Parc

Walking around the Rittenhouse Square area, it’s difficult to miss Parc with its maroon canopied front and single rank of café tables outside. It gives the impression of being an opportunistic ploy designed to part tourists and their dollars. That’s a big reason why we’ve avoided it in the past. Putting personal prejudices to one side, Parc is a member of the 20-strong Philadelphia contingent of Starr restaurants so attention to detail could allay those type of concerns. In an empire that covers all bases including American, Mexican, Asian, Italian, English, tapas joints and steakhouses, Parc represents traditional French cuisine.

The restaurant was established in summer 2008 and is now a well-oiled machine. The scale of the operation isn’t obvious until you step inside to see the full extent of the huge dining rooms. The restaurant is open for breakfast, brunch/lunch and dinner seven days a week. There are 350 covers and on a busy brunch sitting they will serve up to 1200. This obviously depends on quick turnaround of tables but we never felt rushed. Decor ticks all your identikit French bistro boxes with dark wood tables, heavy white linen napkins, leather banquettes, rickety chairs, globe lights and early 20th century black and white photos of naked girls in the toilets. Wait staff have the classic uniform of white shirts, black ties and white aprons. The menu is based on classic French dishes so doesn’t read as exciting or innovative but that is not the point of Parc.

As it was a weekend, we ate there for brunch which is the midday option on Saturday and Sunday. The brunch menu features breakfast and lunch type hors d’ouevres, egg dishes, fruits de mer and a selection of entrées. Order placed and a basket of bread turned up accompanied by a small white porcelain pot of butter. The mix of crusty baguettes, white sourdough and walnut and cranberry bread got things off to an excellent start. All three breads would have kept us happy with the juicy fruits in the nut loaf hugely satisfying only being eclipsed by the tremendous baguette.

Starters came from the hors d’ouevres and eggs section with my son opting for the onion soup gratinée and my choice the eggs en cocotte. The basic soup stock was really delicious and the whole soup built nicely from there, from the soft yielding onions to the thick crust of melted Gruyere. This is easily the best French onion soup that I’ve had in the US. The soup was easily matched by the eggs en cocotte served with trout caviar, a dusting of black pepper and small fronds of dill with additional slices of the baguette. The eggs with their wonderful rich runny yolks underpinned everything very effectively but it was the trimmings that made this dish so satisfying. The combination of yolk and salty flavour of the trout roe was a delight with the freshness of the dill cutting through and giving it an additional brio. Lovely.

My chosen main course was moules frites. Usually I avoid dishes that I can easily do at home but today the craving for mussels was just too great. Luckily the choice was vindicated by another very good dish. The mussels were wonderfully plump and the broth from white wine, garlic, shallots, bayleaf and thyme was silkily immense with its mildly lemony flavour. The generous portion of salted frites was a lovely accompaniment even if they weren’t strictly necessary.

Overall verdict
My preference is trying places that are more adventurous in their menus but there is no denying that Parc came through and I ended up being really impressed with everything we tried. Service was efficient and obliging throughout so the whole experience was great.

Would I revisit Parc?
Definitely. It’s a dependable option for a solidly good meal. Will never be a first choice for me but can see it being a regular haunt.


Overall Rating - 4/5