Paris restaurants

got a few recommendations from a couple of winemakers. haven't been to any of them yet, but will be in Paris in January probably, so will aim to check one or possibly two out:

Les Arlots, r. du Fauberg Poissonière (came v highly recommended)
Bistrot Paul Bert, and the nearby cousin, specialising in fish, L'Ecailler du Bistrot, both on r Paul Bert
Le Clown Bar, r Amelot

Those are all ones I’ve heard of but haven’t tried. Maybe I’ll try les Arlots over the vacances, that one sounds particularly nice and I live pretty close by.

L'Avant Comptoir (wine bar) is a little too popular but I always have fun every time I go. They opened a seafood centric version right next door (quieter, but they have some seating). I also really like Le Verre Vole for a super casual lunch (great selections of natural wines). There is also La Cave Paul Bert, but the vibe is a little too off for me. Les Campagnie des Vins Surnaturel (there is also one in NYC) has a lot more seating and also has an excellent wine list, some small foods, boho furniture.

Also, I feel like the Thai food is better in Paris than NYC. That could just be me though. For a bucket list splurge, I do think L'Arpege is worth it (the lunch cost especially).

I was there a month ago and Pottoka was really, really great.

Where do you go for Thai in Paris? I’ve never had it here though I nearly decided to go to a place on the canal for lunch today (made yaki udon at home instead cuz I got lazy). On Thursday I’ll be in the 13th most of the day so I was thinking of a Thai place down there too.

There are a several really good ones around where all the bars are in Place D'Italie. I also think Mme Shawn is fine (plus they have tofu if someone needs a veg friendly place).

yeah the 13th is probably where I gotta go. I teach there one evening a week but I’m rarely there for lunch

Oh wait, I am thinking of the wrong stop. Place D'Italie is too big, this one is smaller and had the spigots of natural water that you can fill your water jugs.

Maybe I am thinking of Corvisart nearby, but the general area is right. Also, Mme Shawn has a couple of locations.

going for two nights this week, staying in marais near place des vosges.

any food or other recs welcome - i have some familiarity with places i like but places that are good for dining solo would be nice too - i am not too squeamish about the atmosphere, a counter or bar is nice but not mandatory. Le Sot L'y Laisse sounds great - how is that if i'm solo?

any good cocktail bars?

Maybe try Sherry Butt? I’ve never been (I’m rarely in the Marais, just for falafel) but I’ve heard it’s good.

I should try l’Ambroisie sometime

le sot l'y laisse would be fine solo. you could even bring a book probably. it's in kind of a quiet area, not sure about cocktail bars around there.

i will have a marais suggestion just as soon as my wife comes downstairs.

I enjoyed cocktails at both Little Red Door and Experimental Cocktail Club, the latter in/near the Marais. IANParisian, just a tourist, so y'know pls ignore.

the lovely Emma B says Chez Janou in the Marais. though it can get busy.

ah that one came up in some of my searching. what i find difficult about paris, a bit like new york but moreso, is that you read a review of a place that says it's good, then check the website and the menu is sort of general french bistro, and then the google reviews are all 4.1 or 4.2.

this doesn't happen in london cos the average standard is so variable - and in nyc i can kind of gauge places more based on the english language and how much more branded and distinct they are. in paris i find myself comparing one bistro to another, it's p hard to read the clues. as a result i end up going classic and avoiding more modern places, not that i don't think they'd be good, more that it's hard to tell what's just some joker fucking around and what's actually interesting, i guess i don't fully get the food aesthetic of paris as a city. there seems to be some chasm between classic and wildly expensive michelin in which there's a wide range of other experimental cooking the quality or nature of which i'm unsure about.

I enjoyed cocktails at both Little Red Door and Experimental Cocktail Club, the latter in/near the Marais. IANParisian, just a tourist, so y'know pls ignore.

these look good - ty.

any really glaringly essential sights/museums i should actually see or things i should do? i am p bad at doing these, i often just go for long walks when on holiday. think i might go to the picasso museum but other than that i have some work to do in the day.

Used to like hanging out in the Marais but haven’t been there in decades so have nothing to add to whatever I may have posted further upthread /zingpost

ah i'll have a look - sorry

Oberkampf was a favorite neighborhood on my recent visit; ate at one of Pierre Sang's places there, didn't wow me as much as Pottoka but that was an unexpectedly high bar. The Sang was definitely a great atmosphere, you sit practically in the kitchen where two chefs put out like 6 courses while Madonna blasts on the stereo.

Also ate at L'Ami Jean, lunch at Guy Savoy, er I have to remember the others. L'Ami Jean was good but not my favorite (see above). Guy Savoy is like whatever I was on vacation and wanted to splurge on the cheap, i.e. 130 euro lunch menu. Which quickly escalated because drinks, of course.

Okay, used to love to hang out at Au Petit Fer à Cheval, named after its horseshoe-shaped bar, at 30 Rue Vielle du Temple. Looks like the proprietor Xavi now owns four restaurants in the area. Remember being pleasantly surprised to see his walk-on part in The Dreamlife of Angels, seems he has some other film credits as well as actor and writer.

I thought the cocktails at Pas de Loup were excellent, we went early when it was quietist and they were charming, we could have stayed all night. But we went to the Red House and drank more, also very good cocktails in a pubbier atmos. Then we walked to Le Sot L’y A Laisse ( thanks to Tracer) and fell a bit in love with the place.

Food recs in Paris are weird in part because Parisiens tend to eat quite locally, not straying much from their quartier or from where they work. And the Marais now is mostly a touristic quartier, so the recs will be more out of sorts.

There you go

i went to chez janou last night. it was great! i was there quite early but it was extremely busy, tourists eat early i suppose, my excuse was i travelled through lunch. initially it looked as tho i wouldn't get in but then the barman (possibly owner) said i'd be okay if i was happy to eat at the bar, which obv was what i wanted. ended up meeting a few people who were sitting beside me - the atmos generally was great, the barman was ridiculously rude to some people but once you braved his initial greeting it was all pretty genial. he was pouring free glasses of wine and stuff for us by the end. really great communal atmos and the food was nice, fairly classic stuff. thanks for the tip, tracer and emma b.

Is it rude to ask you if you specifically went to Paris to get some writing done? (read your trimming down a story tweets)

Asking because France has been extremely kind to me in this respect: I go away at least once a year on my own, to have a couple of good writing days, coupled with good food and an inspiring feeling. Paris is hard to beat when it comes to my specific needs that way, though it can be hard to ignore all the diversions. Was just wondering if your trip was of the same make more or less.

sort of a combo of things. my assignments for college are due on monday, it's nice to get away somewhere after xmas, and i didn't want to spend a week in my apartment trying to write, can be kind of cabin fever. also just nice to visit paris, food and wine etc. the change of scene was p good actually - kind of forced me to work in compact segments of time.

Yeah, that's the best. Cabin fever very much something bothering me when trying to write. I've plenty of time for blaming my home but in fairness it's me. Bonne chance, man.

ah that's great you had a good time at janou ronan. i haven't been there in years. i do remember a certain impressive surliness to the waitstaff, and the lovely emma b telling me that if you're rude back to them "the waiters sort of enjoy it" which i still have my reservations about. in any case it's quite rare to get a free drink in france so well done!

there was some free absinthe also - it was quite a friendly atmosphere until an extremely weird american joined in. when i said i was in paris for two days he said "that's awesome - well done you for choosing to give that gift to yourself"

last night i went to bistrot paul bert, it was full of other tourists, predictably enough, but the food was very good. really good steak tartare with salad and fries, steak, salad and chips all exemplary.

today with some time to kill near gare du nord i ended up trying this place: https://www.alexanderlobrano.com/restaurant-reviews/les-arlots-paris-a-stunningly-good-new-bistro-a-b/

it was fantastic - prob the best meal i had this time around. the menu was a lot more simple for lunch than in that article, i had an egg salad to start and onglet with potato gratin. the wine was mostly natural and the entire atmos and service was great. definitely worth a try for those of you using the eurostar.

ah that was the top recommendation i got from the winemakers I was talking to as well (les arlots have just started stocking their wine). will definitely try it when i'm out there next, hopefully at the end of the month.

Any good recommendations near Gare de Lyon or should I just trek in further towards Bastille/Charonne?

We just spent way too much time finding a public fontaine petillante. Totally worth it though. I should've had a party there.

There’s one in the Jardin d’Eole close to chez moi! There’s also one close to the BnF.

I went to the one near Chatelet. Although we mistakenly thought there was one near Republique (some weird thing on the map) so we were creepstering on anything that looked remotely like a fountain. Went to the one near the library F. Mitterand today.

Right BnF = bibliothèque François Mitterand

City is fun today! Just got back from Germany, and the streets are full of flags and songs.

Ah, that is the BnF! We had a little picnic by the quai de la gare today but it was way too sunny and already at 1pm it looked like it was going to be a madhouse soon. I realize that the thai restaurants I was trying to remember upthread are around Rue de la Butte aux Cailles. My spouse has been a sport about making sure I get my fill of foie, pulpo and pig ears this trip so I need to make sure he gets some tofu soon. He's super into the sparkling water fountains. We filled up my nalgene at them twice today and took pics.

That’s how you do it!

Going to be in Paris early December for a few nights, some really interesting recommendations from this thread (Les Arlots, Bistrot Paul Bert), anything else taken anyone's fancy since the last post?

I had a good experience at La Cave de Belleville this summer after hitting the Raviolis Nord Est. I am adding both to my set list of places I always go while in Paris.

This is probably lame, but the sushi is really mediocre where I live so we do go to the Matsuris in Paris and Lyon all the time, especially because of the La Fourchette 40% off deal. I love conveyor belt sushi.

Cool, I didn’t know we had conveyer belt sushi here! Are any of the locations in particular easy to get a seat at?

I find them all easy to get a seat at. But I also eat kind of early. I usually try to do 30 minutes after the lunch or dinner service starts so there is more stuff out on the belt. But you can also just order from the menu whenever. I think they all have slightly different menus.

I have absolutely never seen one full, but they also don't have the 30-40% off at primetimes I guess. You can see on la fourchette times when it's available.

Went to a place called Baieta (think it was in the left bank?) this summer and it knocked my socks off. Pricey but awesome. And another place called Petite Keller that was more boho and Asian fusion. Excellent as well.

La Fourchette is a great tool these days. I feel a little bad using the discounts at the Eritrean restaurant nearby, but on the other hand the discounts are how I found the place.

Yeah, i usually get embarrassed about groupon discount types of things but Matsuri is too pricey for the quality without it otherwise. And they are always really seamless in just putting the discount on. We used it to try an ethiopian restaurent near Jaures last time too.