Passage 53 for lunch on Saturday. I wrote about it somewhere here last fall. Memorable, thought-provoking food.
I highly recommend John Talbott’s blog. If you simply focused on his top 10 list you would leave Paris very happy and probably spend fewer Euros.
You may find many of his recommendations closed in August as the chef/owners take their annual vacations.
Have a great time!
Here’s an email I just received from Don Cornutt:
Today Pam and I went to a small bistrot in the 5th. Les Papilles. The food is extravagant for 33 euro all in. The most amazing cellariac soup I have ever tasted laced with lardons! I had some 2009 Foillard Morgon Cote du Py which I SWEAR is much better than the Kermit stuff I bought.
Fresher. Richer. The nose is more complex. Amazing stuff for 30 euro plus a 7 euro “droit du buchon”. They serve it at about 50 degrees which is perfect for Beaujolais.
Great meal.
Now for some sleep. HIGHLY recommend Les Papilles on Rue Gay Lussac for a meal anytime you are in Paris.
My favorites…
Astrance - Three star Michelin restaurant and one of the best restaurants in the world.
Le Baratin - Very good food and lots of great wines but you have to know how to ask about for them.
Le Chateaubriand - I love it and have eaten here several times.
Le Verre Vole - Casual natural wine bar. Current chef used to work at Veritas and the food has improved greatly.
Spring - As others have said excellent food. Reminds me of Ko.
Vivant - Former owner of Racines. Only open Monday - Friday
Rose Bakery - for a morning or lunch snack.
A few others I have not made it to that I hear are very good.
Frenchie
Septime
Le Comptoir
Another good site for Paris food and wine info:
I loved Les Papilles. Fabulous stuff. This is on my A list for bistrots in Paris.
I had lunch at Violon d’Ingres today. It was very good.
Tonight dinner at Fish. Even better than the past. This is an A+ kind of bistrot to me. First class wine list and great food. Again, highly recommended.
FWIW.
BTW, went to Le Comptoir tonight. Sat down and it was a ZOO. Ended up leaving. It was just too unorganized. They don’t take reservations on the weekend. Difficult situation. Looked to be pretty good however.
Spring has an amazingly long wait as does Frenchie. Book well in advance!
the easy answer is www.patriciawells.com and click on paris restaurants both high end and bistro. PAtricia has one the best palates in France, was the the IHT restaurant critic and makes wine in Provence/
Trust anything she says and you can always go to robert parker and read his recs as well
Le Chateaubriand — wife and I love this place; ask the sommelier for wine suggestion(s) and you will be steered in a good direction; I understand what some people are saying about “hit and miss” with this place, but that’s the price I think you have to pay to experience the unusual/revelatory astonishing hits — fwiw, I think even the "miss"es are at least “good.” The “hits” are absolutely stunning, and you are guaranteed to have at least 3 of them throughout your meal.
Le Dauphin — same owner as Le Chateaubriand; not as adventurous or fun as Le Chateaubriand, but quite good; not as good a value as Le Chateaubriand; wine list is bad; tapas style
Le Petit Bordelais — a bit pricey, but very good; traditional French food; good wine list.
Ze Kitchen Gallerie — very good; a hot spot nowadays; excellent wine list.
Le Chateaubriand is indeed great to eat, the assorted wines are particular, not everyone will like it I think but it absolutely matches the kitchen. Alternative to Le Chateaubriand I would recommend La gazzetta (Petter Nilsson) which is fairly similar in style (both food and setting) to Le chateaubriand and it is easier to make a reservation. Often you can even still eat at the bar.
Funny, I ate at Fish on Sunday night after walking over to Le Comptoir and seeing the crazy line of people waiting outside. I ate at the bar and thought the food was excellent. Didn’t see the bottle list but good BTG options - Foillard Cote du Py, Charvin CdP. The only downside is it’s owned/run by UK expats so if you want a typically “French” experience it won’t be totally authentic, if you care about that. But for me it was nice to be able to speak English and not feel slightly embarrassed. Plus the service was probably less rude than typical parisian bistrot service.
Ate at L’Ami Jean the night before which was also very good. Portions were massive, I probably ate about half the food they brought me (the rice pudding would have been enough for at least 4 people, I shared with the table next to me), and everything was delicious.
Thanks to all! Very helpful.
Sarah,
You should be able to get a decent feed at one of the following places.
Best Regards
Jeremy
Le Chateaubriand: Modern, some hits, many misses, great value for money food and quite an experience. Wine list is an over-priced homage to all things natural.
La Cagouiolle: Simply the best seafood in Paris for mine. A bit of a hike out to the back blocks of the 14th, not fancy. Great white Burg list.
Le Severo: Authentic, meat lovers joint. Very small, somewhat off the radar, very good list of red Burgs and Rhone’s.
L’Ourcine: Very good modern Bistro.
Cinq Mars: Quaint little locals Bistro with very good food.
Chez Georges: They’ll jam you in like sardines and feed you some seriously good food here. The offal is very good and the wine list is big on red Burgundy and Bordeaux.
La Regalade: Have not been to the original for a couple of years but I still hear good things. The new La Regalade St Honore is supposed to be quite good.
L’Ami Jean: Fabulous! Big servings of brilliant food (the rice pudding is to die for), just ok list but you’ll find something to drink.
Mon Vieil Ami: tends to get mixed reviews but we love the place. I had a splendid grouse here a few years back and the vegetables are excellent. It has a pretty good wine list as well.
Le Comptoir: Probably best to do lunch here. Line up at 11:50 and you should be able to snag a table. The food is very good and priced fairly.
Chez La Vieille Adrienne: Fabulous service, warm and homely with robust Corsican cooking.
Bofinger: part of the Flo group but a nice dining experience. Seafood is pretty decent and the dining room has real character with all its Belle époque charm.
Les Papilles: Fabulous place with full flavoured cooking and a very good selection of wines at reasonable prices. Excellent value for money.
La Maison de L’Aubrac: Excellent meats and a very good wine list.
Allard: Expensive but it is what it is. I had one of the very best roast chickens of my life here. ‘Old school’ Parisian bistro with character.
Josephine Chez Dumonet: Massive servings of all the Bistro classics. Service can be a little haphazard. There are some gems on the list if you like old Bordeaux and Sauternes.
Violon d’ Ingres: Christian Constant’s flagship restaurant that is a joy to eat at. Service is well drilled and cooking of the highest quality. It is decidedly French food with a modern twist.
Pierre Gagnaire: Cutting edge, thought provoking and well worth a visit.
L’Astrance: Fabulous, inventive food.
Carre des Feuillants: Excellent food of a 3 star quality for mine. The wine list is very good with some hidden, well priced gems.
L’Atelier du Joel Robuchon: Still a great experience. Service can be pushed through a little quickly, ask them to pace the meal for you.
Le Cinq: Could just be about the best top end food in Paris at the moment. Service is faultless.
Ate at L’Ami Jean and Josephine Chez Dumonet this past April with my wife and young children. Both were excellent. LAJ was more of the cutting edge and JCD was very, very old school (best duck confit ever). JCD is very heavy, but delicious.
Corey,
Did you have the pigeon? To me, that dish was better than Fabienne’s (which she has locally raised for her) at Ma Cuisine. Only better I have had in France was from Le Cep in Fleurie. Absolutely stunning dish. Legs/thighs too and not breast. One of the best bistrot/bistroy/bistro dishes I have ever tasted. I like the folks at Fish. The owner is a New Zealand ex pat and also owns the place across the street. His son runs the bar/restaurant and some of the others are family in ways. Very friendly folks. (But I could say that about Les Papilles and they are all from France or North African transplants.) The wine list is well chosen and focuses on Languedoc/Rhone/Loire/Jura. Their Beaujolais selection is especially well chosen. The 09 Foillard Cote du Py is magnificent. I really like this place as you can see.
Jeremy,
That is a damn good list!
Don, I did have the pigeon, and it was excellent. Perfectly cooked, very tricky I would think to get the cooking time dead-on with a small bird like that, and a delicious sauce. Ate it with a glass of the 09 Foillard Cote du Py, which was decent but didn’t leave up to the hype for me.
Jeremy - thanks for validating my view of Chateaubriand.
And you must get to l’Arpege next time.
Yaacov,
Have been meaning to dine at Arpege for some time now, hope to make it there next year.
Best Regards
Jeremy
My two cents:
l’ami Jean - Thanks to Yaacov for this rec to me (I’m sure he wasn’t the only one). A blast of a time, and great fun. If you don’t want to chat with your neighbors, then it isn’t for you. I enjoyed that, didn’t care it was mostly Americans, it was great food, giant portions, great prices,and a 30 euro bottle of wine that was good enough to keep me happy. Best place for dinner.
Le Cinq - thanks to this board , I had one of the best lunches of my life there, and my vegetarian wife had even a better meal (100% off the menu).
La Cagouille - good, but not great. I think I didn’t order well, had the prix fixe plus extra shellfish. I’d give it another try but at this point, would rather go to L’ami Jean twice then go to La Cagouille. However, it is open on a Sunday, a big plus. I’d order a la carte next time. (PS for my pocketbook, the Loire whites were the sweet spot on the menu, but they do have plenty of trophies if that is your bent).
And one of my favorite lunches - L’as du fallafel on Rue des Rosiers. Best fallafel in Paris if not the world. Bring it a few blocks away to the Places des Voges to eat in a historic and lovely park.
Anything Paris is delicious!
Seriously, I could not find bad food if I wanted to in Paris.
Great, great place for fallafel. Hard to navigate and find in that part of Marais, but worth it for the fallafel.