter asks if you want the upper crust removed, which he does deftly, leaving a smaller dish to savor, but still big enough for two people. My guests also ordered  the roasted  duck breast ($45) with orange sauce – – again a staple of Parisian restaurants – – and called it  marvelous.

She said it was much superior to the duck served at the now-closed “Chez Jean Pierre“ restaurant, which used to be the standard bearer for French cuisine in Palm Beach. I guess the mantle may soon be worn by Thierry and his chefs, unless a newer and even more authentic French restaurant opens its doors.

Deserts ($12-$14) are bistro typical: creme brulée, several mousses, profiteroles and floating islands. The floating islands reminded me of my mother’s desert, but she scented her creme anglaise with more vanilla essence than at La Goulue.

The wine list is extensive and expensive. There are some excellent Rhone Valley Châteauneuf du Papes, as well as some Burgundy Nuits St. Georges ($149) and Pommards. Hidden in the wine list is a very well priced magnum of Cote du Rhone -  taste it while you can! I was not happy with the glasses my Cote du Rhone was served in, as they were too narrow, whereas a rounder and larger bulb would accentuate the wine’s aroma to a greater degree.

La Goulue’s main drawbacks are that it is too small for the following that it is already attracting, and too loud. The wooden floor, tin ceiling and lack of sound-proofing materials make the sounds reverberate and force diners to raise their voices. Despite that, La Goulue is worth a major detour. It is unquestionably one of the three best haute cuisine restaurants in Palm Beach County.