Eunoé is new restaurant in my neighborhood that I’ve already been to three times because it is so good (it got a very good review from Emmanuel Rubin in Le Figaro, too, but I was there before him )
A Japanese chef and a very enthusiastic front-of-the-house person lead the team; lots of veggies, wine list is short but excellent selections and great prices (they buy direct from the producers, while most Paris restaurants go through distributors). Closest Métros are #3 (Parmentier, St-Maur) and #9 (St-Ambroise, Voltaire:); #5 (Oberkampf and Ménilmont) is also an easy walk. Don’t Miss!
Must hit it. I just got to Orgueil for the first time yesterday which is also very close to me.
To onz’s excellent recommendation, I should add that Eunoé’s price/ quality ratio is stunningly good. An almost miraculous bargain for the quality. A 21€ “formule” for lunch and under 50€ for a 3-course dinner. Wheeeee !!
When it first opened, I thought it would be just another earnest and expensive Japanese-cheffed restaurant French restaurant, but then I saw the prices and made a beeline for it. And the twists are not what I have come to expect from this genre of restaurant. Still very French but hints not only of Japan but also Middle Eastern/ Mediterranean.
I’ll also add the Square Gardette has in the 5 or 6 years become one of my favourite “hang out” neighbourhoods in the 11th. The variety and quality of the restos, brasseries, bars, etc is impressive and allows lots of possibilities for a people-watching before and after. But a slight warning: some may find the trendy/ hip vibe off-putting.
Thanks for the recommendation. This is exactly the kind of thing I miss John Talbott for. It even looks like we could go with vegetarian friends.
Just one possible problem for picky eaters. Although frequently changing, the menu is VERY limited. The first time I was there, just a choice of one vegetarian and one protein main at lunch and 1 veggie and 2 protein at dinner. Second time there were one or two more choices for dinner but not sure if that was exceptional or now standard. If the main doesn’t fit in with your preferences, oops.
I’d say that the majority, even large majority, of restaurants where I eat these days offer a vegetarian choice.
How did you like Orgueil?
I thought it was good but still has some upside on the cuisine. The dishes are very good but what you see is what you get.
Great reviews! Like you we loved Eunoe. Had we lived in Paris we would dine there at least once every few weeks! We did D
Thanks again for posting all of these reviews. Really feels very helpful to me!
my photos from eunoe are here Dinners in Paris input needed please - #56 by beam
By the way, even though we love Eunoe, last week we had less then pleasant time when we made a reservation for Sunday, received a confirmation the day of, and still came to a closed restaurant on a rainy Sunday night. It really sucked to be looking for an alternative dinner later Sunday night. I wish they fix their website and reservation system if they no longer work Sunday night (maybe they never did).
It’s not really clear what their Sunday hours are. For all the time that I’ve been going there (shortly after they opened to last July), on Sundays they were open only for lunch, AFAIK. The website currently says open lunch and dinner on Sundays, but google currently says closed all day Sunday, updated by the business 10 weeks ago.
I’d contact them and let them know of your experience.
I emailed them. It is crazy that their reservation system allowed me to make a reservation and sent an reminded the day before as well!
I imagine it’s all automated based on information they give the system, and they forgot to notify resy (the reservation system) that they had switched to Sunday closure. (The Sunday dinner and lunch, as opposed to lunch, may have been an Olympics extension of hours.)
I think this is exactly what happened. Not sure I will ever go there again though. Too pissed off.
Welcome to a very lonely club. Bingo every other Friday
I was a solo diner for lunch at Eunoé, on one of the days that my partner had to work. I made a noon reservation, and was offered my choice of inside or outside, on a parking-lane terrace with a view of the corner of the attractive park in Square Maurice Gardette. It was a warm day, though, and there was just a bit too much solar radiation out there, even with umbrellas, so I opted for a table inside, just by the window. After I had been sitting there for a bit, they decided to open up the window, which took a bit of work as they didn’t quite know how to do it, and I had to move my drinks and stand up for a bit. But the result was the best of both worlds, proper shade and fresh air. Two parties that arrived later opted for the terrace, and one couple sat further inside, but mostly the place was nearly empty until I left. Periodically some tourists would wander by and look at the menu, then move on.
The servers were two tall, thin, young men, in black T-shirts, sports shorts, white socks, and trainers, looking like they were on their way to a pickup game. I don’t ask much of servers, only that they not drop my food on the floor, and they notice my signals to ask for more water or wine. I’ve had fine service from minor children of the chef. Service at Eunoé was friendly enough, but rather fumbling. I took a glass of the Cairanne. I hadn’t had this appellation in a while, and it was lighter and more fruit-forward than I remembered.
I started with the pâté, which was more lean and light than usual, and I appreciated the slightly-sweet, barely-set gelatin on the side calling back to the traditional aspic.
The plating both here and in my main was somewhat slapdash, but the dishes worked.
The magret de canard suffered by comparison with our magret de canette at Géméllus the day before, but that meal cost more than twice as much, and if I put that out of mind, it was a good plate of food, though perhaps not as inventive as the menu description might have suggested.
I was told that the panna cotta had changed from black sesame to chocolate-hazelnut, and that was fine with me. It was served in a pool of what was basically cold chocolate milk, which was a bit surprising, but it worked well, especially in the moderate heat. Something more saucy would have been too much.
I went up to the bar, where the two servers tended to hang out, to pay, and was not impressed with the 3€ charge for “filtered water”, when I had distinctly said “un carafe d’eau” (but I didn’t dispute it).
I felt the overall experience was more even and harmonious at nearby Erso than at Eunoé, which was more comparable to Le 975 in the 18e for me: some spark and inventiveness, but also some missteps. I tend to be in the 11e more (we usually try to stay there) but there are also many competing choices. I will keep Eunoé in mind to fill out a dance card or if I cannot get a reservation at a preferred choice. If I lived nearby it might make it into the rotation periodically, but I might also discover more enticing possibilities.