Maison Sota or Restaurant AT are two personal favorites.
Get on the website at 10am sharp, Paris time three weeks prior to your planned date. Tables go fast and there is a step that requires you to put in your phone number, including a drop down menu with the country code. I found that step took just long enough that my first couple of tries were unsuccessful (the system does not hold available tables while you are putting in your details). If you get on a few minutes early and try to look for a table or waitlist, you can navigate the phone number step and it should be saved. That when you are actually trying to book at 10am, for your desired date, it goes more quickly, increasing your chances.
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Thanks Robert. It seems Sota cooks more french centered? Will maybe approach them for their list and see if there’s something good. And then a lunch at enfants du marche or clown, then i think we’re there…
Any tips on good cavistes?
Thanks Todd! I will give that a go when we approach the travelling dates and see if im lucky.
Did you go, and if so how did you find it?
I posted about it upthread. My comments about Septime:
Septime - best meal of the trip, for us. Every course was at least outstanding. The amuse, which was a brioche bun with Comte “cream” was incredibly light and refreshing, completely unexpected. The meal was vegetable-centric and the vegetable courses were, by and large, the stand-outs for us. We did go with the wine pairing. The wine list is almost exclusively devoted to natural wine and I didn’t recognize more than a couple of names. For the most part, the wines were decent, with nothing that was outstanding (though a vin Jaune style Savagnin from the Jura was delicious). It feels to me as if the wine is very much secondary to the “story” among the natural wine true believers- “This Jurançon was made by a pharmacist who had never set foot in a vineyard before deciding to give up her career an buy a small plot of Petite and Gros Manseng”. One of the wines we were served, I believe qualifies for the natural wine grand slam- from Georgia (“wine was made in Georgia for centuries before the French ever discovered wine. This is from the true birthplace of winemaking.”) and comprised of a field blend of three white and one red grape, co-fermented with skin contact in buried amphorae. It ticked all the boxes. And it tasted exactly how you would predict it would. Not for me. Ok, rant over. Our meal at Septime was sublime. I am sure we will return, and next time, I think I will order a Champagne off the list (they have bottles from both Lassaigne and Vouette et Sorbée on the list) and skip the whole pairing thing.
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Am here for several weeks and happened across a nice little lacave. Pepites-LaCave.
They are a couple doors down from Semilla.
Interesting selections from across Europe.
Standing room at the bar upstairs.
The downstairs has a great vibe-albeit small.
Several 2-tops and a couple of couches with tables.
Reserve online after 7:00 as it fills up quickly.
We just returned from 9 days in Paris. We stayed in a 2 br VRBO 50 yards north of the Pompidou. The place and the location were excellent. We had great meals at Miznon, Clown Bar, and Le Mazenay(don’t miss the dauphine potatos). Maison Sota had some good courses and a few not so good ones.
There was a very small seafood place on Rue Rambuteau called P’tit Mousse that was very good.
Neighborhood bistros were all very good. Sancerre on Rue des Archives made great steak tartar . Cafe Hugo at Place de Vosges was also good. Poppy at 10 rueCoqillere near L’Orangerie made wonderful confit of duck leg. Breizh had excellent crepes and was the only place that automaticaly asked for a tip when using a credit card.Belle Epoque near Place Vendome was a good old fashioned bistro.
I would go back to Paris anytime. It was a wonderful trip.
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Doing 6 days in paris later this month and have all the dinners booked/planned out (this thread was a great resource), but was curious if there are any recommendations for where to get decent coffee?
It’s a great question. I’m a cold brew with almond milk person and almost always find it challenging to get something good in Europe. But I would think a latte or more traditional coffee wouldn’t be a problem. Looking forward to reading the responses.
Here are a few to get you started:
Coutume
O Bla Di
Terres de Cafe
https://www.terresdecafe.com/en/content/70-nos-boutiques
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Dreamin’ Man is THE place, it is a great scene as well. Especially on Mondays when all of the Chef’s hang. Named after the Neal Young song.
I also have this at home if you want more suggestions:
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thanks for the recs I’ll take a look. fiance does cold brew and I do espresso, I’m pickier about it than she is but we would both like to avoid bad coffee if we can.
I will sometimes travel with my own coffee/pour-over filter holder+filters. A friend swear by his all-in-one Cafflano, and I’m considering buying one as the grinder is apparently pretty good for pour-over coffee, and one can always take just the pour-over filter part if travelling super light. Main reason I haven’t yet bought one is because I prefer to use paper filters (for health reasons).
Another vote for Coutime Cafe, they’re doing something really special.
Just got back from 9 days in Paris. Here’s my take on the places we ate at.
Overall we ate very well and enjoyed most of the places we went. I think everyone liked the more spontaneous casual places most. And one note about the wine - in general, I was almost always impressed with the quality of the wines BTG. Nothing ever felt either thin and cheap or spoofed. If I ordered a glass of Saint Emilion or Chablis or Cotes du Rhone, it was almost always exactly what I wanted it to be. And always way less expensive than it would be for something of similar quality here in the states.
Le Prince Racine
Ate here the first night we arrived. A convenient spot just down the street from our hotel.
Escargot were good. My son enjoyed the flank steak. Thai tartare was good but a little sweet. Overall solid, but nothing to rave about.
L’Assiette
I was really looking forward to this, but we were pretty disappointed. First, we were shown to a table set for 4 tucked in the back corner of the restaurant. However, when we went to sit, there were only 2 chairs. When we realized it, I turned around to point it out to the host but he was already gone. I flagged him down and pointed it out, to which he replied “oh no problem, right away” but then took about 5 minutes to find 2 more chairs while we stood over top of other diners waiting – really awkward. The English speaking diners seemed to be grouped together in the back of the restaurant, which would make sense for a English speaking server to help us. But the host ended up coming back and proceeded to hold up the specials board and loudly address 4 tables as a group, which was really bizarre. It was kind of degrading in a weird way. Overall service was very slow – all I can guess is that they may have been down a waiter? It took nearly 2 hours to get our main courses and about 3 hours to finally get out of there. By far the worst service we had throughout our 9 days there. And it’s not just that it was slow, it was just very inattentive and getting a server’s attention was nearly impossible.
As for the food, it was mixed. My wife’s asparagus soup was quite bitter. I started with the pigs foot croquettes, which were pretty delicious – they were really rich, but were served with a relish that had some acid to bite against the fat. My kids shared the braised beef main and really enjoyed it. My wife and I shared the cassoulet, which I gotta say was just ok. The beans were great – the meat was meh.
The one shining star of the meal was the wine. We enjoyed a bottle of 2021 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage for €65, which was crazy good.
Kehribar Istanbul
After a long day trip to Mont Saint-Michel, we didn’t know when we’d get back so didn’t have any reservations. And after 48 hrs of non-stop French food we were already in the mood for something different. The kids said they weren’t hungry so my wife and I snuck out to this place that was close to our hotel. What a treat. Simple flavors done really well. Accommodating, bordering on friendly service. It was late so they were quick but not too quick. My wife loved the stuffed eggplant. The kofte and salads were great. A non-fancy Cotes de Provence hit the spot and paired well with the food without being too academic. Overall highly recommended.
Parcelles
Very good and super attentive service. To the point that it almost felt rushed. In and out with 3 courses for the 4 of us in 90 minutes. Kind of the opposite of L’Assiette. The Food was well done but there wasn’t anything that stood out as amazing or flat out delicious. We enjoyed a burg recommended by the somm based on my requests and he delivered with a bottle of 2022 Cassiopeia Maranges Le Bas du Clos.
Juveniles
What a great meal. Nothing super fancy. Elevated enough to make it not basic and but also comfortable enough to seem familiar to an American palate. The white asparagus starter was more complex and better executed than the same dish at Parcelles the night before. The pork rillettes was simple but delicious and devoured by my son. The Normandy langoustines were tasty and I had a lamb main course that was very nice. We just drank a few wines BTG - all were very good - affordable and a nice way to match the wines to the food for what both my wife and I ordered.
Pink Mamma
Great atmosphere but make sure you sit on the top floor with the atrium. Service was a bit machine-like but the food was good. Pizza dough was really good - not much for crispness but instead nice and light and very thin. Good for lunch.
Hanoi
Vietnamese place close to our hotel. Kids both had pho - broth was solid - meatier flavor with less star anise and cinnamon than we are used to with all the pho in Seattle, but they enjoyed it. They said the beef was awesome as well. I had a seafood salad which was nice.
Le Bistro de Paris
Could the name be any more generic? We went here because my wife saw the profiteroles with hot chocolate sauce on a YouTube video and had to have it. I was not expecting much but this was really solid. My lamb chop was excellent. The side of green beans was very basic but perfectly cooked and seasoned. A real surprise and a treat. My daughter enjoyed the veggies and my son loved the duck confit. We sat right next to the pass, which was entertaining to watch the chef check food as it went out and see him jab with the front of house manager and the wait staff. The profiteroles was just good. The Baba au Rhum was not nearly as good as the one from Parcelles.
Pic Adore (in Reims)
Had a reservation at Au Bon Manger but I was overruled by the family who wanted a break from French food. Decided to try this Spanish tapas place. What a treat. This was the best lunch of the trip. The waitress did not speak English- the only time we encountered this (as everywhere we went in Paris they had an English speaking server), but she did her best to help us out and we did our best to string a few French words together. It worked out well. I’m not normally a huge potato fan, but the patatas bravas were the best I’ve ever had. Tasty croquettes and empanadas. Fish and chorizo were also great. And the house €40 bottle of champagne was a great pairing.
Le Bonaparte
Did a heavy happy hour here. The people watching was great. We second hand smoked about a pack of cigarettes in the hour and a half we were there, but at this point, we had just accepted it as a charming part of the French cafe ambiance. Drinks were ok. Food was solid - eggs, croque monsieur, and some kind of toast with roasted veggies and a whipped cheese spread.
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Reporting back on our wonderful six days of eating in Paris. Many thanks to the WB contributors who informed our dining choices - we couldn’t have done it without you!
Le Saint Sebastian - We called an audible to dine at SS on our first night rather than Hemicycle because of favorable reviews here and on Paris By Mouth, because we wanted a less formal atmosphere, and because the excellent wine list enticed. We had a wonderful time dining at the bar, chatting with the extremely friendly and enthusiastic waiter/sommelier/manager who was celebrating his 31st birthday. We shared some of our l’Anglore Tavel (priced well below NYC retail if you could even find it) with him and he gifted us some Champagne and house quince digestif. The food was excellent, particularly the unusual steak tartare flavored with ancho chile and the quail.
Maison (Sota) - We lunched here on Saturday and loved it! We enjoyed watching dishes being prepped and assembled in the open kitchen by the young sous chefs - and how stern the Japanese Chef/Owner was with them - from our seats at the counter. The attention to detail was impressive, as was the superb food. The value proposition at lunch here is amazing for a New Yorker tired of dining out at mediocre restaurants at inflated prices: Three amuses followed by five courses: scallop carpaccio with sea urchin, white asparagus, grilled trout with trout roe and green asparagus, guinea hen (roasted in bread and finished on a grill) with morel stuffed onions and green salad, and vacherin of strawberries with passion fruit and olive oil cream. €75!!! The five wines served in the pairing for €55 were very good, particularly a Sato New Zealand Chardonnay made by a Japanese; consistent with the generous atmosphere, after the waiter poured each glass, he left the bottle for diners to refill if they so wished.
Our only somewhat disappointing meal was at Le Bon Georges. We started out very well with six fat spears of delicious white asparagus with a light Hollandaise, but my main of pork cutlet was as tough as shoe leather and my wife’s faux filet was tres faux - virtually tasteless - and the accompanying frites mediocre. To their credit, the waiter and maitre’d were very apologetic and embarrassed about the uneaten pork, offered to replace it - and removed it from our bill. The massive chocolate mousse was delicious, but the evening did feel like a bit of an overpriced (€48 for the faux filet) stage show of a Parisian Bistro, complete with every table occupied by Americans (I know, people in glass houses…).
We got back on track the next day at Alliance. We were glad that we had decided to lunch rather than dine there: the first rays of sunshine of our trip filled the minimally decorated dining room with welcome light; I imagine it could be a bit staid at night. The service was the most formal of our trip, but friendly. The food was excellent for the most part - particularly the courses of green peas with strawberries and the crab in radish packets, but the chicken suffered in comparison to Maison’s and the two desserts seem to be trying too hard: the beet tartare served with beet ice cream was interesting, but I would have preferred raspberry; similarly, why serve Swiss chard stalks instead of rhubarb with the strawberry dessert? Those minor cavils aside, we thoroughly enjoyed our two hours in the sun at Alliance.
In contrast to our experiences at LBG and Alliance, where all the tables were anglophone, we seemed to be the only non-regulars the next night at Cafe des Ministieres. Virtually every diner was greeted with embraces by the owner and the waitress. The portions were more than generous - my smoked herring and chou farci were as enormous as they were delicious. My wife and I could not finish the former between us and we took home a quarter of the latter (which was unlike - and far better than - any stuffed cabbage I have ever had!) My wife’s portion of sole was not so gargantuan but similarly tasty. The only mild disappointment was the soggy pastry on the Profiteroles (but it didn’t stop me from finishing it…) I was very happy that I had reserved CdM online three weeks in advance to the day at 7.30pm Paris time; unlike LBG it felt like a true bistro experience - and it was very fairly priced at €128.50 for the entire meal including a green salad, a glass of excellent Dosnon Champagne, a beer for the herring, and a glass of Cotes du Rhone.
Our final meal was at Perception - and it was our favorite, along with Maison. We loved the subtle
Korean influences on classic French cuisine. The very friendly manager/sommelier suggested a
superb Champagne (Copinet l’Argile) that went well with the entire meal. I opted for the 8 course tasting (€115) and my wife went with 6 courses (€95). My extras were wonderful foie gras accompanied by apple and duck broth gelees and compotes apples and turnip and lobster bibimbap, which was the only course where the Korean spicing may have overwhelmed the delicacy of the main ingredient. In contrast, the white asparagus kimchi was perhaps the best asparagus preparation of the trip (April in Paris is marvelous- in part because there is asparagus everywhere!). The John Dory course was our favorite fish of the trip, and the grapefruit with sponge cake was a perfect conclusion to the meal. The wonderful feeling of hospitality at Perception was illustrated by the manager not only calling a taxi for us, but also escorting us outside to it when it arrived. Truly a special experience!
Miscellaneous notes:
The ham and comté sandwich at Caractère de Cochon was very good, but we liked the ham and cantal sandwich at Le Petit Vendome just as much - and it cost €8, not CdC’s €15, and we could sit at the friendly bar and watch busy Parisians scarf down their lunches, rather than have to find a nearby park, and the LPV’s €4.50 pomme frites were as delicious as LBG’s were disappointing. Highly recommend LPV for an excellent, simple, fast, and inexpensive lunch.
Our favorite croissant (and we tried many) was at the charming, tiny Notre Pâtisserie in the Rue Amelie, even better than the nearby Maison Bergeron, which took seventh place in the annual croissant ranking. NP’s hybrid croissant-brioche flavored with orange (and only available on weekends) was a revelation!
We got our oyster fix at HSP La Table before going to the fascinating pre-Olympics Sports art show at Musee Marmottan. The No 2s and No 3s were delicious, as were the crab and shrimp.
We foraged a wonderful dinner in our Air BnB with patés from Arnaud Nicolas, whose paté en croute with dried fruit and paté Grandmere were extraordinary. Dessert was exemplary vanilla rice pudding we happened upon at an organic market called Miyam on the Rue Beaubourg.
And finally a warning: we chose to take the Eurostar to London because we thought it would be easier than flying. Big mistake! The traffic to Gare du Nord was terrible, and the chaos at the station was even worse. Crowds of people milling about with virtually no guidance from the few staff in attendance. We were herded into pens like cows awaiting slaughter. The explanation over the static-y loudspeaker was delays at passport control; perhaps the delays wouldn’t be so extreme if you didn’t have to swipe your passport through two separate machines…The elevator down to the platform was not working so everyone had to carry their baggage down the stairs. When I asked one of the attendants if this was unusual she smiled ruefully and said it was always like this. The whole experience made air travel seem well-organized, pleasant and stress-free. YMMV but never again for me.
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I did Eurostar to London once. Never again. Got to spend 3 extra hours at Gare du Nord cause trains had been canceled and they picked "the pens’ randomly to continue to the next set of pens. Missed my train by 1 pen when they skipped over my pen for no reason. They didn’t tell any of us what was happening. Poor guy at the end was left explaining it to everyone who complained
Personally I think you are nuts to choose to fly Paris to London but each to their own.
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I would never fly between London and Paris. Eurostar always. Encountered issues perhaps one out of 20 times, if that.
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