Fine dining
Granite, 6 Rue Bailleul, Paris 75001
Metro: Louvre. A cool but buzzing restaurant in a side street near the Louvre that holds a Michelin star, there’s a youthful, slightly hipster vibe about front of house and a kitchen that cooks quite exquisite food with touches of Japanese influence within classic French cuisine. Though there is a cheaper lunch menu at 60 Euros, we splashed out on the menu ‘Quartz’ at 158 Euros for five courses (menu ‘Granite’ is 188 Euros for seven courses). A little dish of smoked amberjack came with refreshing slices of apple and endive, in a rich lobster consommé. Red mullet was beautifully and delicately pan-fried, before roasted scallops where the Japanese influence was strongest in the accompanying Koshihikari rice with a yuzu beurre blanc. Three small fillets of venison were tender and quite powerfully flavoured given their beetroot and blackcurrant accompaniments. A chocolate cake with yuzu ice cream and whisky jelly completed a light but very satisfying lunch. We drank Aligoté from Ente in Burgundy and sommelier’s choice of southern French red by the glass. 650 Euros for two.
Restaurante Auguste, 54, rue de Bourgogne, Paris 75007
Metro: Varenne. Gaël Orieux holds one Michelin star here, so there were fairly high expectations of this chic restaurant just round the corner from the Rodin museum. A contemporary and comfortable space done out in a cool monochrome palate enlivened by some zingy blue chairs, we chose the five course tasting menu with matching wines and what a delight it was kicking off with lobster in a light tempura batter with a lemony cream mousse on the side, then an unusual dish of poached egg in a sweet carrot soup that worked surprisingly well. The two more substantial courses that followed were superb: buttery and transluscent monkfish under a layer of thin pasta with a creamy sauce, then breast of duck and finally a wonderful light millefueille of feathery pastry and fresh summer fruits. The wines were a good grower Champagne, a Macabeau from the Côte Catalan, a Mâcon Chardonnay and a Languedoc Syrah/Grenache from Laroche. With endless water and coffee served with petit fours, Around 450 Euros all in for two.
More casual
Le Coq Rico, 98 Rue Lepic, Paris 75018
Metro: Pigalle or Lamarck-Caulaincourt. Chef Antoine Westermann’s hommage to all things fowl. This and Ciasa Mia (below) probably deserve to be in the ‘fine dining’ section based on price, ambiance and dedication to food, but both are casual places. Coq Rico’s main feature is a big open roasting spit, where every bird, from Poulet de Bresse, to yellow chicken from the Landes, to Dombes ducking to Auvergne guinea fowl, is described on the menu including its complete provenance down to which artisan farmer raised the bird. It’s all about that, with even the starters and desserts based largely around poultry and eggs. We had some superb Eggs Mimosa – with Tuna fillets from the Conserveira de Lisboa – followed by a whole Poulet de Bresse to share, served with French fries, salad and a little pot of Macaroni cheese. For pud, Ile flottante was an absolutely huge portion, and was delicious too. With water, coffee and a bottle of Blance de Blanc Champagne from Besserat de Bellefon, the bill came out at around 400 Euros. Open seven days, lunch and dinner.
Ciasa Mia, 19 Rue Laplace, Pariss 75005
Metro: Maubert-Mutualité. A highly rated but small and intimate Italian restaurant near the Latin Quarter, chef and front of house Samuel and Francesca Mocci originate from the Dolomites region of northern Italy and food reflects that. I have to begin by saying I was a little disappointed in this meal, where the final bill with one bottle of wine and two glasses of Champagne topped 300 Euros. Something about the slightly cramped room, but also the food which was good but failed to sing. The set menu “Samuel et Francesca” at 85 Euros consists of five courses, the first of which is actually several bite-sized canapés. An excellent goat’s cheese ravioli was a highlight, but nothing stood out for me.
Atelier Maître Albert, 1 rue Maître-Albert, Paris 75005
Metro: Saint-Michel. Part of Guy Savoy’s mini-empire, this dramatic and fairly large restaurant sits opposite Notre Dame, a huge open fireplace and spit-roaster dominating the scene. And roasting is the thing here, with T-bone steaks, free-range chicken and spit-roasted suckling lamb all on the menu. I started with some sweet scallops, the outside grilled to a caramel, on a little hillock of creamy mash, a grilled lettuce heart alongside. Spit-roasted free range chicken for two to share was succulent, served with gratin dauphinois and a green salad for a very satisfying, comfort-food Sunday lunch. There is an extensive wine cellar, though we drank a bottle of grower Champagne throughout this meal, which with water and coffees came in at 250 Euros including service.
La Contrescarpe, 57 rue Lacepede, 75005 Paris
Metro: Place Monge. Close to my favourite hotel, the 4* Hotel Monge, this is a big and bustling brasserie on a popular square where people watching is of the highest order. It may be no better than similar neighbouring places, but we enjoyed the well cooked entrecote steaks, the crisp pile of fries and the very dense and delicious cheescake along with a bottle of St Nicolas de Bourgueil, water and coffee all for the princely sum of 102 Euros.
Pavillon Montsouris, 20 Rue Gazan, 14th Arrondissement.
Metro: Porte d’Orléans. For a really different option, great food and a lovely atmosphere, the Pavillon Montsouris near Montparnasse is a fine gourmet restaurant with moderate prices. A broad terrace in one of the nicest corners of the parc Montsouris overlooks a woodland and a lake. The park closes at dusk, and from then on you have this beautifully quiet countryside and lake to yourself, yet slap bang in the middle of the city. The set-price menu is 59 Euros for four courses including coffee and petit-fours. The wine list is presented as a large scrap-book full of labels, and the prices and selection are decent, if uninspiring. But the atmosphere of this place is what makes it really special on a warm evening when you can sit outside, and the food is very good and prices low. The RER station Cite-Universitaire is actually closer than the metro. Tuesday to Saturday lunch and dinner, Sunday lunch only, closed Monday.
Le Bouclard. 1, rue Cavallotti, Paris 75018
Metro: Place de Clichy. A bit of a local legend, dressed in voluminous chef’s whites and toque, Michel Bonnemort sits in a position of command just inside the door of this small restaurant tucked back from the Place de Clichy. He has a word with everyone who crosses his threshold – which sounds at first like an interrogation to see if you are worthy of entry, but his bark is much worse than his bite. It’s an old fashioned place of bentwood chairs and a certain well-used higgledy-piggeldyness. Traditional Parisian brasserie food is what you come here for and that means a slab of excellent foie gras, incongruously, but deliciously, accompanied by a bowl of steaming hot garlic and herb studded boiled potatoes, followed by chicken in a tarragon cream sauce with a pile of wonderful soufflé pommes frites. To finsih, rhum baba, hot from the kitchen onto which M Bonnemort pours about half a litre of rum straight from the bottle. Avoid all naked flames for at least two hours. With two generous glasses of Roederer Champagne, half a litre of excellent Beajolais blanc and water, the bill came to 160 Euros. Entertaining and recommended.
Le Carolus, 130 Boulevard Place de Clichy, Paris 75018
Metro: Place de Clichy. Absolutely not a desitination restaurant, but handy to know if you are hungry, in the area, and have missed the lunchtime service in most of the more formal restaurants. Direct from our flight, we had dropped our bags in the nearby and excellent Beausejour Monmartre hotel and by the time we strolled up to the Boulevard it was 3:30 in the afternoon. This looked like one the modern quality burger joints (Byron Burger, etc) with a cool, white-tiled interior, open kitchen and a dozen draft beer pumps on the counter, so we settled in for a good beer and an excellent burger – proper quality beef, a topping of Bayonne ham and sauce Bernaise, and good fries. For a total of 40 Euros, an fine pit-stop.
Le Coupe-Chou, 11 rue Lanneau, 5th Arrondissement
Metro: Maubert-Mutualité. I turned up at this restaurant because there is a more limited choice of places to eat on a weekend night in Paris – especially if you have neglected to reserve a table, hich I had. I was actually delighted with Le Coupe-Chou where as well as its dramatic and ancient atmosphere, the simple food was delicious on this occasion: a lovely scallop and vegetable stew served inside puff-pastry, followed by medallions of monkfish with a provençal sauce, and finishing with a tarte-tatin of heroic proportions, brought to the table with a large side-dish of creme-fraiche and a spoon, which was too tempting. The wine list is still pretty anonymous, but a bottle of Pouilly-Fumé from Max Roger was steely yet full of fruit, and excellent. Le Coupe-Chou is not cheap and is on the tourist trail, but I really enjoyed my evening there. Open every day. About 180 Euros for two..
Lavinia, 3-5 bd de la Madeleine, 8th Arrondissement
Metro: Madeleine. Part of a huge wine shop, Lavinia features a casual, very modern and chic lunchtime restaurant and wine bar. You can drink anything purchased in the shop without corkage charge, or order from a nice by the glass and bottle selection. Food is tapas-like mix and match. I had great tempura prawns and a delicious Jurançon Sec by the glass. Closed Sunday, around 80 Euros per person.
Perraudin, 157 rue St-Jacques, 5th Arrondissement
Metro: Luxembourg. A real old favourite of mine, which I’ve been visiting for at least 25 year and which, I swear, is still run by the very same three women. It is old, cramped and noisy, full of locals and tourists alike, who crowd in to enjoy reliable and delicious standards like Boeuf Bourguignon or Gigot d’Agneau, terrific Tarte Tatin and cheap, tasty wines. If you arrive and there’s no table ready you’ll be given a glass of kir to sip at the bar whilst you enjoy the chaos. Menus run from 24 Euros at lunch to around 40 Euros at dinner, plus a la carte.
Le Reminet, 3 rue des Grands-Degres, 5th Arrondissement
Metro: St-Michel. It’s good to see an old favourite still on decent form. I first ate in le Reminet 15 years ago, in the week when it first opened its doors. I thought the standard of cuisine was excellent. Since then it has become well and truly discovered on the tourist trail and is always packed full of guidebook-clutching visitors. A simple lunch on their 45 Euro formula hit the spot, with ‘tomato and mozzarella revisited’ being a soufflé of mozzarella with large but tasty beef tomatoes that had been lightly braised and skinned, and little dots of pesto and Bayonne ham. Fillet of rascasse (Scorpion fish) the skin golden and crisp, was beautifully cooked although the fish could have been more flavourful, served with lightly cooked salad of green beans and mange touts. For dessert, a duo of chocolate was really a trio, with a rich mousse, topped with a crisp chocolate wafer, on top of which sat a scoop of bittersweet chocolate sorbet. With a 50cl of white Graves, water and coffees, the bill came to 150 Euros.