Me neither and I still haven’t. Every time I checked it was not available until of course there were no more seats. We’re staying down the street so will stop by in person like we have done in the past but just for lunch.
Absolutely stunning meal in Paris with some friends at L’Epicure at the Bristol. It is “tres cher” but singular. The langoustine dish was worth the price of admission even excluding his greatest hits which were also on our 10 course menu. They made a birthday sign for me out of solid sugar. Amazing. It looks like plexiglas. Great service and a wine list that is expensive but very good. A bottle of 2011 Cecille Tremblay Chapelle-Chambertin was stunning and went well with the Brest chicken cooked in a bladder.
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Now you’ve gone too far, Don. Epicure is our new favorite restaurant in France. For us, it is what Taillevent, under the direction of M. Vrinat, used to be. Great service, friendly if desired or formal if not, amazing food, and a great wine list in a beautiful setting. This morning we just discussed spending an extra night on our next trip to Paris just to go to Epicure.
favorite in Paris, yes, but Troisgros and Crayeres (Reims) are right there, Troisgros probably better. The Bresse chicken “en vessie” is a Paul Bocuse dish they do at Epicure. But you don’t get the rest of the bird! Only a slice of breast. I wanted more! More breast. Thighs. Even wings.
We’ve eaten at les Crayeres 5 times, and the last time, before the current chef I think, was too much of everything and just not that great. I’ll go with your recent opinion of it, Alan. Troisgros has also been a favorite of ours, but I prefer the classic style of Epicure if I had to choose just one night’s dinner.
First stop Les Enfants du Marche - Really like the new chef.
Then drinks and snacks with a lovely band playing in the Bar:
Followed by dinner at Restaurant A.T
Followed by a late, late night at Bambino
That is all for day one…
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I’ll have to follow Robert on Instagram just to be in the right place and time for that magical serendipity! (Although I’m a lightweight, couldn’t keep up with any of you)
Saturday:
We had lunch at Acte Deux, the new spot from Chef Masa, formerly of Les Enfants du Marche, our 2nd meal here and it was excellent. Beautiful view of Paris from the 5th floor.
Dinner was at Le Chateaubriand, we try to go every 4th or 5th trip because we have such fond memories here. We were able to say hello to Chef Inaki but just about every other person was new, a similar theme in most restaurants in Paris. Our meal was ok but it just was nowhere near the level or our best meals here.
Sunday:
Lunch at Clamato. Their gas was off so they could only do the non cooked dishes. Everything was very good and I can’t say I missed the hot dishes.
We headed over to Cave Septime and met some friends followed by a return to Hotel Crillon and we never made it to dinner…
Monday:
We had another excellent lunch at Septime.
Dinner was at Vantre, they have a new Chef who used to work at Clown Bar and the food was excellent.
One more meal to go…lunch at Clown Bar. Chef is going to prepare a special tasting menu for us!
I’ve had quite a bit of wine at Cave Septime, so I’m guessing that DRC / Echezeaux was from one of your other stops… because Cave Septime was stocked to the gills with natty wine when I used to go there. In fairness, the staff (and Michel Abood) managed to pick great bottles, but there was 0 DRC on the list 
Enjoy Clown Bar - I miss going there with my daughter, who loved the giant, fluffy dog they used to let wander around the restaurant.
Sorry it was not clear that the bottles were from Hotel Crillon. There are still a lot of good wines at Cave Septime but like many other places we noticed the selection is not what it once was. I think overall it is a combination of not buying during the pandemic, recent vintages with less quantity and lots of tourists drinking!
Lunch at Clown Bar:
Glad to hear the new chef at Clown Bar is doing well, I might stop in with the family when we’re in Paris in 3 weeks. We were thinking of trying Acte Deux as well, but it doesn’t look like they have outdoor tables, which is a must for us due to COVID concerns (wife and kid haven’t gotten it yet, we’d like to keep it that way - I had it in early March in Europe). Sad to hear about Chateaubriand, I have fond memories of many deliciously fun dinners there and at Le Dauphin.
My 7 year old is demanding we go to Enfants du Marche and Paul Bert, how can I say no?
Acte Deux - They ONLY have outdoor tables as it is on a rooftop. There is a part of it that is under an awning but it is outside with no walls so extremely airy. Go for lunch on Saturday if you can, the only day they are open for lunch.
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Good to know, thanks!
Any other recommendations for the left bank? We are staying at relais Christine. Le comptoir is quite close and Cagouille isn’t far either. It does seem like the 3rd is the center of food from notes here but can’t find anywhere as nice to stay.
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I stay in the 3rd and walk or take the Metro everywhere. Stay where you want, play where you want. They don’t have to be the same.
That said, we had a very nice meal at Hugo & Co. which is walking distance from Comptoir, so can’t be that far from you.
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Finished our 5 day 50th birthday trip for my wife with some great culinary moments.
In chronological order:
Huitrerie Régis - Wonderful little place with fantastic oysters and an small but okay wine list. Lovely quality, saline and crunchy. Even the medium oysters were almost too big and we struggled to finish two dozen between the two of us whereas we are usually good for 18-20 each as a meal. Still seeing as it was lunch and where we were going for dinner that was fine. A 2016 Arnaud Lambert Clos David Brézé was a great match, the best glass was the last.
Dinner at Arpège - This had the highest highs but also the lowest low of the whole trip. The egg was the egg. stunning in its simplicity and taste. Corgette slices salted and compressed as sushi over phenomenal sushi rice was otherworldly. The star of the night though was roasted root vegetables from last season in roasted grape sauce. They had to work for weeks to create the sauce I was told as it kept splitting until they used clarified butter. It was top three plates of food I’ve had in my life. Now the lows. Lemon Verbena is for soap, not for consumption. It was apparently very good that day because it was laced through everything. In some cases it was a discordant note in an otherwise great dish but in one case, of a cucumber and lemon verbena gazpacho with mustard ice cream it was nearly inedible. I could understand intellectually what they were trying to do but it was atrocious. We had a bottle of the 2018 rendition of Guillaume Selosse ‘Au Dessus de Gros Mont’. It was the equal of any champagne I’ve ever had and I’ll speak of it in the same breath as an 1985 Charlie, Jacques Selosse Substance or Lieux-dits, and easily surpasses any regular vintage Krug or DP I"ve ever had.
Friday lunch at David Toutain - Lower highs but higher lows and much more inventive than Arpège. We did the 10 course lunch. A cauliflower with a creamy sheeps cheese, coconut and white chocolate amuse was revelatory. Everything was discordant but the whole was perfectly in tune. White asparagus in a blackcurrant velote with a salty and not sweet peanut ice cream was also fantastic. The Eel and back sesame is apparently a well known dish and for good reason (though I am partial to grilled eel). We paired the lunch with a 2014 Cedric Bouchard Borelee which was lovely but dimmed against the memory of the Selosse the night before.
Dinner at Parcelles - I had the sweetbreads as I’m always a sucker and they were lovely as a fall dish but it was nearly 100f outside that day. Wrong choice though lovely. My wife had a panfried gnocchi with fresh cheese, spring peas, corgette and basil oil. It was lovely. Paired with a 2014 Leflaive Meursault Sous le Dos d’Ane which was lovely but almost still closed and the last class an hour and a bit in was significantly better than the first.
Saturday and Sunday lunch was had on our rooftop deck after a trip to the food halls in Gallerie Lafeyette. Iberico ham, fresh baguette, Bordier butter and some fresh wild strawberries.
Sunday dinner was at le Coq & fils - Had a full roast Bresse chicken, some frites and a bottle of 2015 Clos Rougeard which for the price I couldn’t turn away from. It was surprisingly open and you could crawl into the glass for the nose. Heavenly, very fruit forward and not a whiff of any barnyard or brett. The chicken was very nice but not mind altering (which I was hoping for having never had Bresse chicken) but it was still a lovely night.
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Has anyone been to Chez Dumonet recently? Last mention on this board was 8 years ago. Shows up on Lebovitz, etc, and is near our hotel. Looks decadent, though also wondering if this and Le Bon Georges for 2 out of 4 dinners would be bistro overkill.
Ethan - there are a lot of good recent options in this thread from people who regularly go to Paris. I have been several times in the last 12 months and I am very dialed into the food scene. What are you looking for that you are not seeing in many of the recent write ups? Happy to try to help. Like any City things change all the time so I would rely more on current recommendations.
More like the 10th and 11th. And as Sarah said its not that difficult to get anywhere in Paris.
So Clown Bar had outdoor tables?
I’m going to meet a friend for a couple nights, so looking for outdoor options per his requirements.
I’ll check out Acte Deux.
Also, L’Ecallier du Bistro is a casual seafood place that I suggested; he said it had outdoor tables.
Any others? I’ve never been drawn to Paul Bert (I’m not much of a meat eater) but interested in other suggestions. Especially if they take reservations.