After “Le passage de Virginie”, the couple opened a new restaurant behind the Saint-Paul church in Nîmes. On the menu: revisited Mediterranean dishes, natural wines, a cool place and a friendly welcome.
What first attracts you in this restaurant nestled behind the Saint-Paul church is the smile and the warmth with which Alexander welcomes you. One of those unfeigned and sincere grins of the boss who has good interpersonal skills and a taste for others. After thirty years in the restaurant business, he could have had a smile that falters from time to time, but that’s not the style of the house.
Virginie and Alexander are the constant types. From their beginnings in Madame’s family restaurant, Le capon fin to Passage de Virginie rue Fresque, via Le café de Bouzigues and l’Estrambord in Aigues-Mortes, the couple has maintained just as much a sense of welcome as the demand for quality dishes. By that, mean: ultra local, preferably organic and fresh. “We don’t cook a lie, there’s no cheating here,” says Alexander, showing the three kilos of coconut beans he shelled in the morning. This transparency is also highlighted at the bottom of their menu where each origin of the products is detailed. Nîmes gastronomes will recognize “sure values” like La ferme du Cantal, Le patio bio à Caissargues, Sylvain, Carmen and Fourestier des Halles…
Classy dishes that don’t tell the story
With all this, Virginie “the magician” as her husband calls her, composes on the pianos, an ode to the Mediterranean, inspired by her Italian-Corso-Greek origins. It sometimes sounds like a sirtaki with grilled eggplant with black garlic, pine nuts, purple basil (the one that tastes of pepper and ginger), sometimes like a sardana with salmorejo, organic soft-boiled egg and bottarga. Delicious music but also pretty paintings that delight. Because Virginie knows how to do good but also beautiful. The dishes are classy but don’t talk about it. The antique tableware adds to the pleasure of tasting. “We found dishes from the 70s that come from here, from Portugal or even Spain,” says Alexander, before specifying that it was their daughter who found the decorative objects for them.
Here too, we are in the warmth and good taste. The mix of sharp pieces from the seventies, brown tiles, parquet and botijos form a bohemian chic combo which gives Virginie and Alexander’s restaurant a little “like at home” air which says everything about their philosophy .
Alexander is half of the success of this pretty Nîmes restaurant, without a doubt. Certainly, there are the delicious melting, almost sweet carrots of the “Baron des Cévennes” pork shoulder from Virginie, its mixture of textures with candied fig, frangipane and almond crumble which triggers an onomatopoeia of pleasure. But these dishes would not be as delicious without the passion for wine that Alexander shares with his customers.
Alexander, an expert in natural wine
With him, we are dealing with a specialist in natural wine, demanding wine but who is not snobbish. He has a knack for finding the right vintage for you, like this “Clin d’œil” from the Lau estate in Souvignargues, born from oeillade, a century-old grape variety. “It’s clean, it’s good. It’s my favorite at the moment!” enthuses Alexander, who goes to meet the winegrowers to unearth the region’s gems. In short, you have understood, this table is a real treat.
“Chez Virginie and Alexander”, 5, rue Vouland, Nîmes. Dish around €27. From Wed. evening to Sun. evening. From October, Fri. and Sat. noon also. 04 66 21 62 39.
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