The formule at Hugo & Co. on rue Monge directly across from the Roman ampitheatre. For patisserie/gateaux, try Les Artizans (Matheiu Mandard).
If she is interested in learning about Paris’s history, she could visit the Cluny and Carnevalet museums and the Maison d’Ourscamp. If she is a foodie, she could have a lot of fun walking the lengths of rue Mouffetard or Montorgueil. The open-air market on Richard-Lenoir is open on Thursdays.
Wow, great to hear Les Papilles endures. Enjoyed it about a dozen years ago. The wine selection was nice even if it was simultaneously fun and weird to peer around other diners to see the bottles along the walls. I think it might have been 28€ then.
We just got back from a week in Paris and always stay in the 6th.
Eric Kayser is excellent for bread and croissants. Hibou is a popular bar for the young folk. If she wants to travel across to the 16th, we had a splendid lunch at Restaurant Victor. The 20 Euro lunch menu is perhaps the best value in Paris. The floor is run by an enthusiastic young team who speak good English. There are excellent wines by the glass.
Love to see Restaurant Victor’s name pop-up. I worked out of their bar for a couple of weeks when I first moved over and was holed up at Le Dokhans, down the street. The team was great and they had a reasonable wine list, but had some turnover when we visited in March. I’d note that it definitely has a “locals” feel, which can have its ups and downs.
Thanks for the smile; we had our first family dinner there (I had made friends with most of the staff at that point)… and our last family dinner there before moving back.
For ice cream, the original Berthillon on Ile Saint-Louis has chestnut ice cream (glace à la châtaigne) this time of year. Worth the walk. Just be sure to go to Maison Berthillon and not the cafes that are resellers in the vicinity.
Recently returned from Paris where we stopped over for 2 days/1night on our way back from Burgundy. Tried to get into La Tour D’Argent for lunch or dinner but to no avail.
So tried something a little different - Perception in the 9th arrondissement and it was fantastic. The is contemporary French haute cruise with Korean influences - essentially French, Korean fusion. Exceptional 8 course degustation that was exquisite, packed with wonderful flavours and beautifully presented.
I was at Vantre in Paris a few months back. We had been once before, thought it was fine but after hearing our friends rave about it figure we need to give it another chance. It is on the radar of many US based wine drinkers, they have a big and interesting list although the pricing I think is too high for any “deals”. My wife and I were meeting a Parisian friend who had not been there. This friend of a friend an really connected in French Gastronomy, a distinguished and respected gentleman in every sense of the word. He really went above and beyond in helping us with our wedding in Paris the previous week and we wanted to thank him and show our appreciation by taking him out in his home town. I am trying to impress and thank this guy. We were having a great time in France and had so many amazing meals and bottles.
We arrived a few minutes early so I asked for a wine list and waited outside to review it while our table was being prepared. Our friend arrived and table was ready and as we are getting seated the som sees I have been looking at the wine list and we exchange greetings. I compliment his wine list and mention we have been here before and some friends in the industry have been recently and had a great experience and recommended I inquire about the private or second wine list. A common thing in restaurants in the us as well as France in my experience. He responds “I am the private wine list”. I think OK funny maybe a bit of translation issue but all good.
After reviewing the food menu and deciding what we are eating he returns and I mention we are likely going to get a couple bottles but should start with a nice White burgundy for first course or 2. I mention a couple of options I saw on the list and I say am open to his thoughts and recommendations. He asks what we want to spend and a bit quietly as to not broadcast it an be the loud Americans, I say maybe 5 on the first bottle of White Burgundy. He looks at me and then my guest and loudly declares “sir we have no wine for 5 euro”. Yeah ok this guy is not trying to be funny he’s just being difficult, you got me I said 5. I clarify verbally $500 euro for the first bottle.
Dinner comes, we skip a red mostly because I don’t want to deal with French Sam Kinison again. I find the food a bit of a mess of trying to hard and multiple sauces on the same dish. Covering and obscuring the ingredients instead of letting them shine. Its ok but on food alone I am never returning let alone behavior of the som. Final courses cheese and dessert my guest says lets drink some champagne. I think ok here we go again but hey I love champagne lets do it. I ask for the list back, “no its ok I have a great Rose Champagne you will like” . My wife says no thank you not Rose, not in the mood. I explain no rose right now but we are ok w gourmand champagne , stuff that sees oak, cork, maybe with age or solera is all good, also not racy grower stuff please. The guy comes back as he is already opening a bottle of something that is “not Rose but sees skin contact for color and texture”. Its basically a rose champagne. I had repressed most of this but hopefully this helps someone avoid the mess.
Visited Paris last week and ate at some restaurants suggested in this thread. Brief notes:
L’Agrume: They confirmed our lunch reservation but when we went there it was inexplicably closed. I sent an email asking what’s up and didn’t get a response.
Freddy’s: Casual, small, no resv wine bar. We hit this just at the end of lunch service. The servers seemed exhausted, impatient and forgot one of our dishes. The food was pretty good though and we had some decent btg wines. Didn’t look at the bottle list. Probably wouldn’t return.
Au Passage: Great dinner, wine, and vibe. Casual, popping atmosphere (it was Friday night) that felt like a tight knit neighborhood crowd. The food and service was great; interesting small plates and not too fussy. They had about 10 L’Anglore selections on the list, all under 60 euros. My first time with Pfifferling and I had a bunch of questions that the guy running the house was happy to answer (“are they clean” “yes, absolutely”). He sold us 21 Véjade which we really dug. Would return.
La Buvette, Pigalle: Went for lunch; the food was passable but kind of disappointing. Didn’t check the wine list. Many Americans. Wouldn’t return.
La Cagouille: Brightly lit and nautically themed. Local crowd. Lots of fresh seafood options but the preparations were surprisingly uninteresting. No sauces or fancy preparations; just unadorned grilled catch which we found bland. Very impressive wine list with lots of cherries at fair pricing. Drank a 2019 Anne Boisson Aligote which was great. Not a revisit for us.
Septime: Got a lunch reservation following guidance in this thread from @Zac_M. Elegant crowd but not fancy with a lot of Americans. The food was fantastic and turned us on to a lot of new cooking and flavor possibilities. List was highly natty and I thought A&R Mosse chenin might be a safe. Nope - it was crazy reductive and fairly volatile. Still, I’d go back for the food. Maybe they allow corkage?
Oobatz: Casual, brightly lit, lots of Americans. The pizza is as good as people say - like wow. Cracker thin, the two of us ate three pies. We definitely picked up some Japanese inflections in the preparations (white miso in the salad, red miso in the Margherita sauce). The list looked natty so after Septime, I asked for a clean wine. They suggested the two Italians on the list - Vajra and COS. I’m like, c’mon, nothing from France? They said yeah try this Dom Grouas Anjou rouge. No go - VA off the charts. Would return anyway.
Thanks for the notes. I would not worry about finding something clean at Septime, I never have a problem. They even have a few classic selections like Mugnier.
I don’t know if they are a big Michelin starred restaurant, but I know that they have s ton of Bordeaux here.
I’ve not eaten at the restaurant but have purchased a couple of bottles from their attached wine store.