Paris is our favourite city, no doubt. It’s got the best restaurants and wine bars, the most exciting chefs, an Eiffel tower and errr lots and lots of history and art galleries… apparently? During our time in Europe we made the trip four times making it a very special place for us. This post talks about our second and third trips to the city of love, once at the end of Autumn and the other at the very end of Winter. Check our first trip to Paris at the beginning of Summer here.
The timing and duration of trips are decided solely on when we can get bookings at restaurants on our ‘to eat’ list. Days often start with a visit to a boulangerie and then we get our walking shoes on and stroll to lunch. It’s relaxing and inspiring. There is one small problem with Paris, and France in general. The coffee is not great. This is rectified by taking a medium sized Italian percolator with us wherever we go.
Clamato
Located next door to Septime, the mainly seafood bar may have been put there to catch the spillover from Septime. Clamato is so wildly popular that there is almost always a line out the door. The group has also opened a wine bar around the corner, Septime La Cave, to seat people that were waiting for a table, that is crazy popular too. The best tinned sardines are there as is the a great cellar of natural wines. Anyhow, back to Clamato. An ever changing menu of perfect plates of seafood for sharing or eating by yourself. Either way you will be very happy. The bulots and the maple syrup tart feature always. It’s a good thing. It would be very hard to imagine tasting these and then never being able to have them again.
Septime
Our favourite restaurant. The chef behind it, Bertrand Grebaut, our favourite Chef. In the world. Big call, easily made. You need to book 3 weeks and one day before the day that you want to eat. It can be difficult to get a reservation, however it’s worth basing your trip to Paris around when you can get a table at Septime. It’s very reasonably priced, the food is out of this world and the dining room is one of the most classy spaces around. I couldn’t pick a favourite thing that we have eaten there. Pork with silver beet and carrots or the mind-blowing beef tartare with smoked egg yolk – both would feature very high on the list. It’s impossible to decide though. The food is so incredibly clever and original. There are dishes and flavour combinations that you have never seen or imagined before. You taste them and think, why, why have I never seen or thought of that. So simple. The best meals of my life have been here.
Au Passage
Au Passage is a must visit every trip kind of place. Again, just so exciting. The food is next level and the menu is constantly changing. They turn out a seriously high volume of impeccable food from the tiniest little kitchen, all night long. Au Passage is a favourite after work hangout of hospitality industry folk and most of them don’t finish til LATE. There is a big blackboard at the back of the room with the menu on it. There is terrine and lamb shoulder that feature almost every night, they are exceptional. The rest changes throughout the evening depending on what their producers have dropped off during the day or what looked good at the market that morning. There might be only 10 portions of one dish. When it runs out it’s wiped off and another is chalked up in its place. Au Passage is not to be missed when in Paris. Plus the wine list is absolutely bangin’.
Frenchie
Frenchie was the first establishment from one of Jamie Oliver’s protégé – Grégory Marchand. He rules rue du Nil in the 2nd – with Frenchie Wine Bar and Frenchie To Go, some of his suppliers have set up shop there too. Again a very hard reservations to get. Understandable, there are less than 20 seats. The foie and pineapple dish we had there leaves me lost for words, even now.
Clown Bar
One of many Japanese chefs in Paris turning out French food with Japanese discipline. It’s crazy how good these guys are. The kitchen is tiny! The food is superb at Clown Bar. The decor is super cool, it used to be a the hang out for clowns after the circus. There are little individual cutlery drawers in the table. The guys at the bar have a serious knowledge and choice of natural wines and will give you something you will love. We have learnt that here, as with many places in Paris, give them a little idea of what your after in a wine and they will bring you something mind blowing.
Dilia
One of the coolest dining rooms in Paris. Also, the coolest hosts in Paris. The Chef is ex-Osteria Francescana he brings that cleverness with him but with a much more laid back approach. They do an incredible value lunch menu for around 20 euro. We the softest octopus ever with potato cream and olives followed by proper al dente rigatoni, deliciously meaty duck liver sauce and pecorino and some roast cod, romanesco and a lush sauce that I can’t quite remember. One night we kicked off a 5 course dinner there at around 11pm, it was supposed to be 10pm but Connie and Micah’s train was late. They weren’t bothered at all though. It was quite a quick meal but no less delicious.
La Cave à Michel
One of the best wine bars in Paris. Standing room only and be prepared – this place is busy! Super popular with everybody in the know. The wine list is impressive. Equally impressive are the delicacies that the chef churns out from a TINY kitchen to a crowd of hungry and eager mouths. The eggs and mayonnaise are famous city-wide. The rest of the offerings change nightly so the only certainty is major satisfaction.
L’avant Comptoir De La Mer
Next door to the hugely popular and very hard to book L’Avant Comptoir. It’s another standing room only wine bar that serves oysters and other delicious seafood. The ever-changing menu hangs from the ceiling so there is no need to be pushing past people or moving around to get a view of it – you just need to glance up. Stationed every meter or so along the bar is a large, soft, salty mountain of french butter accompanied by very good, very french bread, salt, pepper and tabasco. Everything you could need next to your wine, your oysters and whatever other pleasures you might have ordered. Nobody will be blamed for spending hours here.
Bistrot Paul Bert
A Parisian…no a French institution. Probably the finest Bistro in France. A booking is good idea but if you turn up early you will most probably get a seat. I’m pretty sure we have been at least once per visit to Paris. It is the food of France, good portions, 3 courses, 16 euro, it’s almost unbeatable. Buttery, tasty and plate lickable. One example – rabbit rillettes, steak frites with shallots, and a huge raspberry macaron.
Yard
So cool. In an ex-construction yard in the 11th there is a former St John (London) chef killing it. The food is very french and very fresh. If I could have this as my neighbourhood local I would be a very happy man. It’s worth making a booking, you might get lucky. Wouldn’t risk it personally. An ever changing 3 course daily menu. Lunch and dinner. We had a mind blowing lunch. The absolute stand out was the moules frites or really the frites component. A pressed cake of ultra thin slices of potato, sliced and fried. So deadly! The moules were incredible too. Just steamed in cider…. So we rolled out of yet another notable lunch. Paris…we love you.
