Paris -- 2017 recommendations!

Hi WB!

I’ve read some old threads and tried to go through ParisByMouth and the smoldering remains of the Chowhound board, but Paris is such an overwhelming city food-wise and changes so much that I feel compelled to solicit new recommendations and discuss.

I’m staying Friday through Monday afternoon (as well as an orphaned Tuesday before our Wednesday morning-Friday morning Burgundy trip, which I’m planning to hit up A la Biche au Bois for dinner). That leaves a full weekend of food. I’m interested in booking a few dinners or lunches – enough to be able to pop in a bistro or cafe while walking the city and allow for spontaneity but have some great dinners.

I may be too late for the big *** places – we are going in mid-to-late March – I’m interested in L’Astrance or Le Cinq (or both?)… I’ve heard great things about Passage 53…

Basically, I’d like a classic French cuisine place and a nouveau French cuisine place at minimum. I’d love to see one that pulls out all the stops - rolling cheese cart(!) and waiters buzzing and a fantastic tasting menu. Favorite restaurants in NYC were Eleven Madison Park and Momofuku Ko if that helps.

Brasserie Julien.

I would also suggest reviewing the following sites 0

1, www.wendylyn.paris/ - Wendy Whitehurst knows all of the new and traditional hotspots in Paris. She also gives the best wine and food tours in the city.

2, Never forget Patricia Wells -www.patriciawells.com/

awesome! new sites! thank you :slight_smile:

Definitely looking for any recommendations as well. Been years since we’ve been to Paris, and heading there along with Burgundy and Lyon this summer.

We just did Lyon, burgundy and Paris ( as well as Alsace) last year. Definitely have some recommendations and some places we didn’t enjoy much.

i’m thinking one to two from this top list:
Guy Savoy lunch
Le Cinq
Passage 53
Taillevent
Le Meurice (Alain Ducasse)

others that caught my eye:
L’Ami Jean
La Frenchie
A la Biche au Bois
La Bourse et La Vie

still compiling wine bars… and Beaune/Burgundy recommendations.

EDIT: a non-emphasis on natural wine is preferred, as apparently this foul trend has taken hold in France.

I had a fantastic Sunday lunch at Epicure in the Hotel Bristol in December. And also I had another lunch at Ledoyen which is a beautiful setting. A very good dinner at Bourse et la Vie, but wouldn’t necessarily go back. Pottoka in the 7th is a hidden gem I’d recommend. I haven’t been to Taillevent in a couple years, but I went twice a year for several years - the service is second to none and the wine list has always been amazing. Frenchie has always been a good choice. l’Ami Jean was disappointing - we sat back by the kitchen and saw the wrath of the chef a few times and didn’t think the food was up to the hype. I know I’m in the minority on this but it is my second time there and both times were similar. Le Meurice was recently downgraded by Michelin I think.

We were also in Burgundy for three days and had a wonderful meal at Aupres du Clocher. Also Caveau des Arches was very good, but a little disappointed with Caves Madeleine.

This is a very good list. I’d add David Toutain. We had a marvelous dinner there last September, one of the best meals of the year, and will be there again tomorrow night for our one dinner in Paris on the way through own. I preferred Toutain over Passage 53, though that was lovely as well.

We were lucky enough to be invited to a dinner at L’Epicure at The Bristol last year. I was expecting something a bit stuffy and old fashioned in a heavy-old-school-French-sauces kind of way, but ended up being really blown away by all aspects of the meal. The cooking was exceptional and celebrated what is important about classic French cooking without succumbing to the pitfalls I had feared. We were in a private room, so I am not able to speak to the dining room experience; however, such care was taken with every detail that I expect it is simply the way things are done there, regardless of occasion.

On Sunday, you might consider Clown Bar. Sundays can be tough. Though they do have an emphasis on natural wine, we managed to find something drinkable and really enjoyed the food last time through town.

Look on other threads for suggestions from Mark Kaplan and Robert Dentice. Both are Paris experts and their palates can be trusted - though Robert has an unfortunate affinity for the natural wine thing.

you. i like you. even though you added to a list you were supposed to help me narrow down!

This thread caught my eye and I thought i’d hop on, as we’ll be in Paris next month. I had already booked David Toutain; Clown Bar is very helpful, as we are arriving on a Sunday.
Any recent feedback of La Tour D’Argent? It’s very close to where we will be staying. Thought about getting the duck for lunch and the winelist looks tempting. Is the list ridiculously expensive, though? The whole thing not worth it? We had not been to Paris in a while and we’ve been struck by the prices at the highest end places. Main courses over a 100E?!? Nothing like that even in NYC.
Thanks in advance!

duck needs to be ordered 3 days in advance now. Also my buddy ryan just had a crap experience there. Check out wine talk, there’s a thread about it now

The Salon at Per Se has multiple items that are $125+

There is recent feedback in the Tour d’Argent thread.

+1 for enjoying toutain > passage 53 (though both meals were enjoyable). We also really enjoyed yam’tcha.

Hopefully this isn’t too much drift but what about the best place(s) to go an drink a good bottle of wine preferably aged Burgundy or Bordeaux? Cognac or Armagnac is good also. I don’t want Michelin we have those all lined up. The focus is solely on the wine. Some food would be nice, bread cheese, charcuterie but preference goes to the best/oldest list.

Is there anything akin to a Bern’s list in Paris that is not attached to a Michelin starred restaurant?

George

George,
Others who post here probably know better, but the best I’ve found is 110 Taillevent, a spin-off or annex of Taillevent that offers 110 wines by the glass from their cellar. Many were quite serious and well-chosen (a couple of GC white Burgs, Sauzet and Leflaive, the latter was more shut down, 1er cru Bordeaux, and so on) . Others are Les Climats (lots of Burg, not very much bottle age) and Willi’'s Wine Bar. What Michelin places are you hitting, btw? (Can’t quite convince myself the 3stars are worth it, especially as along with my wife and I will be our 11 year old.)

George,

I’d be surprised if that place exists. While reading your post, three places came to mind. Les Climats for Burgundy. But very expensive and certainly the cellar is not mature like Bern’s. Le Griffonier. Expensive, but excellent food and wine. A good place for the old fashioned progression of white-BDX-Armagnac. The wine list doesn’t appear to be online. And L’Antre Amis, out in the 15th. Great selection of wine, again not particularly mature, but also great selection of Cognac and Armagnac. (Including Baron Gaston Legrand, a favorite of mine.) I’ll vouch that these opinions were valid last spring. And I’ll report back after April 2017, provided that is not too late.

Of course, you could always chance the food and drink at L’Amis Louis. No problem finding old Bordeaux there.

Thanks for the recommendations.
In terms of 3*** I prefer to do them for lunch. You still get the experience but don’t have to pay 300euro for a tasting menu. This trip we have reservations at Arpege and Pre Catelan. Will hit up Jin for Sushi and then probably just fill in with casual bistro fare… of course always Le Comptoir.

I have eaten at Les Climats. Anyone know if you can sit at there small bar without having a reservation in the dining room?

George

Looks like a very nice list. We did Guy Savoy for our 25th anniversary dinner. Absolutely a *** experience. Of the others, L’Ami Jean is a must stop when we go to Paris. We had a blast there. And La Bourse et La Vie was our very first meal in Paris. Their Pot au Feu was amazing.

This March we’re doing L’Ami Jean, Spring, Semilla, Ze Kitchen Galerie and Divellec. Other meals (lunches) will be Paris Random - wherever we are that day and time.