La Maree is located on the second floor of the Les Millesimes Wine Club which is just to the west of Jianwai Soho's western extreme, just south of the red-tinged glass of the "Red Bull" building.
The decor is over-the-top maritime; faux-netting covering the roof, model boats galore and plenty of sea-themed pictures adorning the wall. While nestling into two cloud-like couches that faced each other across a table laid with quality cutlery and glasses and listening to the French crooning from another era in the background, we wondered if we'd made a mistake in coming here.
Fortunately, the food is superb. The menu is seafood heavy, but there are a few meaty alternatives. They also have a French-style Teppanyaki bar. Despite an ingrained reluctance to ever touch seafoood in Beijing, we went with a Saint Jacques (RMB 58) starter and two mains and all three dishes were well presented and tasty.
The wines selection is impressive and prices are not too ridiculous. (NZ Sauv Blanc for RMB 299)
They also have good range of desserts - though quality varied in the mixed-platter that we ordered. I'd advise sticking to the chocolate mousse or the creme brulee.
All-in-all, this out-of-the-way French seafood restaurant is deserving of more attention, though the decor is a bit ridiculous and the background music stinks (hence the 3 stars), the food is top-notch.
They have a RMB 48 semi-buffet lunch from Mon-Fri.
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