Hippopotamus Toulouse Centre sur Toulouse

04/02/2026: A truly fantastic restaurant! My wife and I are new to Toulouse, and I was looking for a nice place to celebrate my birthday (November 2024 for my first review). There's no set menu; everything is à la carte, but the portions are well-balanced. We're not big eaters and don't like to waste food, so we were hesitant to order a starter, main course, and dessert, but our waiter was incredibly helpful with his recommendations (thank you!). I really liked the wine list, as it has quite a few wines from the Aude and Hérault regions, since I'm originally from the area! We opted for the house-smoked salmon and parsley-crusted razor clams as starters, which were perfectly cooked. Then we had a duck breast skewer with foie gras sauce and a delicious plain flank steak! The meat is of excellent quality, exceptionally tender, and they know how to cook it perfectly over a wood fire. Next time, I'll be less timid and order the ribeye steak straight away! The potatoes, prepared the old-fashioned way and served with it, were fantastic!!! We should have asked for it without salad to avoid waste. For dessert, we had homemade crème catalane and a Paris-Brest with homemade whipped cream. Plus, there was an extra little candle as a surprise—it had been ages since I'd blown one out, and I had to try twice to blow it out!! In short, some longtime Toulouse residents recommended this place to me, and you can go there without hesitation! The establishment was actually opened by the father of the current manager, if I'm to believe what I've been told. One tiny negative point: my wife's glass of red wine was ice cold, even though it was ordered well in advance... We went on a Tuesday evening, and the restaurant was packed! Another visit to this lovely establishment on December 25, 2025 (yes, Christmas Day!), I did indeed order the ribeye steak as promised and it was absolutely delicious :) (They're open every day except January 1st; we had the same waiter, we recognized each other :)) Meat lovers, it's an open bar for your appetites! Superbly cooked over a wood fire, incredibly tender meat—in short, you absolutely must go!

02/02/2026: The appetizer at this small grill restaurant was excellent: prawns. My main course was Rognon Veau Entier. The veal kidneys were grilled whole, but far too hot. They were cooked through on the outside but already a bit too dry, while the inside was completely raw and undercooked. I could only eat about a third of the kidneys. That was disappointing. My complaint to the service staff went unanswered. I had imagined a Christmas Eve dinner to be quite different and was very disappointed.