Paris Eating

So here, finally is my list of the places where we ate in Paris, and surrounds. They’re all on Trip Adviser if you want to check them out. When asked what was best I say Septime at 80 rue de Charonne. Pale blue by day and all open and twinkling lights in the evening.

Lovely young and enthusiastic staff, some of whom spoke good English. Not that language matters – the food speaks for itself. Each course a taste sensation. Quite relaxed surroundings. Wooden tables, no linen, different, mostly rustic, crockery for each dish. All of the courses were amazing. Wonderfully inventive combinations. They all looked fantastic. Matching wines were interesting and included saki and we finished with Japanese whisky.

Our next Michelin starred restaurant was Le Georges in the Best Western Hotel in Chartres. More formal. Starched linen and fine china. None of the staff spoke English but all were lovely, explaining the components of all the dishes in detail. Beautifully presented. Tasted wonderful. And the number of courses and types of dishes were all similar to those we’d had at Septime.

We came upon Dessance 74 rue de Archives quite by accident while walking around our neighbourhood in the Marais. A modern place serving only desserts. Lovely enthusiastic, young people in a very modern space. Not opened for business very long. All courses came with a detailed explanation of ingredients – some of which we followed, most of which we didn’t. The dishes were all amazing – each a palette of different colours, tastes, textures and temperatures. And matching wines (and beers) to accompany.

We were directed to Les Enfants Rouges 9 rue de Beauce by David Lebovitz. All very modern and chic. It’s mentioned on his blog as an example of the sorts of modern, non-traditional restaurants that are springing up in Paris. We didn’t have a booking but getting there early Parisian time (7pm) we were offered stools at the bar from where we had a great view of people coming and going and the hard work being put in by the chef’s wife and one other person serving. Modern food. My veal was delicious. And we had our first (but not last) experience of Parisien marrow straight from the bone. Looks ugly but was delicious.

For Christmas our children booked us a meal at Terroir Parisien de Yannick Alleno, Maison de la Mutualite, 20 rue Saint Victor. It’s in the Paris a Trades Hall building. All very modern. The largest restaurant we ate in. All glass and steel. This place is making waves for its focus on fresh ingredients and lack of traditional sauces. Which we didn’t quite appreciate so early in our stay but certainly did after our later culinary experiences. This place is radical!

Clamato at 80 rue de Charonne was a great experience. We came upon it quite by accident. It’s next to Septime and run by the same chef. Same bland exterior, but lovely inside. All seafood. Very modern – as evidenced by the raw prawns. And that’s an eel hamburger. Simple, high quality food. I wished we’d tried the sea urchins. We were there for lunch. I’m not sure whether it is open for dinner. We were going to go back but ran out of time.

La Closerie des Lilas 171 boulevard du Montparnasse was a more traditional style French Bistrot. There’s a more formal restaurant on one side, but we sat at one of the tiny tables crowded down a long narrow room to the side. There was a piano player providing music and a very well stocked bar. I had duck. The French cook it very rare. Joe had steak and we had red wine recommended by the waiter which was fantastic. As was my millefeuille – exceptionally light and flaky.

We also enjoyed Le Georges 19 rue Beaubourg, which is the restaurant on top of the Centre George Pompidou. We went for the view on our last day but found the food surprisingly good. Joe had spaghetti with a whole lobster tail! My mullet from the Riviera was also delicious. And our waiter was so cool! The views were also worth it.

We found another place close to home in the Marais well worth visiting. Glou at 101 rue Vieille du Temple. It was a small place from where we could see the Picasso Museum (closed for renovations). Teachers from a nearby school were at the table next to us. Lovely waiter. Food was traditional and good. The place is part of a network of restaurants devoted to high quality cooking and sourcing of foods. I had a foi gras pot au feu! Pictured. Amazing. And Joe had wonderful eggs with truffles.


We enjoyed Le Mets du Roy 4 rue Boulangerie, Saint Denis as much for the location and the sunshine as the food. We’d visited the Basilica St Denis which is just across the square and which is renowned for being freezing. So it was nice to sit in the sun and enjoy some food and wine. There are two bistros side by side.

We ate at the Bistrot behind the one Michelin starred La Cote Des Monts Damnes Chavignol, Place de l’Orme, in Sancerre while on our wine tour of the Loire Valley. We did the round trip from Paris in a day, so we didn’t linger. But the food was good – especially the lemon tart. Our guide assured us the Bistrot food came from the same kitchen so we’d effectively eaten at a Michelin starred restaurant.

However our favourite Bistrot during our stay in Paris was Le Gavroche 19 rue Saint Marc. We stumbled across this delightful place looking for another restaurant along the same street. This one is just down from the Comedie Francaise. Full of noise and good cheer. The owner/manager/maitre de – a thin chap with long sideburns – urged us to drink at the bar and we’d have a table in fifteen minutes. Which we did. Weaving our way around the three legged dog on the floor and squeezing in amongst the locals we had a great time. We were there at lunch time. Started with the snails. Then I had calves brains. We didn’t need the assistance of our English speaking neighbour who’d been instructed to do just that by the waitress. However we did strike up a conversation with him and he surreptitiously recommended another restaurant run by his wife – Les Domaines de Sophie, 25 rue la Victoire. Madame Sophie cooks it all herself and all the Trip Adviser comments are in French so it’s a real local. We were going to check it out but ran out of time. We had another great conversation with a man at the neighbouring table (after Sophie’s husband left). He was an independent winemaker – bucking the tight French system. All very interesting.

Les Philosophes 28 rue du Temple was another local place we passed often on our walks. We finally got there on our second last day. Just for a quick meal in the evening. This is run by the person who is lobbying for strict rules about what restaurant can say about what is or isn’t cooked on the premises. Apparently lots of bistros just bring in food cooked elsewhere and just micro wave it on the premises. I don’t think the ones we went to did so – but who really knows. Anyway there was lots of stuff on the walls about this campaign – for fresh food, cooked on the spot! We had an American waitress so could talk about the ins and outs of the campaign with her.

We met the owner of La Boulangerie 15 rue des Panoyaux, when we were at Les Enfants Rouges. He gave us his card and so we came here for lunch. It’s near the big grave-yard so we dropped in here before visiting Oscar Wilde and others. Such a pretty facade. A small place, only downstairs was in use. We were each given a glass of champagne by mine host who was greeting all patrons at the bar inside the door. It was very beautiful inside. A wide mirror along the back wall. Locals all having the special of the day. Much discussion of the best wine – we took mine host’s advice and had a lovely red. The meal was good. I had duck, Joe the daily special – beef ribs. But the best dish was dessert – an exquisite pastry tart with slices of fresh orange and grapefruit. Delicious.

Our first meal of our holiday was here at Hall 1900 (Caffe Costadoro), 64 rue Rambuteau which was just down from our apartment at 20 rue Rambuteau. Near the Pompidou Centre. I was disappointed to be given the English menus after asking for a table. Realised later it was as much due to the time (6pm) as it was to my bad accent. I had snails but Joe had the best dish which was a veal stew. Fantastic smell, great taste. Long, slow cooking.

Our actual local was Le Bouledogne 20 rue Rambuteau where we only managed one meal. It wasn’t a very good time, so it’s not a true reflection of the place we think. We didn’t have a great meal there. But the place was lovely – all polished wood and mirrors. And the people were very nice . We would see the young men taking out the rubbish or having a smoke in our court yard from time to time. There was an actual bull dog tied up to the bottom of the stairs when we were there.

We had a great meal at Chez Omar. Another restaurant recommended by David Lebovotz. We joined Parisien families for a Sunday lunch of roasted lamb, steamed vegetables and cous cous. The ambience was terrific. Friendly waiters who were prompt and efficient. Comfort food on a cold Spring day in Paris.

We had basically the same meal again another Sunday at Mosques de Paris Place du Puits-l’Ermite. Except no red wine – hot tea instead. It was full of families – obviously a regular Sunday outing – all of us sitting under big umbrellas in a courtyard. All very colourful and cheerful. We needed the protection of the umbrellas midway through our meal when there was a violent, but thankfully short, burst of rain that turned to hail. We got to pick our dessert from this great tray of sweet things at the end.

If you want a Melbourne style coffee and cake, or full Melbourne breakfast while you are in Paris – and after a couple of weeks we were ready for both – you must go to Holyberry at 19 rue Lucien Sampaix. The woman chef and male barista both worked in Melbourne for a time. I think at St Ali but I’m not sure. Anyway the bacon and eggs were terrific and this is the only time I got a real long black in my stay here. Tiny place. Mostly tourists. But very good. Lovely people.Near the Canal St Martin.

For a very Parisienne breakfast or coffee and cake you can’t go past Cafe Laduree 75 Avenue des Champs Élysées. I loved the setting. One of the Salons about which I have read so much, where women acquired and used, political influence. I actually had eggs plastered with bearnaise sauce (never a good idea according to Bourdain and so it proved). But the macaroons, madeleines and miniature bundt cakes were great.

We went even more touristy when we visited Cafe Marly 93 rue de Rivoli just opposite the Louvre. But it was raining and we needed shelter. The tourist books all say the waiters here are snooty but they were nice to us. We had croissants and pastries and coffee. Beautiful place.

Another big tourist destination is Cafe Les Deux Magots 6 pl St-Germain-des-Pres. But here is where I had my second best long black. Actually it was a long short black. In delightful, very fine china cups. Anyway it was very nice. We should have had the eggs but I had fois gras and Joe had a salad. Surprisingly good all round.

Places we didn’t get to for lack of time, not lack of desire: Bones (highly recommended, Australian chef who has worked at Cumulus), David Toutain’s restaurant (had an exceptional meal of his at Brooks in Melbourne last year), Arpege (because I love Pei Modern).