Dinner at Comice

Meet the two talented Canadians making their mark in the city of lights

After a much-needed break after finishing my latest book manuscript, I’ve just returned from a visit to France where I dined out quite a bit and will be sharing my recommendations over the next two posts. Today I begin with Comice, a Michelin-starred restaurant in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.

Comice owners: Chef Noam Gedalof and sommelier Etheliya Hananova

As a restaurant critic, I'd always choose one famous fancy restaurant (read: pricey and Michelin-starred) to visit while traveling. I was never one to empty my bank account on night-in-night-out restaurant visits, but it was fun to try out restaurants like Frenchie, L'Astrance and so many others to see whether the hype matched the reality. When I stopped reviewing restaurants in 2019, my focus shifted to casual restaurants and bistros—less to admire chefs' intricate work than to lift gather recipe ideas for my next book. And that habit continues to this day.

Yet while visiting Paris last week, I received an invitation to dine at one of those starred restaurants, but this one was special as the owners are two former Montrealers: Etheliya Hananova and Noam Gedalof.

I have known Etheliya Hananova since 2003, first as a server, then as a sommelier. According to my archive of reviews, she first served me at a Montreal restaurant called Le Club des Pins, an excellent restaurant where many top chefs and sommeliers worked the floor and the stoves. By the time I mentioned her in a review by name she had served me three times, yet the meal I recall most vividly was at the restaurant Bronte, when I described her as follows: "Service by our waitress/aspiring opera singer Etheliya was flawless. Jennifer-Garner gorgeous and ever-smiling, this woman is the most charming and intelligent server I know."

I do remember Bronte chef Joe Mercuri turning out some beautiful dishes at that meal (he still is I hear at his new restaurant, Mercuri 109). But the person I remember most is Etheliya. That smile, her enthusiasm, her charm. And it carried on over many years. After Bronte came restaurants Le Club Classe et Pêche and Lawrence. And then she was on TV, with Christian Bégin on his show Curieux Bégin. Having this sharp and vivacious woman recommend, taste and explain wines - even in sommelier-heavy Montreal - was always a treat.

But then, in 2013, Etheliya upped and did something we all dream about: she moved to Paris. Yet it wasn't so much her idea as that of her new boyfriend (and now husband), chef Noam Gedalof. I had met Noam when he worked at Bronte and then Kaizen restaurant in Montreal, where he told me he had just returned from working at The French Laundry in California. I recall him saying he wanted to work in France, and the next thing I knew, there they were, in Paris.

After working together at the swanky, Île Saint-Louis resto, Le Sergent Recruteur, the couple decided to strike out on their own in 2018 and open a 35-seat restaurant in the posh 16th arrondissement. They called it Comice, which refers not only to the variety of pear, but the horticultural cooperative (or more specifically the Comice horticole d'Angers), where in the 1840's the variety was developed.

Comice, at night.

The decision for this Canadian couple to open a restaurant in arguably the world's most gastronomic city was certainly bold, but also logical considering their combined decades of experience. Proof being that less than five months after serving their first tasting menu, the couple was awarded their first Michelin star.

To say I was excited to see what they were up to some 12 years after I was last served by Etheliya at Lawrence is an understatement. Getting a Michelin star is a big deal, but getting a Michelin star in Paris is a MAJOR deal. And after my meal at Comice I thought that if they keep up the same level of fine dining I experienced that night, they may soon be looking at two.

But before I go on about the food, a word about the room. With hunter green walls, pearl grey banquettes, and a dozen or so tables covered with immaculate white tablecloths, the decor is sophisticated yet unpretentious. The focal point is a central buffet very similar to one I recall at Bronte (Etheliya confirmed my memory saying it was her inspiration) that holds wine and digestif bottles. The brightly-lit and rather small (but large by Paris standards) open kitchen is located in the back of the room and there’s a windowed enclosure facing the street

My favourite element in the room is a magnificent painting by Montreal artist Peter Hoffer, commissioned by Etheliya especially for the restaurant. Hoffer is famous for his paintings of trees, and this one is of a forest that spans the length of the banquette, which is reflected in a large mirror along the opposite wall. Très chic!

Gedalof's food is equally chic. The menus on offer are either four-course or five-course, and his style is something we don't see a lot of in Montreal these days, contemporary haute cuisine. The plating is precise, featuring a central ingredient dressed with purées, quenelles, and thick swirls of sauces. This is luxurious fare, highlighting exquisite French ingredients.

I'm not always big on tasting menus, but this one featured just enough courses to get a good sense of the Comice cuisine without leaving customers stuffed. French restaurants always do the "little" courses well, and by little courses I mean things like the amuse-bouches, mignardises, pre-dessert etc. We began with gougères filled with Mornay sauce, a perfect match to a glass of grower Champagne Pierre Gerbais, followed by a Kabocha squash velouté topped with fried sage leaves and served with herbed crackers alongside. Lovely, lovely.

The next plate was my favourite of the night. Winter is citrus season and Gedalof is a self-proclaimed citrus lover (me too!), which played out in a dish of scallops with citrus. Ranging from lime to lemon to buddha hand fruit, the whisper thin citrus slices were layered with the freshest raw scallop enhanced with a mound of fennel confit. The dish was especially masterful as neither the acidic nor the bitter elements of the citrus came to the fore, rather the bright and zesty fruit flavours that at times reminded me of a the best lemon tart.

After that beauty came an earthy mix of caramelized cauliflower and broccoli set among swirls of a brown butter, caper, parsley and lemon sauce "grenobloise." Nice, but paled next to the next showstopper of a dish featuring risotto with poached Brittany blue lobster, beurre blanc, and a dollop of Oscietra caviar fit for a king. Etheliya called this their "Ferrari dish" and her absolute favourite, and with this pairing of the world's best lobster and caviar, with silky risotto in between, I could certainly see why.

It would be difficult to find a dish to top that but the next, served with an earthy syrah from Cornas, featured a slice of côte de boeuf and a round of beef and veal tongue terrine, served with a sweet potato ravioli, spinach purée, and caramelized shallots. With such a diverse mix of textures and flavours it was a fun dish to devour, especially that succulent beef. French beef can pale next to its North American counterpart, but this cut was superb.

After a perfect cheese course (starring an especially sexy vacherin), we entered the dessert part of the evening, perhaps the strongest of the night. After a pretty pre-dessert of blood orange sorbet served atop a champagne mousse with lemon confit, mint oil and crystallized basil (yum yum!) came their signature chocolate soufflé. Now I've eaten my weight in chocolate soufflés over the years, but this one was hands down, the best.

Made with four varieties of Ecuadorian chocolate, the soufflé is served topped with a quenelle of the most intense vanilla ice cream made by infusing six different varieties of vanilla beans in milk for a whole week. Whoa. Soufflés can seem old hat on a modern menu, but this one was light (but not too light!) and flavourful (and I mean deeply flavourful!) — a serious wow. And another great element of that course was the wine pairing, a 1982 Rivesaltes ambré from Les Frères Parcé. Magnifique!

Now as much as I loved the soufflé, I think I liked their citrus tart with almond cream and plum pit oil ice cream even better. First the return to citrus at the end of the meal was a smooth move, but second, the three scoops of ice cream made with of all things, PLUM PIT OIL!, was fascinating. A tour de force.

And at the end of all this loveliness came a single square of passion fruit pâte de fruit. Perfection.

Throughout the night I enjoyed watching Hanonova speaking to customers, describing wines with wit and intelligence. Not only are her wine pairings superb, her wait staff are pros one and all. What a pleasure it was to simply sit back and admire the finesse of this operation.

A night at Comice is pricey with menus sold at €120 and €150, with wine pairings at €65 to €90 for the four-course menu and €80 to €110 for the five-course menu. Yet keep in mind that includes tax and tip and that this is serious gastronomic experience featuring topnotch ingredients. They don't award those Michelin stars for nothing!

Now I realize this review is for a restaurant you’ll probably have to travel to enjoy but Montrealers eager to experience this cuisine are in luck as the Comice team is bringing their talents to Le Club Classe et Pêche for two nights during the Montreal Highlights Festival, February 27th and 28th. Their five-course meal is offered at $190, with limited seats still available.

If you’re interested, book quickly! I just know it will be a night to remember.

Here is the link.

And here’s a fun video of Noam making his signature soufflés with David Lebovitz.