Paris spring ‘24 meal report, Part 2 [Brasserie Martin, Chefs à Table, Les Enfants du Marché, Pierre Sang Gambey, 21G Dumpling, Perception, Vaisseau, Cheval d’Or, Cho Cho, Dilia]

Regional Dining Discussions France
1

Upon our return to Paris at the end of May, we had a late night quick meal at the highly recommended on this board Brasserie Martin. The terrine and roast chicken were just ok, and the bread was stale. I probably should have tried the steak tartare Parn recommends here. We don’t plan to return, but YMMV.

We enjoyed Chefs à Table for dinner. We found it very similar in style and price (slightly higher here) to Pierre Sang, though I still prefer the latter. The wine pairing here, while not memorable, was definitely a step up from the one at Pierre Sang. Will likely return, but not a must. FYI they offer a vegetarian tasting menu to go along with the regular one, so folks looking for both would likely find this an excellent choice.

Daughter and I had lunch at Les Enfants du Marché. The mussels with Gorgonzola were really good. The tuna belly not as good as I remembered from the prior time, and my only disappointment. The duck breast salad was excellent, and I hope it’s on the menu again this year when we return.

We went to Pierre Sang Gambey and enjoyed it, and the price is very fair, but still prefer Oberkampf (where we took more family a couple weeks later) over Gambey.

We really enjoyed lunch at Geosmine, and will definitely return. It is not inexpensive, but we enjoyed everything on our 80E “Initiation” lunch menu. The recommendation (I believe from @onzieme, but may have been someone else) to check out the bathroom was spot on!

As I wrote up separately last summer, 21G Dumpling is worth the trip if you want some truly excellent pork XLB. These are great by West Coast U.S. standards; imo they compare favorably to the XLB I’ve had at Din Tae Fung. Also worth trying the shrimp wontons in (too mild, but this is France) chili oil. The oil is worth having to dunk the XLB in, so my recommendation is multiple orders of XLB and one order of the wontons. The rest of what we tried was mediocre at best, and I would not recommend. My daughter and I actually went back a second time 10 days later the XLB were so good.

Dinner at Perception was great, if not quite as awesome as when we went the year before. Two of us had the Menu 8 Temps and one the Menu 6 Temps. Still the best value tasting menu in Paris, IMO, and still on our must return list. I think it deserves a Michelin star, but I guess its better for my pocketbook it still hasn’t got one.

Made the booking at the exact minute it came available and did lunch at Vaisseau. Not sure whether or not it is still as difficult to book as it was last year. We did the “Quoi” 60E lunch menu, and while it was very good, it wasn’t IMO worth the hype. But the 120E “N’importe quoi” I saw a couple of other tables order seemed like it might have been more interesting, so my suggestion is if you do try and succeed at getting a reservation, probably worth ordering that.

Dinner at Cheval d’Or exceeded my expectations. Chinese food with French twists more than “Asian-fusion”, at least for this American. The food was so good we went back again with visiting family, specifically for perhaps the best “Peking” duck I’ve ever had (certainly the skin), and the soup with a foie gras-filled dumpling. It’s on our must-return list for sure.

We were underwhelmed, by contrast, with board favorite Cho Cho. Nothing problematic, but it just didn’t sing to us. I would not let this dissuade you if you are interested in going, however, as I suspect it was as much our choice of dishes (oysters, particularly disappointing gnocchi, red tuna, artichoke) that night as anything else. And prices are quite reasonable.

We enjoyed Dilia very much, if perhaps not quite as much as @sfcarole seems to. Some dishes lean Italian, others seem pretty French to me. Prices very fair. We will return.

9 Likes
2

I was not favorably impressed with Brasserie Martin, either. Even more so when you have Erso just a few doors down the street and Eunoé very close by.

Will have to try Cheval d’Or. Were there lots of Americans there?

2 Likes
3

Cheval d’Or was a complete disaster at the beginning, when the late Taku Sekine was at the helm, and at the time I wrote a report here. Additionally, there was a sort of tension or anxiety about the place, which was explained by some dark facts that were unearthed shortly before Sekine took his own life.

At the time, no journalist had dared to tell it like it was, i.e. pretentious and uninteresting food, because of the Paris foodie media solidarity.

For a restaurant team, it is very difficult to recover from such hardships, and if Cheval d’Or has finally become good, that team deserves my full admiration.

3 Likes
4

Aware of the situation with Taku Sekine, I had never wanted to go the Le Cheval d’Or, but that was already five years ago, and I recently have seen enough reliable good reviews that it’s worth investigating (at least to me). The one problem is that if I go up to that part of Belleville, Soces is literally just down the street, and it’s hard to pass up going there.

3 Likes
5

I do not recall there being that many Americans. I’d be surprised if it was more than about 25%-30% the first time we were there.

We loved Enuoé and will be going back. Have to try Erso this trip.

1 Like
6

At Géosmine, we also enjoyed the Initiation menu last year, and as long as the warm chocolate mousse with praline and salt is on the menu we’re happy. Across from Géosmine is the very interesting Qui Plume La Lune (Jacky Ribault). We’ve been there twice and loved it, so you might check it out.

The N’Importe Quoi menu is definitely the way to go at Vaisseau. The dishes are simply more delicious.

We didn’t love our second visit to Cho Cho either. Maybe it was those disappointing gnocchi that we also ordered. I’ve only been there for lunch, when weekends are decidedly more lively than week days. I think I also like sitting at the bar where you can watch the dishes being prepared and decide which looks best to you.

Most of the dishes at Dilia seem French to me too, except perhaps the ‘in brodo’ course, and perhaps the desserts. We love it for Sunday lunches when it is packed, with a quiet buzz. But I also love it for dinner.

1 Like
7

I see that Jean-Christophe Rizet is no longer the chef there. He left A yea ago February. Have you been back under the new chef?

1 Like
8

I wasn’t aware of that. The last meal I had there was in May 2024, and it was very good and seemed to be in the same style; often, when a chef leaves the number 2 takes over and, at least initially, continues in the same style.

1 Like
9

FWIW, Michelin kept the star even though there was more than a year to re-evaluate the restaurant. Frequently, with a change of chef, there is, at least initially, a downgrade.

1 Like
10

If you only had to pick one: Geosmine or Qui plume la lune?

11

I didn’t return in 2024 (but was there in 2022 and 2023), so I have no experience with the new chef, Lorenzo De Girolamo. But based on what @onzieme is saying, I may return this year. Even with the former chef, Rizet, the head chef is always Jacky Ribault. Of course, Ribault also has a restaurant in Vincennes, called Ours, and another outside of Paris (Noisy-Le Grand). And he may open a brasserie in Saint-Ouen, which would be interesting. So he divides his time among a lot of places, which makes the caliber of the new chef quite important.

@beam I would pick Qui Plume la Lune.

12

Sorry, my mistake. I thought the reference was to Géosmine. I have never eaten at Qui Plume la Lune.