RACINE

A lunch course that lets you choose your own starter, main course and dessert gives you room to shape the meal to your taste. One diner’s report of lunch at RACINE describes a course with a choice of starters and mains, followed by soup, bread, dessert and a drink. Menu materials list 4 options each for the starter and main course, and 4 desserts, with the option to have cheese instead.

Listed starters include tuna carpaccio with caper sauce and pâté de campagne, a rustic country-style meat terrine. The choices range from seafood to meat. Mains include mackerel brioche with a sauce of ripe tomatoes from Kamigamo and basil; Japanese young-chicken thigh confit with a rosemary-scented tomato cream sauce; and braised pork shoulder flavoured with vinegar. Comparing the ingredients and sauces—and deciding between fish and meat—is part of the pleasure of the course.

One diner who enjoyed the chef’s choice lunch course recalled a generous serving of amuse-bouche rillettes and a chilled soup that brought out the flavour of its ingredients. The house-made bread included baguette and wholemeal varieties; in that diner’s account, more baguette was available. At the end of the meal, diners could choose dessert or cheese. The dessert served that day was described as figs simmered in wine with ice cream.

The listed dessert options also include strawberry sorbet, orange and honey pudding, and berry cake, offering a choice to suit your appetite after the meal. Lunch is served from 11:30 to 15:00, and reservations are accepted.