I don’t think Mokonuts is open for dinner. We did a private dinner and it was perfect. I am going back for lunch in a few weeks. We really loved Mokochaya as well.
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Re: Versailles
La Veranda, at the WA Trianon Palace was really excellent. Enjoyed it so much that I cancelled my meal at Gordon Ramsey (too many courses) and ate there twice while I was there.
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Here’s their cookie recipe
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Is anyone aware of a third party service, app or website that alerts you when reservations become available on “zenchef”? I’m trying to make reservations at a few Paris restaurants at the end of January, but they’re all waiting to be released.
This isn’t a gripe at the process, I just want to be done with the process of making reservations as compared to having to check back every few days.
I don’t know of a service but I routinely reach out to restaurants before the reservations go live and book the dates I want. It works for many with the exception of really hard reservations. And even some of those I am a regular so they book ahead for me.
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Pretty much every restaurant that offers online booking also indicates when their reservation window opens. Many are now three weeks out or two. Those I calendar to book when the windows open. Others, like Robert, I book by email, text, or phone. For a long trip, it can be a juggling act, but seems to always work out if you plan ahead and book the difficult reservations as soon as the windows open.
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Quick trip over Christmas. A lot of the usual favorites were closed but we of course ate well anyway (ok the food at Disneyland Paris wasn’t very good…but that was to be expected!). Got lucky with weather, it was cold (high about 40 every day) but the sun came out every day and it wasn’t very windy.
Le Villaret - first time long time (seriously this has been on my short list for a while but never made it). Very solid food, fairly straightforward. Had excellent lamb rack, a huge steak, and my sweetbreads were excellent. Wine list is mostly young but prices range from excellent to decent (50%-150% of US retail). I need to go back this summer to drink some of the white burgs….
Chimère - last minute google maps find when we decided our original plan was too boring, their IG site looked interesting. French with some pan-European vibes (I had a cuttlefish pasta) with solid cooking, my kids shared a perfectly cooked chicken dish, etc…. Short wine list but some good finds at about US retail A bunch of Les Horees. Open every day and centrally located, certainly a convenient option.
Le Grand Cafe - was jonesing for a fancier lunch, didn’t want Italian at Le George, this fit the bill. Meg at Paris By Mouth is a fan and I agree. Classic dishes, prices are a bit high but perfect execution, great service, beautiful room. We went for lunch after ice skating in the Grand Palais. Really a perfect day. The Comte soufflé with truffle was the best thing we ate this trip, no doubt. No idea how the wine list looks, apologies, though our glasses of champagne weren’t cheap.
Casa Pregona- Another Paris by Mouth new favorite - ended our trip with some Spanish food. Tight and lively room, food was very good, favorites were the mussels, razor clams, and pork, big selection of wines by the glass, I had a nice white from menorca and a stinky natural red.
One mention - we tried the Cedric Grollet pastries (the Is It Cake-style ones that look just like what they are - mango, hazelnut, etc) - they look cool for instagram certainly but otherwise don’t waste your money (and if you must, order in advance otherwise the line is an hour long). I would have been really pissed if I waited on the line.
A bientot…
Quick non-food related additions - Notre Dame is looking great, don’t worry about getting a reservation, the line moves very quickly, even on a Sunday afternoon it was maybe 15 minutes.
If anyone is in Paris with kids for the next few days, be sure to visit the Musee de Arts Forains in Bercy for their annual Festival, it’s the one time you get to actually go on the rides! Buy ticket sin advance for the earliest possible slot as it gets crowded. Ice skating in the Grand Palais was also super cool, again recommend getting in at the beginning of your time slot to avoid crowds.
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Plenitude is a 9 month waiting list. Is it really that good? Some Parisian chefs told me yes
I am a geek and this is good to hear. When I was there a couple years ago it felt like there was only Kawa (now Tanat) and Motors Coffee, and the tasting experience at Substance.
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I was shocked by this. I went to look to see about a reservation for our honeymoon in September and they were already booked out. I emailed and they put us on the wait list. Then I emailed our hotel concierge since sometimes they can have pull…same thing waitlist.
I booked a few weeks ago for July. I’ll let you know then! It doesn’t seem particularly “difficult” to book, you just need to email them waaay in advance.
I understand they also save some tables for close-in booking for guests at the Cheval Blanc.
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Quick trip to Paris. Trying to get 5-7 days of eating into 48 hours which is going to be difficult because I just had to move my flight earlier on Sunday to try to beat the storm.
Sensation - A new Chinese restaurant that a good friend whom I trust raved about. We only had a few things but I loved what we did have. It is hard to get food with any amount of heat in Paris. This does the trick. Surprisingly good wine list for a new restaurant.
Lunch #2 took us back to Mokonuts. This is the type of meal that Paris does so well. Very simple menu with 2 starters and 3 mains. Everything perfect in its simplicity. Excellent dessert. Don’t sleep on the cookies.
We then hit Caves Legrand for a late afternoon Burgundy reset.
We absolutely love Esu Lee’s cooking. On our last trip in November we returned to JIP for our second meal and always loved his cooking at CAM. We sadly missed his new restaurant Orson on our last trip as it just opened. Orson was the first reservation I made for this trip. And it did not disappoint. Incredible meal with unique combinations of flavors. Chef Lee gave us a tour of the innovative wood burning stove oriented cooking kitchen. Because it is a small space they have a wall of water running behind the stove at all times to ensure there are no safety issues. The food was wonderful. We loved all of the mains that were cooked over flame. Chef sent out the Waygu dish and it was cooked to perfection. It had subtle smoke flavors but was not overcooked or dry from the flames which I too often find in open flame cooking. The brill fish was incredible. We can’t wait to return!
Busy day today hitting Cypsele for lunch and EME for dinner with stops at La Tour D’Argent and Les Enfants du Marche!
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Thanks Robert, and how was the wine list?
Small to medium size. Pretty good for my tastes. We had a Chantereves Premier Cru for around 150 euro and a Yann Bertrand for around 50. Both were clean as a whistle and went beautifully with the food.
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The great chef Shinichi Sato (formerly of Passage 53) and now owner/chef of Maison Blanc, is doing a lunch with Selosse. I’m recovering from surgery or would go in a heartbeat. Pardon the translation.
Thursday, February 19, 2026 - Limited places
Revolutionary Champagne House, contrary to the codes of its name
A unique and frozen lunch, exclusive outings of the domain in the presence of Guillaume Selosse
Accord — 6 exceptional cuvées:
Champagne Jacques Selosse Rosé Non-Vintage
Champagne Jacques Selosse Les Carelles Blanc de Blancs-Mesnil-sur-Oger
Champagne Jacques Selosse Chemins de Châlons Blanc de Blancs - Cramant
Champagne Guillaume S. Above the Gros Mont Blanc de Blancs - Cramant
Champagne Jacques Selosse Vintage 2013
Corinne Selosse Liqueur Wine - The Other Same
Lunch and Wines included 550€
Book on our website or send us an email to info@blanc-paris.com
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What a double header in Paris - Cypsele and EME!!!
We very excited to go to lunch at Cypsele. Young Chef Marcin Król was formerly CDC at Maison Sota, has worked at Noma and La Chateaubriand amongst others. Our meal was outstanding. Chef plans to continue to change the menu daily. We will definitely return on our next trip.
Cypsele is an ideal location for a quick stop at La Tour D’Argent for a lovely bottle and some post lunch cheese. The cheese on this particular visit was just stunning.
Dinner was our second visit to EME which was the highlight of our November trip. Once again an all around mind-blowing meal. Chef prepared several new dishes for us. The wine list was slightly expanded from our last visit and to my great surprise has a nice German selection of my favorite producers - Carsten Saalwachter / Julien Renard / Dennis Wolf. I can’t recommend this restaurant more highly.
There has been a lot of change in the Paris restaurant scene, like most cities in the current environment. However we have hit four new restaurants on this trip Sensation / Orson / Cypsele and EME and all are truly outstanding.
We finished the night off with a visit to Tarantula and after closing that spot hit up Fréquence!
Todays flight was cancelled due to the storm so we are off to Les Enfants du Marche …
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I’ll be hitting EME on my March trip, and now sounds like I will have to figure out how to include Cypsele as well.
Cypsele is open for lunch. I think you would like it.
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We ate there a couple of weeks ago.
It was good, but I am burnt out on seven/eight/nine course meals, so my bias is out there.
The table next to us, a group of Americans, asked the waiter to tell the chef to “hurry it up”.
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I hear that. But my personal I’m over it as far as restaurants go is “everything is designed to be shared,” especially when the whole menu, or practically, is made up of small plates. Sorry, I don’t want three strands of pasta or half a scallop. Yeah, mostly that’s only good for the kitchen, which now doesn’t have to worry about the timing of anything.
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