Hello all,
I made a quick trip to Paris in November and thought I might post about a couple restaurants that we enjoyed. For context, my husband and I are pescatarien.
I picked Tekés (2nd) because it is open on Sundays (the day of our arrival) and we really enjoy creative vegetarian cooking. When we travel, we often like to have a vegetarian dinner our first evening. I was a little hesitant to make a booking, since some of the reviews suggested that it could be a bit loud (my husband has a slight hearing issue and loud restaurants can sometimes be unpleasant for him). The restaurant was jam-packed and I would describe the atmosphere as lively. It was buzzy, but not too loud. We sat at the bar and it was really, really fun. The bartender walked us through the menu (Mediterranean-Israeli small plates - the theme on our visit was “pumpkin”) and asked about our spice level preferences. There were, I think, four categories on the menu (bread, cold plates, hot, grilled?) and the server recommended that we order one dish from each section. The standout for me was a simple fennel salad with a harissa dressing, lemon, and labnah - honestly, I could eat this every day. We also had a delicious spicy pumpkin with pasta. They had a well-curated wine list and we each had 2 different glasses + I had an Israeli dessert wine (which the bartender comped because he didn’t really feel like there was enough for a full glass left in the bottle). Our total bill was about 150€ and we definitely left quite full. I would 100% recommend for those looking for vegetarian options. I would also put it on the list for solo diners - sitting at the bar was really fun and the servers could not have been lovelier.
We also had dinner with friends at Pierre Sang en Oberkampf (11th). This was also really fun and lively (loud-ish, but not too bad). They only offer a tasting menu, in 6 courses, but they seemed very flexible with dietary restrictions and preferences. Our friend who made the reservation forgot to note that there were 2 pescatariens in our group, so we were a bit nervous, but it was absolutely not an issue. The conceit here is that they only offer two seatings: 19:00 and 21:30. We sat at one long table that ran the length of the small room, though there were a few tables (we were offered a table - downstairs? - but decided on the long table). Also, the servers only told us what was in each dish after we’d eaten it. It was fun to guess, and we realized that one of our friends has a spot-on palate. They also had a fun wine list (including Domaine Serol Turbullent, which is one of my guilty pleasure wines). I really enjoyed my meal here (and at 45.50 € felt quite good value) and would also add it to my list of options for solo diners (I think this would be particularly nice for a solo lunch). That said, it’s definitely not a place for those who want a quiet evening lingering over a meal. And while we enjoyed the novelty of guessing the components of each dish, I was discussing this restaurant with another friend who said that he absolutely hated that.
That’s it for now. As always, I thoroughly enjoyed trying new Parisian restaurants, and I’m grateful to everyone here for always taking the time to post such helpful thoughts and feedback. Your comments are always a pleasure to read! Happy New Year!
