For the Love of...: Restaurant Emile (Toulouse, France)

Overall - 9/10
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Food - 9/10
Service - 9/10
Ambiance 8/10

The food of the Toulouse region is much more rustic than that of the rest of France. The flavours are bold and the style of cooking and presentation much less finicky than in say Paris. What we found out after eating at Restaurant Emile though is that robust flavours can still be done in an elegant way. In fact, we were more satisfied with this meal than many we've had elsewhere in France, this place was just that amazing!

Hôtel de Ville or City Hall of Toulouse

Foie gras is one of the most famous regional products in these parts so it was a must order type of dish. The torchon of foie gras here was among the best I've had. Sometimes if not prepared very carefully the foie gras can be somewhat stringy due to the connective tissue in the liver that needs to be removed. Here the torchon was silky smooth and buttery.

Our second appetizer was a huge platter of house smoked salmon. The portion was very generous and the fish was nicely smoked and fresh.

For our mains I went with the classic Toulousienne dish called cassoulet. It is essentially a dish of slow cooked beans , sausage, pork and confit duck. Once all the ingredients are tender and falling off the bone the whole lot is broiled until a delicious crispy crust forms on top. As you can imagine the beans absorb all the porky flavour and are the best part of the dish.

The seafood option was a grilled fish dish that included monkfish, sole, snapper, mussels, sea bass and cuttlefish. Each fish was expertly cooked and the sun dried tomato oil served alongside added a great sweetness to the fish.

Our desserts that night were just as good as the preceding courses and included a Grand Marnièr soufflé and a wild strawberry Napoleon made from layers of homemade almond crisps. The soufflé was super light and airy and exploding with the flavour of the orange liqueur while the Napoleon really highlighted the flavours of the ripe summer strawberries.

Overall this is a place that is frequented by visitors and locals alike, probably due to the traditional Toulousienne cuisine and attentive service that can sometimes be hard to find in France.