La Table de Hugo Desnoyer continues for lunch in his butcher shop in the 16th. All his other stabs at restauranteuring (Marché Saint Germain in the 6th and Marché Secrétan in the 19th) have been short-lived. The quality and simple preparations of his luncheonette annex are excellent but expensive and perhaps wasted on a family of 4 including teens. And not the liveliest of places… very bon-bourgeois and late middle-aged judging from my latest experience there last winter.
I’m not sure why no one has seconded my suggestions above of the very enjoyable and somewhat hip Bidoche boucherie-resto combo in the 11th (where I go for the fab salt-meadow lamb from the Baie de Saint-Michel rather than the steak) and the equally enjoyable but less hip Les Provinces boucherie-resto in the Aligre/ 12th. Just not liked by HungOn-ers or not known ?
In that area, the Bistrot de Paris on rue de Lille could be a first-timer’s delight for steak au poivre and other trad standards. Used to be unspeakably fashionable according to my grandmother and last spring I took her on a nostalgia pilgrimage to chat with the spirits of Serge Gainsbourg, Paul Valéry, André Gide et al as we noshed. Surprisingly good. Neither of us had steak but the people (French) at neighbouring tables were oohing and aahing while eating their flambé steaks au poivre and the selection of sauces (béarnaise, bordelaise, etc) on the side. Revamped and re-polished without losing the sense of authenticity, it seems to have re-gained much of its lost lustre, and one of the more enjoyable trad meals I have had in quite a while. Much less touristy and formulaic but more expensive than the Relais de l’Entrecôte Saint-Germain (which admittedly I haven’t been to in at least 15-20 years because waiting in a queue for a table in such a foodie-fab city as Paris makes no sense to me). https://lcep.fr/le-bistrot-de-paris/
Darn. Wish I had been a bit more open to checking out places that weren’t on some list of places to try. Right before Covid, we stayed for two weeks on rue de Lille. I walked by the Bistrot de Paris almost every day. Sadly we never tried it. I recall stopping and looking at the menu but for some reason we never decided to try it.
Perfectly “serviceable” classic French, even well before update. A beloved respite for many of my “less demanding” friends, perhaps of your grandmother’s persuasion. Lovely service and recognizable plates. Not our style then.
I’ll second Les Provinces. It’s my favorite steak place in the city. I suppose I could go to Desnoyer, but I’m too cheap. I find the Relais places irritating.
In my case both Bidoche and Les Provinces are unknown and I didn’t catch your earlier post. But I far prefer lamb to beef, and Oberkampf is much more lively than the 16e, so Bidoche goes on the list for November. But one item Hugo Desnoyer occasionally has on the menu is veal tartare, which I never find anywhere else.
I haven’t been to Pleine Mer for some time, but it doesn’t seem to have changed one bit. Still delivers the essential food groups: oysters, Baltic salmon, muscadet, and kouign-amann.
