If two heads are better than one, then two cuisine-noggins fused into one restaurant-body are better than one. Polycephalify your palate with today's Groupon: for $20, you’ll get $40 worth of delicious French and Mediterranean fusion fare for lunch or dinner at Pastiche on Herschel Street, an epicurean hybrid that expands cultural palates.

Presenting traditional French and Mediterranean cuisine with an American twist, Pastiche offers seasonally changing lunch and dinner menus crafted with high-quality and locally procured ingredients. Offset afternoon digestive-tract deficits with a bowl of classic French onion soup ($5) or artichoke-parmesan fritters ($7.50), then segue to a grilled chicken salad nicoise ($9) with asparagus and pickled potatoes. For dinner, engage entrees of flock, fowl, and fish by sampling a roasted beef tenderloin bordelaise ($28), a sautéed duck breast with shallot marmalade ($23), or salmon roasted tandoori style with couscous and plum-tomato chutney ($19). For dessert, share a bouquet of lavender crème brûlée ($7) with your sweetie, or try a refreshing raspberry sorbet served with rosemary shortbread cookies ($4.50). Observe proper throat-lubrication etiquette with a drink from Pastiche’s wine list, which offers a lengthy selection of wines both domestic and imported as well as several beer options.

Founded on the culinary experience of chefs Donna and Eric Fritsche, Pastiche is now in its eighth year of operation. The restaurant’s quaint interior is comfortable and warm on chilly nights, while the equally inviting covered “cottage garden” patio gives patrons a chance to enjoy alfresco appetizers and small talk with the garrulous garden plants.

Reviews

Pastiche was selected as one of the Hot 10 restaurants in Jacksonville by Gayot. Yelpers give it 3.5 stars, and TripAdvisors give it four:

• The friendly, knowledgeable waitstaff and country-chic décor make this a place you'll want to linger… – Gayot
• Tables at Pastiche are large and comfortable and (just as important) not set close together. Both the dining room and the patio have very quiet background music of an inoffensive kind permitting conversation at normal levels. – buybeach, TripAdvisor
• The stuffed Fig appetizer is unreal, the smoked trout salad insane and the flounder francaise I dream about! – kittyharper, TripAdvisor