L’impromptu in Nancy offers authentic, high-quality French cuisine in the friendly setting of the covered market.
The name of the restaurant really matches this impromptu meal! Olivier was in Paris for the week-end and as I planned to visit my mum in Nancy, he joined me to tour the city that he did not know and we took that opportunity to invite my mother for lunch.
The choice of restaurant, on the other hand, was fairly obvious. It had been on my radar for a long time. Its owner is an active, even activist, member of the Association Française des Maitres Restaurateurs, and I’d heard great things about her from her peers, so I promised myself I’d go and discover her table one of these days.
The only problem is that the restaurant, located in Nancy’s covered market, is only open for lunch service, which didn’t match my availability on previous visits.
This time all the elements were there and I finally had the opportunity to have lunch there.
The concept
L’impromptu is a bistro-style restaurant serving traditional French cuisine. As a Maitre Restaurateur, it goes without saying that all dishes on the menu are homemade.
The setting
The restaurant benefits from an atypical and appropriate setting, as it is located in the heart of the covered market. This is also where the restaurant gets its supplies, a guarantee of fresh, quality products.
The restaurant’s layout is a little unusual in that it’s made up of small rooms on either side of the central aisle and a large space in the center.
The menu
It’s simple and fairly short, guaranteeing fresh produce and a logical consequence of home cooking. The menu features fairly traditional French dishes, some with a twist, as well as a few local specialties.
The lunch
We arrive exactly on time and are seated in the small room off the kitchen.
After an aperitif, we place our orders. Starter, main course and dessert for me, main course and dessert for my mother and a main course for Olivier.
I’ll start with the oyster mushroom fricassee.
Quite hearty and very tasty indeed.
Then I’ll have the veal liver in vinegar.
The meat is of excellent quality and perfectly cooked. As for the fries, they’re perfectly browned on the outside and melt-in-the-mouth on the inside, so you can tell they’re homemade.
My mother chose the calf’s head with Gribiche sauce.
Beautifully presented, simple. According to her, delicious and, above all, not at all gelatinous, which is essential for this dish.
Olivier chose the tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms.
First of all, it’s very hearty. And rather than tagliatelle with ceps, I’d call it ceps with tagliatelle. I’ve never seen a dish with so many ceps in it, it’s really more than generous.
And it was delicious (I know, I had to finish Olivier’s dish).
Let’s move on to the desserts.
My mother had a “gourmet coffee“.
According to her, very good and light.
As for me, I let myself be tempted by the waffle, chocolate and whipped cream pastries.
Here too, it’s very copious! Much more than I expected. The waffles are excellent, light, and the chocolate sauce as light as it is delicious.
A slightly regressive dessert that tastes like a return to childhood.
We’ll finish with coffees.
The service
Very friendly and fast, and yet given the size of the room and the crowds, I can tell you that there’s a lot of work to do and they’re not idle.
The atmosphere
Lively but not noisy.
Bottom line
An excellent meal in a restaurant that keeps its promises. Simple dishes but quality ingredients, top-quality home cooking and excellent service. What more could one ask for?
Ah, one last thing. For 3 appetizers, main courses, wine and coffee, we managed to get by for barely a hundred euros.
Itinerary
As a reminder, here is the itinerary followed:
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