Established in 2018 and without a celebrity endorsement or establishment backing, Partage is one of the best regarded fine dining restaurant in Las Vegas that many do not know about.

Partage means “sharing” in French and describes itself as a modern French dining experience. Its menu and sophisticated ambiance validate that description. It is often mentioned at the same breathe as other headline fine dining along the strip in many foodie magazines and reviews.

In 2015, with “nothing but their backpacks and savings,” manager Nicolas Kalpokdjian, executive chef Yuri Szarzewski and pastry chef Vincent Pellerin arrived in Las Vegas from Paris to begin their new culinary adventure. They founded EATT, a casual bistro that have since closed. After that they started Partage to be a fine dining restaurant where you spend more than two hours enjoying surprise tasting menus with a curated wine pairing.

As the shops and restaurants along Spring Mountain Road (also known as Las Vegas’ Chinatown) continues to diversify and modernise, Partage’s interior stood out with its wood-panel walls and minimalist brass light fixtures hang over taupe banquettes.

The Bar at Partage

Wine pairings at Partage are an excellent value and are expertly picked by the sommelier. Five, seven, and nine glass pairings are offered with options to upgrade to premium vintages. I went for the five-glass premium vintage pairings, while Princess tried all the mocktails on offer.

Exotic Colada – Pineapple & orange juice, coconut & mango puree
Passion Lavender – Homemade lavender syrup, passion fruit puree, lemon & cranberry juice
Rouge Desir– Pineapple, cranberry, raspberry, passion fruit

The Exotic Colada is a non-alcoholic spin of the piña colada, and it reminded us of the Orange Julias original OJ. The other two were similar tasting, having the same basic ingredients. Both tasted strangely similar to a soursop drink popular in Singapore.

Smoky Old Fashioned

Maker’s Mark, Laphroaig scotch, black pepper syrup, bitters – smoked with applewood

I ordered a pre-dinner cocktail. As I am not a cocktail drinker, I asked the bartender for a recommendation. He asked what’s my usual poison, and without missing a beat I said whiskey. So he suggested I get an Old Fashioned. An Old Fashioned is a true classic cocktail. Made with whiskey, sugar, Angostura bitters, and an orange peel (or cherry) for garnish, it’s a recipe made for whiskey lovers!

Smoky Old Fashioned

The presentation was pretty dramatic with a smoke bubble delicately placed on the cocktail when served. I was asked to drop the dried lemon slice onto the bubble to release a whiff of applewood smoke. The cocktail was delicious!

The Tasting Menu

Tasting menus are offered for five, seven or nine course options featuring fresh and seasonal ingredients that the chef transforms into sumptuous fare. Tonight we were having the 9-course Chef’s Tasting Menu.

Amuse Bouche

oxtail croque monsieur, bone marrow

Before we started the gastronomic journey through the nine-course tasting menu, we were presented with a small little bite. A play on the bistro favourite, croque monsieur, this upgraded version used a beautifully braised oxtail ragout as the main ingredient. The crusty sandwich was topped with a small drop of bone marrow gelée with some parmesan cheese flakes.

Mushroom velouté

crispy gaufrette, truffle butter, black garlic Chantilly

The first course is a soup course. A very creamy mushroom veloute infused with truffles and served with black garlic Chantilly (aioli) decorated with a piped bloom of truffle butter. The same truffle butter was also piped on a very puffy potato stack gaufrette.

These days a velouté could refer to any sauce thickened with butter and/or cream. The mushroom velouté was smooth and creamy, with the satisfying umami of fungi and truffle. The potato puff stack was perfect to be used to dip into the velouté.

Dropping bits of gaufrette into the velouté

As you stirred in the black garlic aioli into the velouté, you can taste the liver mousse that was incorporated into the aioli. This made for a non-veg mushroom soup that I longed for.

Pairing #1 Champagne Gosset Brut Grand Blanc De Blanc

Paired with Champagne Gosset Brut Grand Blanc De Blanc.

Gosset is Champagne’s oldest producer, founded in the 16th century, and this NV blanc de blancs takes advantage of its well-established connections by sourcing chardonnay from 15 different villages.

The base wines are aged on lees after the primary fermentation but malolactic fermentation is blocked in order to retain the house’s characteristic zinginess.

The fine and steady bubbles rise gracefully to the surface. The color is pale golden. The nose, both mineral and floral, reveals aromas of flowers, white fruits, apricots, Mirabelle plum and very light notes of lemon, citrus fruits, quince jelly, honey and star anise.

U4 shrimp

sweet potato puree, grilled peanuts, herbs salad, bergamot confit

These MASSIVE prawns are wild caught off the coast of Africa. They are U4 (or 4 or less pieces in a pound), one of the largest denominations sold commercially. This is the Tomahawk steak of the sea. These prawns present a buttery texture and firmness that makes them ideal for sautéing, BBQ’ing, shrimp cocktails, or anything else you can think of.

I usually used U12 sized prawns for my own cooking as I think that gives a better and sweeter tasting shrimp. But in America, the bigger the better. Hence these Godzilla-prawns are used in the restaurants.

Given the size of the prawn, there was quite a bit of the shrimp’s hepatopancreas, which is the equivalent of tomalley on crabs and lobsters. This is actually where most of the shrimp flavour is.

Pairing #2 Chêne Bleu Aliot 2016

Paired with Chêne Bleu Aliot 2016, this French Méditerranée White wine ranked #1 for its category was a match made in heaven with crustaceans.

A blend of 65 % Roussanne, 30% Grenache and 5% Marsanne and Viognier, the sweet white tasted exotic, with Cavaillon melon, creamed yellow apple and mirabelle flavours all stitched together with chamomile and heather notes. Creamy in feel, yet bright and pure, even despite the late release.

A beautiful golden yellow, bright and clear. Rich and complex on the nose with notes of verveine, buttery brioche and a touch of honey. Fresh and elegant with a hint of saline minerality, and fresh lime tree. Full-bodied with great finesse.

Fennel has a very delicate anise flavour when baked into the mini savoury apple pie. The pastry was perfect to wipe the delicious sauce off the plate.

Squab ballottine

squab leg confit, apple and fennel mini pie, fennel puree

A squab is a young, immature pigeon about 4 weeks old. Because it is too young to fly, the meat is very tender. Squab usually weigh about 12 to 16 ounces, including giblets, and have dark, delicately flavoured meat. The breast meat was combined with foie gras into a ballottine and served with an espagnole of the au jus with drops of fennel puree.

The squab leg was prepared as a confit. The crispy skin and dark, delicious meat were the best part in my opinion.

At this point there’s no bread in sight. But they have provided a small piece of an apple and fennel pie (more like a tartlet). I wished they have stuffed it with more filling as it was delicious.

Foie gras flan

cassis coulis, brown sugar crumble, duck legs confit and seared foie gras

Terrine with different layers including foie gras flan, cassis coulis, brown sugar crumble, duck leg confit and seared foie gras. Cassis is another word for blackcurrant.

In the first scope you would get the seared foie gras, duck confit and crumble. And when you dug in further, you would get to the foie gras flan and blackcurrant sauce.

Monkfish wrapped in lard

broccoli puree, broccolini tempura, yuzu fish stock

The first of the trio of main courses was monkfish. Monkfish is also known as the poor man’s lobster because the texture resembled the crustacean but priced reasonably. But I don’t like it for the metallic taste. Call it coincidence, every occasion I had this fish it was always paired with either cauliflower or broccoli. Tonight the monkfish was wrapped in lard (actually ham) and plated with a quenelle of broccoli puree and a stalk of broccolini tempura. It was drizzled on with a tangy, refreshing yuzu fish stock sauce, and a basil broccoli pesto sauce.

Pairing #3 Santenay Maladiere 1er Cru Domaine Prieur-Brunet 2018

Paired with Santenay Maladiere 1er Cru Domaine Prieur-Brunet 2018.

The 2018 Domaine Prieur-Brunet Santenay-Maladière 1er Cru is bright, vibrant, and tantalising. It’s medium-bodied with tight, chewy tannins that are focused and polished. Flavourful finish.

Exhibiting attractive aromas of cherries, raspberries, spices and orange rind, the 2018 Santenay 1er Cru Maladière (Domaine Prieur-Brunet) is medium to full-bodied, layered and complete, with succulent acids and a deep core of fruit.

Cordon bleu

stuffed with California farmer chicken, white cotto ham, comte cheese, with a tartare sauce and mashed potato foam

When you order a chicken cordon bleu in a bistro, you get a chicken chop sized portion. Of course in fine dining, they are not going to fill you up with the ordinary chicken chop. But they have spared no expense in the dish; organic free-range chicken layered with Comte cheese and white cotto ham. The dish was finished with black truffle shavings and coupled with tartare sauce and mashed potato foam. This last item I never understood why fine diners always wanted customers to eat foam. I was glad to find out that it was just a very smooth mash.

Hanger steak

caramelized onion, potato confit, Reblochon and green pepper

The final of three main courses, the USDA prime hanger steak was the piece de resistance with a melt-in-mouth piece of meat that had been painstaking grilled to perfection at rare-medium rate consistency. Carbs came in the form of potato done three ways – potato confit topped with caramelised onions and melted Reblochon cheese, potato twirl and potato mousse sprinkled with green pepper powder. It was quite amusing to see the French classic steak frites with a single stick of French fry, but it was the best fry you would have eaten.

Pairing #4 Le Marquis De Calon Segur Saint Estephe 2019

Paired with Le Marquis De Calon Segur Saint Estephe 2019.

Saint-Estèphe is situated in the northern end of Bordeaux’s Haut-Médoc, with grapes grown on gravel soils atop a clay base. The soils here have poor drainage, which delays ripening, and often results in wines with higher acidity than those from further south in the Médoc.

Saint-Estèphe wines are powerful, concentrated and rich, with sometimes austere, gritty tannins in their youth, and hallmark notes of cassis, tobacco, cigar box and crushed stone. A chewy, structured red with blackberry, chocolate and some walnut and bark. It’s full-bodied and solid with lots of fruit and tannins.

Ossau-Iraty cream

red onion and Espelette pepper, pear and country bread

Finally, some bread! But wait a minute, all the main courses have been served, did they make a mistake? Oh, the wonderful freshly baked mini baguettes were for the cheese course. The cheese course before dessert was Ossau-Iraty cream with red onion and Espelette pepper, pear and country bread

Ossau irraty cream, red onion and Espelette pepper, pear and country bread

Ossau-Iraty is an unpasteurised ewe’s milk cheese traditionally manufactured in the Basque Country and Béarn and an excellent melter. It was made into an ice cream incorporated with caramelised red onions, grilled Espelette pepper and poached packham pear. The quenelle of ice cream was plated on a bed of brown sugar crumple that made its appearance in the foie gras course and topped with slices of the cheese. Savoury, sweet, cold and warm all in one course.

Vanilla / hazelnut succes

hazelnut dacquoise, vanilla ganache, almond, hazelnut praline, hazelnut caramelized tuile, yuzu praline sauce

A dacquoise is a dessert cake made with layers of almond and hazelnut meringue and whipped cream or buttercream on a buttery biscuit base. This seemed like the deconstructed version of the French classic.

hazelnut dacquoise, vanilla ganache, almond, hazelnut praline, hazelnut caramelized tuile, yuzu praline sauce

A perfect ending to a wonderful meal. The dacquoise was like eating freshly made Ferrero Roche nee the physical hazelnut in the middle. And if you like Roche like many people, it would wonderful. But for me, I get boxes of this confectionary treat every Lunar New Year, and I always have dispose of them among colleagues and friends. However it reminded me of the happiness and festivities of the season.

Pairing #5 Champagne Rose Ruinard NV

Paired with Champagne Rose Ruinard. Ruinart, the very first Champagne House founded in 1729, is an essential reference. An exceptional cuvée, Ruinart Rosé is made from the prestigious terroirs of Champagne, namely the Côte des Blancs, the Montagne de Reims and the Marne Valley.

Pomegranate-colored with orange reflections, Ruinart Rose champagne has lively and very light bubbles, with an extremely persistent cord.

This champagne seduces with its combination of subtlety and freshness, first developing aromas of exotic fruits and small red fruits, before letting fine notes of roses and pomegranates come through to complete its complexity an

The palate reveals a frank attack, offering flavors of crunchy red fruits, as well as a formidable balance. This Rose champagne is delicious and fresh, before an elegant and lively finish combining minty and citrus notes.

The historic Ruinart Champagne House owes its creation to the visionary and pioneering monk, Dom Thierry Ruinart. Located in the heart of Reims, the Ruinart House watches over a treasure. Unique, historical landmarks and architectural prowesses, the Ruinart chalk quarries have been classified as a historic site since 1931 and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2015. Located at nearly 40 metres below ground, in the dark and cool cathedral-like cellars, the precious bottles wait to be brought to light. Elegance, style and timelessness define the DNA of the Ruinart Champagne House, which is one of the most valued brands in France, embodying the excellence of the French ‘’art de vivre’’ in all four corners of the world.

Petit Four

pear vanilla gelée, mango white chocolate tart

A little weak on the petit four. But we were so full that we didn’t mind. The mango white chocolate tarts made with fresh mangoes from Florida were delicious!

Afterthoughts

A memorable, Michelin worthy, classic French fine dining experience, but because they swap their menu every two months, the Michelin inspectors do not like that. I was also surprised that bread was not served at a French restaurant, and only came at dessert course. I was OK as I am on a low-carb regime, but Princess was not.

Do not be disappointed by the restaurant’s plain exterior and location in a strip mall after leaving the glitz and lights of The Strip. Partage may not have the cinematic wow factor of the Strip, but it has solid cuisine, friendly service, a knowledgeable sommelier that is passionate about his craft and lots of drink choices for drinks and non-drinkers alike. Come to impress out-of-town guests with your insider knowledge of LV Chinatown’s coolest new secrets.

Partage
3839 Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas, NV 89102
Tel : +1 702-582-5852

Partage

Visited Jan 2023

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Partage @ Las Vegas