When was the last time you were at Chez Denise?
Honest question. Last time I was there must have been three or four years ago. Kind of recently, the place was sold, and reopened later. Then I got contradictory reports: some said it was just as good as ever, others that it had gone downhill. That last report could be about six months old. If you have been there since, has the place recovered its former glory?
Amarante can be as triste as it wishes to be; when the contents of the plate are of such a high — in my opinion, inequalled — quality, with such a fine touch in the roasting methods and such an attention to ingredients and their origins, the walls themselves might shed tears, I wouldn’t mind a bit.
The place is one-of-a-kind, a living example of a style of cooking that has otherwise almost disappeared, and for that reason it should be cherished. Also, among the Paris bistrots, this one is as Anti-Lobrano as it gets, and I cherish it for that, too. I never understood why Amarante should get blamed for not being tons of fun when it’s all about the food.
Plus — I don’t find the place sad at all. Always puzzles me why it is considered so. It’s a simple restaurant, as there have been many in France in the past.
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As I said, it is controversial. In addition to the atmosphere, I find the food unexceptional at best, as I did at the chef’s predecessor restaurant, Christophe. Both my wife and Parn agree with me (indeed, my wife’s views are stronger than mine). Vive la diversité!
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Thank you! Will make time to give it a try!
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So hard for me to understand why Amarante should be described as “controversial.” I only ate once at Christophe, but it was such a memorable meal for me that I sussed out where that chef was when I (finally) was able to return to Paris. I agree that the meal is heavy there (honestly, I have never tried his preparations of fish), but for the kinds of dishes the OP is flagging, “Veal brains, crispy pig’s trotter and pigeon,” there really is no other restaurant I can think of in Paris that provides the opportunity to eat a simply, but perfectly, prepared menu of such traditional items. There are so many foods I have tried for the first time at Amarante over the years and have learned to trust the chef’s preparation of things that were very strange to my palate.
In addition to the amazing food I have been treated to over the years, I have found the service to be so welcoming to me. Most often I have eaten there alone, and have always been given my choice of table upon arriving, and been treated with kindness and helpfulness when I have had concerns or questions about a food or wine choice. I feel so comfortable there when I go. Also, it is open on every night that other restaurants tend to close, and I know that there are often chefs from other restaurants eating there (because I have on occasion seen one I recognize).
Finally, I always learn something there when I go. I look up the meat I am ordering, for example, and learn that I am eating some kind of special Basque pig that is unique to that region and why. If you go, and order the chocolate dessert (which if you like chocolate, you should as it is all about the ingredients there, and that chocolate is insane), make sure to have a glass of the Banyuls that they always have on hand with it. A revelation, if you have never had that.
Not sure what you could find “unexceptional” about the food? Perhaps such a heavy meal just not your thing, and I definitely get that! But where else in Paris do you recommend instead for such a fine, thoughtful mix of menu, service, wines, etc.? The ambience is also simple, it is not a white tablecloth kind of place, but if I want foie gras and duck or lamb or pig or sweetbreads, tripe, or…there’s no other place in Paris to go, in my opinion. It is a throwback to another time, for sure, but I am glad someone of this caliber is still doing this in Paris!
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Actually, I fail to grasp whatever “controversial” means. If it means that some people like it and some don’t, well, duh — isn’t that the case with all restaurants? At any rate, professional chefs in Paris certainly don’t find it controversial at all and I could name a good number of them if I had a liking for that sort of validation. I’ve stopped counting the chefs I’ve met at Amarante because it is a no-brainer for them when it comes to eating out.
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À chacun son goût.
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Ahhh, okay! That I can totally be onboard with. It sounded to me like you were saying something more than that the restaurant wasn’t your kind of place. But not appealing personally, I think that is totally fair!
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Something similar happened to me in Crete. I had a really nice meal and then the waiter set a 200ml (?) pitcher of ouzo on my table with a shot glass, filled it and said “gratis” which confused me on several levels.
One, what was it?
Two, why “gratis”? I think it is Spanish, not Greek. I think “atelos” is the word in Greek? I had a Belgrade cafe owner give me a meal for free when he thought I was broke years ago and he used “gratis” too. Long story involving ATM cards, Romania and Serbia. Anyway…
Three, how much of it should I drink?
So I took a sip & liked it so I re-filled it when it was half empty and the waiter was in the kitchen. I did thank the guy for a great meal and left a tip, as well but I felt like I had stolen 25ml of ouzo. LOL!
I think you are supposed to take just the one glass, which is what I did after that.
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Does triste in this sense translate as pathetic rather than sad? Or trying too hard? Cheesy? Overrated?
Sad in English sometimes means pathetic rather than depressing.
Probably more toward depressing, although there is perhaps a whiff of pathetic. Not cheesy or overrated.
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Gratis is actually a Latin term (gratis pro Deo, extended somehow to the meaning of “free of charge”), so it is international and you may hear it in Greece as well as in France, Italy, Spain, etc.
If the man put the pitcher on the table, that meant you could drink as much as you wished and clean it up if you wanted to do so. 20 cl is not a large quantity of ouzo, drinking all of it wouldn’t be unlikely for one person. And besides, bringing it in a pitcher means that you’re welcome to drink its entire contents.
If he had brought a large bottle and poured you a shotful of it, that would have meant you could drink only that glass, and that was that. A small bottle would, however, have the same meaning as a small pitcher, especially if the waiter left it on the table.
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“Triste” means sad, simply, in the sense of being sad about something. With more of a nuance of wistful or melancholic than of pathetic or depressing. Depressed is more like it.
In French, when you mean pathetic, you say pathétique, and when you mean depressing, you say déprimant. Sometimes “triste” can be used in a derogatory manner when applied to an obnoxious person (“un triste individu”), synonymous to un sombre individu. Une triste histoire is only a sad story.
Of course liking the food or not is a matter of taste, as Onzième justly reminds us, but I still can’t figure out how the dining-room could be depicted as “sad”. It is not sad by any means, just quite simple, and a rather minimal but friendly expression of the Paris bistro. And considering the satisfaction of diners, the atmosphere either can’t be described as sad. Before it became Amarante it was Le Saint-Amarante, and today’s decor distinctly improves on the previous conditions. Christophe has dumped the horrid black-spaghetti place mats that graced his eponymous restaurant long ago on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève (for sure I’ve advised him to do that more than once). The restaurant has nice daylight and is conveniently lit at night. So what is it that mysteriously leads some people to say the place is “sad” while nobody seems to mind some extradark dining rooms where you can’t even see the details of what you’re eating?
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Only thing I can say about Amarante is that they put butter in everything.
I was surprised the wine didn’t come with a dab of butter in it.
True, they use butter in many of their preparations. Also true that their menu clearly states this on many dishes. And, if you read their “preamble” on line (a good read, by the way), they alert you to not make a mistake and come if you don’t like some fat on meat, as well as butter. Not sure that there’s more they can do to make plain what they’re serving. That being said, I really like the place & actually find it a happy place. So, I would disagree with onzieme’s description of “triste” (as he defines it: “… more toward depressing…”). I do admit that the lunchtime or early evening light probably helps, but I don’t think I’d go there for a late dinner anyway, given what I order. I’d never get to sleep. But, as onz says in this regard, “to each his/her own”.
As for the food preparation itself, I find it straightforward, bringing out the flavors of the product without trying to get overly “inventive”. And the product on offer is well worth it – I’ve eaten offal in many places and don’t remember any place doing better. I don’t think that it’s fair to compare what’s served here (& the reasoning behind it) to places that strive for something else.
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Welcome to French traditional cuisine… Butter and cream 
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No problem!! Red wine with every meal balances things off!
Worked in Paris for two years…no issue with Blood Pressure, Cholesterol or Triglyceride!
WALKING back to the apartment after eating out helped too!! 
I did.
That’s why I was surprised there wasn’t butter in the wine.
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They’d never sell California Chards. there.
I hope. 
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