Has anyone been to Tan Dinh recently?
18 months ago. food just ok. list is not what it was but still plenty to drink. Robert is still a gem and I would go just to talk to him.
My wife and I are squeezing in 2 days in Paris in February and would like to ask for your guidance.
We will be there Sunday-Monday, so most of the 3*** & 2** are going to be closed, but it is what it is and I’m trying to make the most out of 2 lunches and 2 dinners.
After religiously following this conversation, I have gathered the list below and feedbacks. Consensus seems to be that I can’t go wrong with the food here, but does any place standout in terms of wine selection/pricing? or am I missing any locations? Clearly I’m about 10 years too late hoping for 100e coche village, but am I delusional hoping for below-auction Arnoux Lachaux?
Septime - for great food and questionable natty wine list(?)
Parcelles - general consensus on great food. wine list feedback seems good but prices mixed
Willi’s Wine Bar - good in general
La Cagouille - wine list picked over but still has good rav deals? food meh
Le Mazenay - local, food+wine both good
Les Enfants du Marche - raving reviews. all positive except for the fact that it’s february and might be cold
David Toutain - mixed reviews
Le George - italian but good for all occasions
Thanks, not sure if I want to make the leap . . .
I could honestly talk to Robert all day. Have you listened to his interview on @Levi_Dalton show?
Having said that I would probably not use a dinner slot.
While I was served a flawed natty wine, @Robert_Dentice reports that there are solid options available. The food was so good I would be happy to go back and try again.
I see A-L pretty frequently around 400€ on quite a few lists, that is for straight Chambolle, Nuits, or Vosne. I do not see the lieux dits or 1er crus (or RSV) very often.
I find it strange that people would find the food at La Cagouille ‘meh’. It is what it is, high quality seafood, simply cooked perfectly. There are no fancy saucing or plating up and its not hip or cool. Its a great place for oysters, the complimentary cockles opened simply with warm butter are one of life’s pleasures. The Rouget is superb as is the Dory, again both simply grilled. Their razor clams are excellent as is the fried white bait and calamari. The desserts are actually quite good.
We have been dining here a couple of times a year for 15+ years and I love it. It is so consistent and the food is as good as ever. I was recommended this place by the food editor of Le Monde at the time, whom I sat next to at a dinner. He proclaimed back then that this was the best seafood in Paris.
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No disagreement with your description, Jeremy.
Indeed, our dessert (tarte bourdaloue) was the highlight.
The one time I was at La Cagouile, I thought it was pricey for what was offered and wound up with merluza (which I found out is hake, which is the only fish Idon’t like). And I was solo, so just went BTG, which didn’t offer anything special.
I’d go back if it wasn’t so far from where I stay and was with someone so I could order a bottle. I’d say the schlep is more of an obstacle than price. For some reason, it was harder to get to than Le Dome, maybe due to my clumsy navigation (I’ve gone to Le Dome a few times when they were carrying Ravenneau for a steal, didn’t mind not finishing it given the price).
Dory, roughet, razor clams are among my favorites, so maybe I’ll find a buddy to go with when I’m in town in May.
While the wine list is nothing like La Cagouille, L’Ecalier du Bistro is the bomb for fresh fish and oysters (in the 11th, sister restaurant to Bistro Paul Bert). Nice simple option of wine BTG, nothing special but still delicous.
Not impressed with Parcelles. Great service, wine list is OK, but food didn’t wow, nor close to wowing. The space tried to be conducive but that was it, it tried.
Might want to check out Bistro Paul Bert.
That’s interesting - what’d you find could be better about Parcelles?
Bistro Paul Bert seems a regular name on this convo. How is the wine list there?
What’d I find better than Parcelles?
You’ve listed some of them, already. Definitely Septime which is actually much more talked-about in this convo; LEdM may be too cold for February, which is also when I’ll be back in Paris; Bistrot des Tournelles; I prefer Willi’s Wine Bar more for a wine-bar type of drinking with small, shared plates rather than full course dining; Le Grand Bain with mostly or all natty stuff, but sufficient to get me through the good creative dishes; I like Chez Gladines just as many hard-working locals and students, for the quick, no reservation needed, good value, no-pretense southwestern French dishes and wines; Le Bourse et La Vie another good value bistro for my comfort food fix; Donna Wine Bar with Chef Masahide Ikuta efficiently and quietly churning out delicious stuff behind the counter with all-natural stuff to drink.
While it’s hard for me to order even a singe bottle as my wife drinks only about half-a-pour of alcohol during a meal, I found the wine list at Bistrot Paul Bert to be more robust and with more of classical stuff that I preferred.
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I get the sense the Parcelles list has been picked over, and maybe they’re holding stuff back, but when they opened it was full of reasonably priced Tremblay, Lamy, and the like, and even a bit of Bizot.
The Paul Bert list is compact but full of stuff I’m happy to drink. Last visit we had a bottle of Valette Monsieur Noly.
This is true for basically all of Paris.
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Is Masa still there? He is opening his own place in February.
He was there in May when I last went.
Talked to him this morning. He is the owner of his new place Restaurant Masaikuta and is very excited. He hopes to be open by February or March. I can’t wait!
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Where is the new place? We rent an apartment a short block from Donna Wine Bar and will be there again in late March.
In the 11th.