Bistrot Instinct - HO gave us the idea to try this place for our first night while dealing with a 9-hour jet lag from SF. Usually we have oysters the first night but I was drawn by Instinct’s nice looking veggie option with black rice Venere which I love. Here it was combined with melty spinach, not quite a purée which is a brilliant concept. R went straight to the quasi de veau. We dined upstairs - here the exception to rule #27 perhaps - and loved the bird’s eye view of the kitchen below. Great staff and vibe. 9:30 pm res which suited us fine but as I recall this was the only time slot available - on a Wednesday night no less - when making the res two weeks prior!
Granite - Well, we had to try this place right away since there have been so many raves. We were given a superb table tucked in by a window and the opening to the kitchen. Lots to watch. We chose the 3-course lunch menu and each course was exceptional with complex flavors, justifying those seven cooks in the kitchen. Because we knew Granite is a hard res to get, we booked far ahead for dinner as well (assuming we would like the lunch, which we unquestionably did). The service was friendly, hospitable and efficient. Before we left we were asked where we wanted to sit when we came back.
Les Canailles de Ménilmontant - Onzième has been telling me for ages to try this place, so we hiked up there for lunch (and also did one of our Paris ‘walks’ in the area). I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun laughing and sparring with the staff of a restaurant before we had even sat down. The main FOH guy is completely infectious. Emmanuel Chaignon I think his name is. Just look at his picture on the resto website and you’ll see what I mean. It would be impossible to walk out of there in a bad mood. And we were served the most wonderful almost charred roasted cèpes that I’ve ever had.
Sourire - This is one place I am almost reluctant to share. Hidden away in the 13th, we’ve been the only anglophones here almost every time we’ve come for lunch or dinner the last few years. We prefer lunch because dinner is packed and delirious. We had a four-course lunch, plus, plus for, I believe 52€, and every single bite was superb. The main meat course was venison, only very slightly gamey and extremely tender. It was served with a mushroom I am not familiar with: sparassis. Sauce was a cerf and grape jus.
Automne - We always love Automne and our 5-course Saturday lunch (they count the amuse as a course, so really only 4) was delicious as always. But every dish seemed to be lacking something. Just a little dull. And the tarragon infused blanc mange with lemon was the exact same dessert we were served last year. Even the mignardises looked like something left over from someone else’s party. We thought the 85€ price for four courses was a serious blow to the “rapport qualité prix”.
Pierre Sang in Oberkampf - Another HO idea. We hadn’t been back since 2014. 
But in the interim we tried PS in Gambey several times which we loved and his restaurant Signature which we didn’t. We loved just about every dish, many of which contained intriguing uses of kimchi and sambal (which was served with a very tender duck breast). Lentils were mixed with beef chorizo and a cilantro (coriander) kimchi called gosu kimchi. I had never heard of it before. We sat at the bar and had delightful conversations with those on either side of us.
