Le Parc by tashas: a delicious slice of Parisian life in a high-end Joburg mall

Tashas is great, but let’s be clear: Le Parc is even better. More defined and more refined. Both are the culinary brainchilden of Natasha Sideris. And with Le Parc, she has produced something very special.

I felt as though I’d stepped through a time warp into Paris on a sunny Saturday morning. A busy park restaurant, perhaps, with splashes of French flair, jaunty canvas ceilings, and a whimsical stained glass trim. Birds flitting by would not seem out of place.

Yet you’re in a mall, surrounded by boutiques with price tags to make you weep in despair. I saw whiskeys for thousands of rand, shirts and coats requiring a bond on your house, and scarves from around the world with price tags worthy of the flight to fetch them. 

These are Joburg’s northern suburbs, and everything smells of money.

And of patisserie and gelato, French onion soup, and truffle. In fact, I bought a tiny bottle of truffle oil and, yes, this one actually has traces of black truffle in it. You have to know to check the fine print on the labels of truffles, honey and other goods that are now widely faked. It cost a fortune, but at least I was getting what I was paying for.

And this is the thing about Le Parc: it is a shop as well as a dining destination where you could honestly sit all day. I’d have loved to have arrived at 9am, had breakfast, lunch and then afternoon tea, while reading a book from cover to cover. And grabbing an uber back to my hotel at 5. That would have been a day well spent.

In fact, it’s a breakfast recipe that Tasha shares with us today: breakfast panna cotta. She explains that it’s “a little twist on having dessert for breakfast; this delicious, sweet treat is a great way to start the day without feeling guilty – but feeling satisfied instead”.

I was too late for breakfast, arriving for lunch at 1pm. I’d been in mall rat mode all morning, in and out of every store, and passing by Le Parc many times. For much of the long morning, tables were full; as one table was vacated, it was quickly cleared and another party would arrive.

Because I had been invited to “try the menu”, I ordered two starters so that I could get an idea of what they do there. I had to try the pâté, because the entire feel of this fabulous place is French, from its stylish looks to its food. And nothing says Paris more than a fine pâté with crusty bread. And this was in the zone, madly, sumptuously good. Suddenly I was even more “in Paris” than minutes earlier. (Oh, there’s one in Dubai too, obviously. Natasha Sideris’ businesses are now international.)

French Onion Soup came topped with Gruyère-topped baguette croutons, perfect though I chose not to finish it. Because, if you’re “in Paris”, you’re going to need steak frites. But they actually up the steak frites game here, giving you a choice of fillet or rump picanha (which is cheaper), and sauces too: pepper, mushroom, or tarragon butter. I chose the picanha, medium rare, with tarragon butter. Utterly wonderful, the steak slide-through soft, just everything you want in a fine bistro steak. Great frites too; Belgians, whose speciality this is, would approve, although they might argue that the frites should be identical in length.

There’s a lot of noise from the kitchen, the bell being tapped continuously while the sergeant-major of a chef yelled constantly orders. That’s how busy the place is, and the clamour did not bother me at all. It’s part of the vibe.

I took time between courses to scope out the goods for sale. A papier maché croquembouche. Gorgeous little tarts, financiers, macarons, their own gelatos and sorbets (blood orange, pistachio, speculoos); an Assouline cookbook display cabinet; and rows of gourmet delights from Tuscan cantucci to Pommery mustard and a range of truffle products.

I had to ignore almost everything, but spoilt myself with that single purchase of truffle oil after checking its label. I can’t imagine a place of this quality stocking a fake product in any event.

Tashas and Le Parc are different, seeming to operate outside of the norm of the SA restaurant scene. They’re not trend followers. Some iterations of tashas are more lounge, or salon, than what passes for a South African restaurant. Comfy chairs not unlike the hotel lounge chairs of earlier decades. Art deco patterns and soft, feminine hues. But Le Parc is special, more so than your standard tashas. 

It’s as if she’s looked at her brand and thought, I can better this. Time brings experience and perspective. I have a suspicion that Natasha Sideris has come into her own.

Tashas is a phenomenon. Any money on her revamping others of her 21 tashas? There are 15 in South Africa and six in the UAE. Some must be ready for a renovation, in which case… 

In the meantime, have a go at Le Parc’s eccentric breakfast recipe…

Le Parc by tashas’ Breakfast Panna Cotta

(Cooking time: 90 min | Some Effort)

(Serves 4)

For the yoghurt & coconut panna cotta:

3 gelatine sheets (2.5g sheets)

300g coconut milk

60g honey

1 lemon, zest of (2g)

Pinch of vanilla powder

400g double cream yoghurt

Method

Bloom the gelatine in cold water.

Place the coconut milk, honey, lemon zest and vanilla powder in a pot and bring to a simmer for about 2 minutes.

Remove the coconut milk mixture from the heat and strain to remove the lemon zest.

Add the bloomed gelatine to the warm coconut milk mixture, stirring to dissolve it.

Allow the mixture to cool, then stir in the yoghurt.

Pour 200g of the panna cotta mixture into bowls, then place in the fridge and allow to set for a minimum of 1 hour.

For the berry sauce:

200ml mixed berry juice

100ml water

20g castor sugar 

10g cornflour

15ml water

Method

Place the berry juice, water and castor sugar in a pot and heat until the sugar dissolves.

Mix the cornflour and water then stir into the berry juice and bring to the boil while stirring.

Make sure to cook the cornflour and allow the sauce to thicken, approximately 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat, pour the mixture into a bowl and cover the top of the mixture with plastic wrap, touching the top of the mixture to prevent a skin forming on the top.

Allow to cool over an ice bath, then place in the fridge. DM

Le Parc by tashas is at Hyde Park Corner | 011 325 5024 | leparc@tashascafe.com | https://www.leparcbytashas.com/