Appreciate all the suggestions when I first posted about this brief Paris visit with my adult daughter. I’ve poured through the dining in Paris posts and have definitely decided I need a month to cover the neighborhoods, restaurants, and markets I wish I could visit. Alas, I’ve only got 5 full days.
The new list is:
Saturday
Pianovins or Virtus for lunch, a la carte at kgb for dinner
Sunday
Lunch at Automne, oysters or some light dinner
Monday
Alliance for lunch (3 course menu)
Jacques Fausset for dinner
Tuesday
Pantagruel for lunch,
shorter menu at Jeanne-Aimee for dinner
Wednesday
Les Parisiens for lunch, Granite for dinner
This is the my post-Covid visit to Paris and am trying to be in different neighborhoods and are staying near Hotel de Ville. We’ll be visiting the smaller markets and walking around a lot. Also, due to some recent family health issues, really gearing dining choices towards my daughter’s likes—- small, visually beautiful, Japanese/French style and not organ meats, pigeon, etc.
I know we’re cramming in a lot but will welcome your thoughts and potential replacements! Thanks in advance.
All very good restos but, for me, there would be food fatigue very quickly. Jamming all these fab restos— and most with a very similar style of cuisine-- into 5 days has its risks of diminishing enjoyment. I’d include a sandwich lunch here and there and browsing for on-the-go deli-style lunches at the historic and very foodie Marché des Enfants Rouges on rue Bretagne in the trendy upper 3rd (a quick hop on the #75 or #96 bus from Hotel de Ville) or the covered Marché Beauvau in the vibrant and foodie-fab Aligre quartier in the 12th. Both have some stands with counter seating and tables scattered here and there. In the case of Enfants Rouges, a lovely park (Square du Temple) just down the street if weather allows for a bench picnic… grassy areas off-limits until May. Weekends tend to be uncomfortably crowded so weekdays (except Monday, the traditional closing day) better.
What makes Paris such a good food destination is the variety that it offers. Take advantage of it.
Your point is very well taken, Parn, and yes, I am someone who likes exploring and experiencing different things. Then the challenge becomes what I cut! Since Saturday is our first full day, may cut Pianovins, /Virtus, keep dinner at kgb and do lunch at Marche des Enfants Rouges—-enjoyed past visits there.
Sunday lunch at Automne is a keeper (I think) and then meander around, pick up something or have oysters/seafood for dinner. Nellu is close to apartment and could have wine and a bite later there—-the current chef is going to open Nellu Tokyo so will see what’s happening with his replacement.
On Monday, I would be inclined to keep Alliance but not necessarily Jacques Fausset for dinner.
On Tuesday, maybe Pantagruel lunch gets hacked off, still going to Jeanne-Aimee for dinner. I’d leave Les Parisiens and Granite in place for Wednesday, our last day.
If you or others suggest different choices, please chime in. Haven’t been in Paris since Covid so am probably overthinking this (actually no probably about it!!). Thanks in advance for the help!
I haven’t eaten at all of the places on your original list, but I’m with Daniel and thought it seemed like a lot. I think your editing makes sense and look forward to hearing your thoughts after. I’ve never been to kgb but have been to Ze Kitchen Galerie a few times and enjoy it. I’ve never quite understood the menu/offering at kgb, but it looks appealing and would love to have an opinion on it.
I am very taken with Jeanne-Aimee. I have now eaten there four times (four different trips) and have never had the same bite twice. I love the current concept (you can choose any four or five dishes from anywhere in the menu you choose), and I finally had the gougères that someone had been raving about (maybe @sfcarole?) when I went just after New Year’s. And it may be what the Chef does with vegetables that shine over everything else for me in terms of creativity and and sheer yummy-ness. Very few restaurants that I would even really notice the vegetables unless they were bad, so this feels to me like something special about this restaurant. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it.
Thanks much for your input ninkat. Yes, I also remember reading about the gougeres and hope they still serve them at Jeanne-Aimee. I like their choice concept very much, allowing for flexibility.
Someone, (maybe you? ) questioned going to Les Parisiens since it is a hotel restaurant. I may swap out that one for something else.
I was at Jeanne-Aimée for lunch on Wednesday (previous two visits had been at dinner) and they do a bang-up job for a most modest price: 29/35€ for 2/3 plates – a value that’s hard to match at that level of quality. All French there except for me, very much the same crowd as at night – lots of people in 20s-40s, a sprinkling of older, almost no one sticking just to water to drink.
That’s a great price at Jeanne-Aimed—-also felt their 69€ dinner menu is a value. I can’t get close to that here in the DC area! I think that’s partly what is driving me to try so many wonderful places Also, going for Monday dinner so that fits well.
Feeling my dining options are constant moving pieces! Now Pertinence has reared its head. Yes, I recognize I have overload of French/Japanese but know my daughter will love that. Wish I could stretch my visit.
Pertinence was a favorite restaurant for many years, but a dinner there last fall was not of the same quality I’ve had previously, doubly disappointing because I wanted to provide a stellar meal for a visiting friend. I’ll let @sfcarole chime in, but I believe she, too, has had a recent disappointment there.
Never been to Les Parisiens. I think sometimes of a hotel restaurant on a Sunday or Monday, but usually gravitate elsewhere…L’Assiette on a Sunday, e.g. Just feels somehow more Parisian to me.
Although I had never had the gougères amuse bouche at Jeanne-Aimee, I have had several memorable amuses that I am not sure I would trade for the gougères. Thinking of a fish skin (?) crisp, a beet mousse with anchovy ice cream, and broccoli tempura with a tomato-ish sauce that were all revelations in that amuse category for me. So, not to worry, if that’s not what they are serving when you go, IMO.
I will try for lunch @onzieme when I go the end of March! The first time I went was for dinner in early September, and the sun had not yet set. I recall how beautiful the restaurant was in daylight, an experience just different from night, as there are huge windows/skylight. I would like to experience this again, and the similar menu at those prices sounds like it can’t be beat!
L’Assiette is a great idea for the weekend and is different from the many French/Japanese places I am gravitating towards.
Also, hope to hear more about Pertinence but your thumbs down has me reshuffling the deck with some new cards in and old cards out. Appreciate your and others patience as I am sifting through all this! Thanks.
Hi Onz, just a quick note to say, I really appreciate that you (like Parn) often describe the restaurant customer demographics. That’s a relevant consideration for us when we are weighing multiple places.
We visited Pertinence in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, the last time a 6-course dinner for 105€. The same dinner is now 145€. While the courses were good, I agree that it was not as stellar as it used to be. It’s also a very small, somewhat formal restaurant, and not a particularly young crowd. I’ve never seen more than six or eight other diners there, so it doesn’t quite have the ambiance of so many other places in the same category.
Thanks for that feedback, Carole which certainly echoes onzieme’s feelings about Pertinence. I’ve poured through all your reviews which have been most helpful.
Now looking at Maison and Automne for the Japanese/French focus and putting in more variety as parn and ninkat suggested. You had liked Granite, Pantagruel and Alliance, I believe, and still sticking with those restaurants.
These look like great choices to me, you just need another five days to fit them all in! With the exception of Jacques Faussat (which has been on our list for a year or so), we have been to all of these places, so we must have similar tastes.
As Parn has pointed out, food fatigue is a real problem. And one day of overdoing it can sometimes last for several days. So we agree with everyone’s comments about market counters for lunch or perhaps wine bars for “dinner”. Often after a great multi-course lunch, if we find we’re hungry around 9:30pm, we opt for a salad and a glass of wine at a café or brasserie. Just wandering around in the evening is enjoyable and will quickly reveal the popular spots.
L’Assiette would be a good choice for Sunday lunch if you’re in the mood for a traditional meal. But if you still want to pursue more contemporary cuisine, I think Dilia is much better choice than Automne which I was sadly a little bored with last year. Another thought for Sunday is Chocho in the 10th with incredibly creative food and a fun atmosphere.
And yes, I love Granite and Alliance, and wouldn’t miss them on a trip to Paris. We didn’t get to Pantagruel last fall, but the year before it was great.
You had me laughing out loud Carole with your opening line. Yes, have heard the “food fatigue” warnings but is that for full tasting menus or 3 course ones? Am I underestimating the portion sizes? Or am I just a glutton?
Hmmmm about Automne. Had that now for evening meal but your lack of enthusiasm for it gives me pause. My daughter definitely leans toward that style food. Is there another Japanese/French place you (or others) like better?
Yes, I like the idea of Sunday lunch at L’Assiette as I think ninkat also advised. Will try and continue trimming!!
A three-course lunch at Alliance, for example, will be more like seven courses. And who can resist a buttery brioche that also happens to be on the table? So, it’s usually not portion sizes, per se, but the parade of well-prepared dishes along with your delicious glass of wine or champagne.
On reconsideration, I wouldn’t eliminate Automne just because I had one so-so meal. All of our other meals there were splendid and it could have just been an off day. But you ask about other Japanese/French restos, and Restaurant Pages in the 16th comes to mind. However, they are not open Sunday, but maybe you have moved Automne to another day. The places I mentioned, Dilia and Chocho, are not Japanese/French, but they are modern cuisine. I also like Aspic in the 9th and Sourire in the 13th - again, modern, but the chefs are French. But in truth, any restaurant we go to with a Japanese chef is usually cooking totally French cuisine.
Another priceless line regarding Alliance meal ——“who can resist a buttery brioche on the table”. Well not I (either).
Still moving parts and Pages may be a new slot replacing another one. Automne is still a maybe. Have you—-or anyone else——heard of Sphere? Another Japanese chef mentioned in a Forbes article about “must book” places.
They also mentioned Nellu, which parn’s brother I believe, had given it a very positive review so wondered about Sphere. Waiting to hear too how Nellu’s new chef settles in since it is very convenient to the apartment we’re renting.
By all means go to Alliance, one of my favorites, probably my current favorite (and for the past several years), but the buttery brioche hasn’t been there the past several times I’ve been there (I generally go about 4-6+ times a year). And your choice to go at lunch is wise, IMO – some restaurants are equally good at lunch and dinner, some better at dinner, and some better at lunch. Alliance, in my experience, is best at lunch.
We love Pages - its relatively under the radar but we never miss a dinner there when we go to Paris and have not been disappointed. 2022 dinner report is here Paris report - Pages, Granite, Montee, Flocon
Alliance is locked in for a lunch, onzieme, with or without brioche! And beam, I read your helpful reviews—-Granite is our last night in Paris dinner and we may fit Flocon in too. Trying to extend our trip a bit to fit in all the wonderful options.
Several other HOs have also mentioned Pages and it is a great fit for us. Will do at lunch so will need to decide if shorter or longer option. It will likely knock out a lunch at Pantagruel. Automne may be out too. Sphere anyone? It’s also Japanese chef in the 8th.
