GOURMET PARIS
20 REASONS WHY, DESPITE TOUGH COMPETITION, PARIS IS STILL THE ORIGINAL FOODIE CITY. BY ROSE JACKSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY HELEN CATHCART
On a Sunday morning, jovial Parisians crowd into the scruffy wine bar Le Baron Bouge on rue Théophile Roussel, having done their shopping at the nearby Aligre market in the 12th arrondissement district. The setting couldn’t be simpler, with upturned wine casks serving as tables. The cheese plate is the real thing: Saint Félicien so creamy that it collapses under the knife, slices of sharp Tomme, and an aged ash-coated goat’s cheese.
This is the kind of uniquely French experience that most people hope for when they go to Paris.
Down-to-earth cafés with basic but incredible food still exist in every arrondissement, but a more adventurous style of bistro has emerged that is keeping the dining scene exciting, often run by the young protégés of top chefs branching out on their own. Haute cuisine continues to thrive even in more money-conscious times, and many top chefs, such as Guy Savoy and Alain Dutournier, Pierre Gagnaire and Alain Senderens have opened informal annexes or changed the style of their restaurants to make their cooking more accessible.
BOLD LAST SUPPERS
LE COMPTOIR DU RELAIS
9 cf de Odéon, 6th. Nearest Metro: Odéon, +33 (0)1 43291205
Yves Camdeborde is known for inspiring the bistronomique trend, which applies haute cuisine techniques and regional know-how to humble ingredients. Book early for the single seating of this prix fixe dinner.
CHEZ L’AMI JEAN
27 r Malar, 7th. M Invalides, +33 (0)1 47058689
A second-generation protégé of Yves Camdeborde’s bistronomique school of cooking, you’ll find this Basque bistro in a room unchanged since the 1930s. Casseroles, stews and game are the order of the day.
SMALL AND BEAUTIFUL
LE TEMPS AU TEMPS
13 r Paul-Bert, 11th. M Faidherbe-Chaligny +33 (0)1 43796340, www.tempsautemps.com
This intimate restaurant is a great example of the mini-trend for 20-seat bistros run by lone chefs, with their spouses at the front of house. Expect to share tables with strangers but it’s worth it for the €30 (£22.60) deal of two delicious dishes and a desert.
LA CERISAIE
70 bd Edgar Quintet, 14th. M Edgar Quintet, +33 (0)1 43209898, www.la-cerisaie.com
La Cerisaie is a tiny bistro (it seats 25) where the menu is written on a blackboard and you can have a three-course meal for under €30 (£22.60). Other similar mini-operations include L’Ourcine and L’Avant-Goût.
MASTER CHEFS
SENDERENS
9 pl de la Madeleine, 8th. M Madeleine, +33 (0)1 42652290, www.senderens.fr
Alain Senderens transformed his landmark art nouveau restaurant Lucas Carton into this edgier incarnation which has a fusion menu with suggested drinks to match each course and its own mezzanine tapas bar.
L’ATELIER DE JOËL ROBUCHON
5 r de Montalembert, 7th. M Rue du Bac, +33 (0)1 42225656, www.joel-robuchon.com
Joël Robuchon walked away from luxury dining at the peak of his career to re-emerge with this restaurant, where elegant food inspired by France, Spain and Asia is served in tapas-style portions at a counter.
PIERRE GAGNAIRE
6 r Balzac, 8th, M. George V, +33 (0)1 58361250, www.pierre-gagnaire.com
Pierre Gagnaire pushes the limits of French cuisine with wild and and complex flavour fusions. He operates out of a dining room in the Hôtel Balzac. Find his more casual seafood offshoot, Gaya par Pierre Gagnaire, at 44 Rue du Bac, + 33 (0)1 45447373.
GREAT HEIGHTS
LE JULES VERNES
Tour Eiffel, Champ de Mars, 7th. M Ecole Militair, +33 (0)1 45556144
Alain Ducasse is in a league of his own, heading swish restaurants such as the Spoon, the Food & Wine chain, historic bistros such as Benoit and Aux Lyonnais, the seafood restaurant Rech and this one, the Eiffel Tower’s gastonomic restaurant.
UNMISSABLE WINE STOPS
LE CAFÉ DU PASSAGE
12 r de Charonne, 11th. M Ledru-Rollin, +33 (0)1 49299764
At weekends, this is a favourite spot for sommeliers of fine restaurants, including Canadian Marco Pelletier from Taillevent. This more sophisticated wine bar near the Bastille is perfect for a quiet evening.
CAVES AUGÉ
116 bd Haussmann, 8th. M St-Augustin, +33 (0)1 45221697
This is one of the oldest and best-stocked wine shops in Paris. It focuses on natural wines (hand-harvested, often unfiltered, with minimal or no chemical products and sulphites) and arranges free tastings with wine growers.
RISING MARKETS
PRÉSIDENT WILSON
Av du Pdt Wilson, 16th. M Pont de l’Alma or Iena
Though the quality is uniformly high, the main attraction is star market gardener Joël Thiébault, who grows 1,600 vegetable varieties at his farm outside Paris. Chefs such as Pascal Barbot at Astrance (4 Rue Beethoven, +33 (0)1 4050 8440) can’t get enough of his multicoloured carrots, yellow-ribbed chard and pink-and-white striped beetroot.
ORGANIC WONDERS
ROSE BAKERY
46 r des Martyrs, 9th. M Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, +33 (0)1 42821280
Jean-Charles Carrarini is French and his wife Rose is (whisper it) British, as is the inspiration for this small and delightful organic bakery and café which specialises in carrot cake, brownies and tea.
FROMAGE FRESH
QUATREHOMME
62r Sevres, 7th. M Vaneau, +33 (0)1 47343345
Marie Quatrehomme married into a family of cheese sellers but her passion for her produce is evident from the moment you enter her shop, where 34-month-old Comté sourced near the Swiss border is displayed by the entrance next to a poster of different breeds of milk cows.
DELICATE OLIVE OILS
HUILERIE LEBLANC
6 r Jacob, 6th. M Mabillon, +33 (0)1 46346155, www.huile-leblanc.com
France’s olive oil production is small but the best French olive oils, particularly from Les Baux de Provence and Nice, are among the finest in the world. For more unusual oils, the tiny Huilerie Leblanc stocks walnut oil from the family’s Burgundy estate.
FOODIE NEIGHBOURHOODS
ST GERMAIN
6th. M Mabillon, St Germain-Des-Pres, Raspail
Arguably the best food neighbourhood in the city is Saint-Germain, home not only to La Grande Epicerie du Bon Marché and the Raspail organic market but also to a multitude of small food shops run by passionate artisans.
HOT CHOCOLATES
A L’ETOILE D’OR
30 r Fontaine, 9th. M. Blanche, +33 (0)1 42840702
For Parisians, chocolate is not an everyday indulgence but a pleasure to be taken seriously. This store run by Denise Acabo has a selection from the best chocolate-makers in France, such as Bernachon and Dufoux.
EXOTIC EXPORTS
LE COMPTOIR COLONIAL
22 r Lepic, 18th. M Blanche, +33 (0)1 42584484, www.lecomptoircolonial.com
In Montmartre’s rue Lepic, Le Comptoir Colonial sells treasures from the former French colonies. Expect to find pineapple jam, Mauritian coffee and Tahitian rum.
CHIC KITCHENWARE
GARGANTUA
1 r de Charlemagne, 4th. M Saint-Paul, +33 (0)1 42789647, www.gargantua.ch
This young company produces porcelain and sandstone dishes for clients such as Habitat. Pet-loving Parisians drop into the Marais showroom (open in the afternoons only) for its stylish dog and cat food bowls.
LE BON MARCHÉ
24 r de Sèvres, 7th. M Sèvres Babylone, +33 (0)1 44398000, www.lebonmarche.fr
The redesigned Arts de la Maison space in this department store is where you’ll find high-profile brands such as Lalique, Baccarat and Cristal de Sèvres alongside acclaimed Spanish chef Ferra Adrià’s El Bulli collection of table linen and trendy clothes for chefs.
MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH PASTRIES
PIERRE HERMÉ
72 r Bonaparte, 6th. M St-Germain-Des-Pres, +33 (0)1 43544777, www.pierreherme.com
The leading light of the Paris pastry scene is also known as the ‘Picasso of pâtisserie’. However, a few younger pastry chefs, some trained by Hermé, have opened up. Among them are Didier Mathray at Pain de Sucre in the Marais and Claire Damon at Des Gâteaux et du Pain in the 15th arrondissement.
This feature is an edited extract from Gourmet Paris by Rose Jackson (Authentik), £8.99, www.authentikbooks.com
GETTING THERE
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