Yet Another Paris Restaurant Advice Post

Scott Kraft

Scott Kraft
Carson and I will be in Paris in a week. I'm only now getting around to restaurants.

Any advice on places we can actually get into on short notice? Looking for variety - hipster, traditional, asian, etc.

Thanks!
 
Bistro Paul Bert, Semilla (open on Sundays), Willi's. Give Septime a try and see if they have a cancellation.

I had good meals at all of these just last month.

Paris By Mouth is a great resource/website.
 
- Clown Bar
- Le Servan
- Bistro Bellet
- Miznon
- Au Passage

WINE BARS
- La Buvette (rue saint maur)
- Le Vin au Vert (shit-tons of Ganevat, retail +7 corkage)
- Repaire de Cartouche (terrine bar)
- La Pointe du Grouin

SANDWICHES
- Chez Aline

ASIAN
- Kunitoraya
- Les Trois Royaumes
- Naritake

...and of course LE MARY CELESTE !
 
Josh clearly knows what he is talking about.

Josh - I will stop by later this week and next. You have no idea how many people I have sent your way who will be in town for Fashion Week.

Here is my list:

Some new places of note - David Toutain, Clown Bar (open all day), Le Servan and Les Enfants Rouge in the Marais which has a new Chef/Owner (small and reservations are required).

Lunch

Bistro Paul Bert (11th) - Classic French cuisine. Great pre-fixe lunch special and good natural wine list with a few older wines. RECOMMENDED

Clamato (11th) - Chef Bertrand Grébaut and Théo Pourriat no reservations seafood tapas bar. Next door to sister restaurant Septime. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Clown Bar (11th) - Open 7:00 am to 10:30 Wednesday - Sunday. Saturne owners recently purchased and restored the historic Clown Bar. I think Pierre Jancou is also involved.

David Toutain (7th) - Former Chef of Agapé Substance. Recently opened. Hearing very, very good things. The first reservation I made for MFW.

Frenchie To Go (2nd) - Open seven days a week, 8 am to 4 pm.

L’Epicure BREIZH Cafe (3rd) - Well-sourced products plus unlikely Japanese touches put Breizh Café head and shoulders above most crêperies. Excellent Ciders and Champagne. Also great mustard and butters (Seaweed Butter is amazing).

Ô Divin (19th) - Open Tuesday through Friday for lunch (18). Chef Mathieu has serious culinary chops from working at Chateaubriand, NOMA, Papilles Insolites, Benjamin Toursel & Michel*Bras. Lunch Tuesday through Friday. Dinner Monday through Saturday.

Septime (11th) - One of the best meals in Paris. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Yam’Tcha (1st) - Small husband and wife team. Adeline Grattard is the Chef and trained under my favorite three star Michelin Chef Pascal Barbot. The Husband is a tea master. The tea pairings are extraordinary. Very small and hard to get a reservation, lunch is much easier. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Take Out / Fast Food:

Best Fallafel L’As du Fallafel (4th)

Candelaria (3rd) - Just in case you are looking for a Taco in Paris. They also have a very good cocktail lounge at night.

Frenchie To Go (2nd) - Open seven days a week, 8 am to 4 pm.

Epicerie Verre Volé (11th) - small gourmet food store from the Le Verre Volé team.

Nanashi (3rd and 10th) - I put Nanashi here because the food is just ok but is good if you need a fast meal or take out.

Dinner:

Bones (11th) - Relatively new place that is doing fantastic things. Chef James Henry was formally at Au Passage. Set menu. RECOMMENDED

Come A Casa (11th) - Very small Italian restaurant with a tiny menu that changes daily.

Clamato (11th) - Chef Bertrand Grébaut and Théo Pourriat no reservations seafood tapas bar. Next door to sister restaurant Septime. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

David Toutain - Recently opened. Hearing very, very good things. The first reservation I made for my next trip.

Frenchie (2nd) - Chef Gregory Marchand. Extremely difficult reservation.

L’Avant Comptoir (6th) - Too heavy on meat for my pescetarian tastes. But clearly an important place in the culinary history of Paris.

Le Baratin (20th) - This is where the whole Natural Wine scene started and where all of the chefs go to eat. *You have to ask for specific wines by name and things start to magically appear. I am a huge fan but service can be prickly until you break the ice.

Le Chateaubriand (11th) - I love Inaki’s food. Consistently one of my favorites. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Le Dauphin (11th) - Next to Le Chateaubriand. No set menu and more fish centric. Designed by Rem Koolhaus RECOMMENDED

La Table d’ Aki (7th) - Small intimate place where the Chef does almost everything.

Le 6 Paul Bert (11th) - New restaurant from Bertrand Auboyneau. Small plates.

Les Enfant Rouge - Also heard very good things from a friend who is a food writer who eats there twice a week.*Chef used to work at L'Avant Comptoir

Le Mary Celeste (3rd) - Fun overall place with very good cocktails, natural wine, light food and great music. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Le Servan (11th) - New restaurant with a chef who has worked at both L’Arpege and L’Astrance. Hearing very good things about this place.

L’ Verre Vole (10th) - Wonderful overall place. Another pioneer in Natural wine. They change chefs quite often so there is some variability in the food. Worth going.

Roseval (20th) - The young team members have formerly worked at places such as Rino and Le Chateaubriand. One of my favorite new places in Paris and a great value. (Update: the original chefs have recently left and one of the waiters purchased the restaurant so not sure if it is as good as it was late last 2013)

Septime (11th) - One of my favorite meals in Paris for either lunch or dinner. Closed Saturday and Sunday. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Spring (1st) - Highly acclaimed American Chef Daniel Rose. Pricey. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Vivant (10th) - The legend Pierre Jancou started another great spot and sold it again to the owners of Racines. I have not been since the change in ownership.

Yam’Tcha - Small husband and wife team. Adeline Grattard is the Chef and trained under my favorite three star Michelin Chef Pascal Barbot. The Husband is a tea master. The tea pairings are extraordinary. Very small and hard to get a reservation, lunch is much easier. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Verjus (1st)

Open Sunday:

Clamato (11th) - Excellent seafood oriented casual spot from the Septime crew. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Le Chapeau Melon - Owner was formerly involved with Le Baratin. Very small homey place. A decent option for Sunday. Very good natural wine list.

Les Enfant Rouge - Heard very good things from a friend who is a food writer who eats there twice a week.*Chef used to work at L'Avant Comptoir

L’ Verre Volé - Wonderful overall place. Another pioneer in Natural wine. They change chefs quite often so there is some variability in the food. Worth going.

Wine Bars:

Aux Deux Amis (11th) - Across the street from the Le Verre Vole wine bar and around the corner from the Le Verre Volé Epicere

Buvette (9th)

Café de la Nouvelle Marie

Frenchie Bar à Vins (2nd)

Le Cave (11th) - Le Chateaubriands wine shop and winebar.

Le Garde Robe (17th) -

Septime Cave (11th)

Quedubon (19th) - Wine bare/Bistro

Touller Outillage (11th)

Verjus Bar à Vin (1st) - Small plates. Closed Saturday and Sunday.

Vivant Wine Bar (10th)

Wine Stores:

Cave Augé (8th) - Best wine store in Paris for serious wine geeks. They can sometimes seem like they have an attitude although I have never encountered this.

Caves des Papilles (14th)

Crus et Decouvertes (11th)

Le Verre Volé La Cave (10th) - Small messy selection of Natural wines not as great as you would expect from the Verre Volé crew but still many great things to drinks and some very good values.

Cocktails:

Experimental Cocktail (2nd) - Sometimes hard to get in. I prefer to go on quiet nights.

Candelaria (3rd) - Just in case you are looking for a Taco in Paris. They also have a very good cocktail lounge at night
Le Mary Celeste (3rd) - (surprisingly good food and great wine selection)

Sherry Butt (4th) - New place. I have not been yet.

Coffee / Tea:

Boots (3rd)

Coutume (7th)

Fragments (3rd)

Foundation Café (3rd)

Ten Belles (10th ) - This is routinely mentioned as the best coffee in Paris.

Other Food Recommendations:

Cheese - Fromagerie Trotté (4th) - My favorite cheese store. Located close to the Marais.

Market - Le Marché des Enfants Rouge Market (3rd) - Decent market in the Marais.

Market - Marche Raspail (6th) - Largest organic Biodynamic market in France (only on Sunday for full Biodynamic). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Izraël Spice Store (4th) - Middle Eastern spice specialists.

La Tête dans les Olives - Amazing oliver oil store that also takes reservations for a 5 person table where the will create a unique meal for you (latable@latetedanslesolives.com.)

Pousse Pousse (9th) - Raw food and juice.

Tea - Hediard (8th)

Tea - Jugetsudo (6th) - Japanese tea store and salon.

Additional Information Resources:






 
Dude.

Brother Dentice brings the good word. I was just about to type that our much beloved Josh Fontaine had brought the great, as expected (yay, Le Vin au Vert! my former little under-the-radar 'hood place), but there is probably well enough for you here, now.

I still disagree about Le Chateaubriand, which has never been my cuppa, but hunt and peck around and you will have well enough to satisfy your needs.
 
originally posted by Robert Dentice:
originally posted by Scott Kraft:
Awesome, Robert. I am overwhelmed. We will have fun!!

When will you be there? I hear the weather is great!

I am in Paris 6/26 through 7/3.

Hey, I'll just be a Eurostar away (provided that this plane ever gets off the ground)

Mark Lipton
 
I was at Bistro Bellet last Tuesday evening. Lovely room, excellent food, and Nicolas Lacaze has put together a nice list. A 2012 Hervé Souhaut gamay,from l'Ardèche, was very fairly priced, as was everything. Three of us ate and drank like kings and got out for a little over 100 euros. And don't pay attention to the remarks about the "dodgy" neighborhood; it's just that there aren't any tourists (except those, like us, headed for the restaurant).
 
I'm only seconding Robert here, as we were following his recommendations, but last Christmas week Septime really is great, as was Breizh, L'As du Fallafel, and of course Verre Vole.

Really great staff at Septime. We were back a couple of times and they were really friendly, and great to talk wine with.
 
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