[Société] Kaspro 2021 Guide: Creole restaurants, getting better and better

The fifth opus which has just been released puts the spotlight on 26 restaurants whose menu is essentially Creole, against only fifteen in 2017. Those who are at the top of the bill have also been tested in the JIR in recent years. Small review of the troops.

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Note that some criteria required by the Kaspro guide to be included are different from those we have chosen to rate the restaurants we visit, which explains the differences in appreciation, apart from the sensitivities specific to each. Thus, for example, the food critics of the JIR focused on Creole restaurants, from the snack bar to neighborhood trays to the beautiful tables having a storefront. The Kaspro Guide, on the other hand, only visits establishments offering table service (rated), all types of cuisine combined.

Let’s examine America, first of all, unbeatable from its three vanillas, which must well relax the gallbladder of its managers one supposes. As a reminder, this address obtained from us a silver fork in 2013 and a stainless steel one in 2019. What we liked: the brèdes at the table, unusual dishes like wasps, and a nice setting overlooking a pretty garden . Our last disappointment was caused by bland curries, a mixed reception and a value for money in the field of colombiculture. We will go back anyway.

Behind L’Ambéric comes the Reflection of the Islands, which keeps its two vanillas. With us, this institution of the capital, headed by Sieur Banon, has gone from the silver fork to the gold fork. Nothing out of the ordinary when we have been offering constant quality cuisine for over 40 years despite an extended menu, which we are usually wary of elsewhere.

Another restaurant featured in the 2017 and 2021 guide: Lé Gadiamb, in Saint-Denis, always holder of a vanilla. For our part, we tested this table on the rue Roland Garros at the very beginning of the section in 2011, and awarded it a silver fork. The stainless steel fork took over in 2016, motivated by a roughly roast pork and a heap of salt called rougail zandouille. An update is needed. Several people who did not know each other told us that they had eaten properly there.

The Fisherman’s Pot, in Saint-Philippe, keeps its vanilla in the Kaspro Guide.
The silver fork this restaurant got in 2015 turns into plastic two years later, for a palm kernel pork so stringy you could have braided it. The managers apparently coughed, but several opinions, including from people of Saint-Philippe, subsequently confirmed the plummet in quality in this establishment, however very famous. But this dates back to 2017, things may have turned in the right direction.

Le Bocage, Le Velli and the Cabane aux Epices confirm with a vanilla, three addresses which, with us, also obtained very good marks, of which a golden fork for the last one.

Finally, the Kapro Guide welcomes for the coming year Ti-Fred whose vanilla flower is fertilized, producing a beautiful pod (provided it lasts), plus “unusual” addresses among which there are some pearls such as Pat’Jaune Cabaret, l’Atelier André Concrete and La Ferme Auberge Hannibal. We tested the two tables of the Plaine des Cafres, which were the subject of rave reviews. On the other hand, we did not have the opportunity to set foot at the famous Bras-Panon table, in order to form our own opinion among the positive and negative opinions (also, yes, yes) which circulated about it.

The Kaspro Guide is available in all good bookstores and press shops for € 19.95.

Alexandre Begue

> Have constructive criticism

Whatever the guide, or the opinions that you can read on Trip Advisor, make up your own mind. And if you have to share it on social media, follow two rules to be taken seriously. First, argue. It is not enough to write “The worst restaurant I have seen” or “A really excellent table”, justify your appreciation. Then be sure to give a review that chronicles a recent experience. In a short time the quality can change, the chef can change. If your visit is more than six months old, it is best to qualify your remarks by specifying, as we do, the date of your visit.

> The winners of the Kaspro Guide 2021

The Kaspro Guide is an essential tool in the gastronomic landscape of Réunion, produced with seriousness and independence, according to precise criteria. This fifth edition has 159 tables, including 20 new addresses and 56 “smart budgets”. The total number of restaurants tested increased from 108 in the 2017 edition to 159 today. Thierry Kasprowicz’s team gave their all in a complicated context for catering, although more favorable locally than in France.

Chef of the year: Jehan Colson, La Fabrique (Saint-Denis).

Sommelier of the year: Mélina Bègue, Case Pitey (La Rivière Saint-Louis).

Service of the year: Louis Boyer, Le Blue Margouillat (Saint-Leu).

Hope of the year: Sébastien Catherine, Le Green Tee (L’Etang-Salé).

Pastry Chef of the Year: Julien Capdeville, La Table du Boucan Canot.

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