L'ANNEXE DE LA BRAISIERE

One of my favourite areas to go out in Toulouse is around Place des Carmes, there are plenty of bars and nice restaurants. I went to L'Annexe de la Braisière, for an 'apéritif dinatoire' as we like to call it in France.

L'Annexe is a tapas restaurant on Rue Pharaon which is the sister restaurant of La Braisière, an institution in Toulouse if you like South Western cuisine with a convivial spirit.

My friends and I ordered a few tapas : razor clams, serrano mix, patatas braisas, salmon and mango tartare, scallops and avocado tartare, pan fried scallops and duck heart skewers.

We started the apéritif dinatoire with some razor clams. I am always scared to order them, as sometimes they have a very strong iodised taste and they are not properly washed, so they have bits of sand. These were perfectly washed, seasoned and cooked.

The second dish was the serrano mix, nothing can really go wrong with a mix of charcuterie...especially if you have a nice bottle of red wine served with it.

The apéritif continued with salmon and mango tartare which was light and quite unusual. I really like this combination and will definitely try to do the same at home when I'm back in London.

The scallop, avocado and lime tartare was ok, it tasted a bit like a ceviche but it was a bit bland. It needed more seasoning or maybe a little kick of spice somehow.

Three and a half bottles later we had some scallops and duck hearts cooked on a plancha. This time the scallop dish was good, perfectly pan fried and seasoned with parsley.

I am a huge fan of duck meat: foie gras, breast, confit, scratchings... but I never ate duck hearts before that night. The hearts had a very strong taste, it was not my cup of tea but the dish was well executed. To compliment our last plates we ordered some patatas braisas, it was good but they could have been a bit more generous with the sauce.

Overall I had a very good night at L'Annexe, it was a great way to start my night in Toulouse with my friends, some wine and excellent tapas. The experience could have been better if we were seated outside as it was a bit very noisy inside and slightly hot - reminder for next time : request an outside table when I book.

7/10