Heidi Ellison

Heidi Ellison, a long-time Paris resident, is a freelance journalist specializing in art, travel and literature. Her articles have been published in dozens of international publications, and she has contributed to a number of guidebooks on Paris and France.

Amarante

Prime Spot for Meat Lovers

April 15, 2015 | By Heidi Ellison | Restaurants

My hopes for Amarante were high. I remembered enjoying a wonderful meal at Christophe, the previous restaurant of Amarante’s chef-owner Christophe Philippe, although both Richard Hesse (Paris Update’s former restaurant critic) and I had found the decor depressing.

Kirane’s

Desperately Seeking A Great Indian Restaurant

April 8, 2015 | By Heidi Ellison | Restaurants

I love Indian food but long ago despaired of finding a really good Indian restaurant in Paris. When I made a new Indian friend, Abhinay, I thought I’d give it another shot. He promised to take a group of us to one he considers “a safe bet for good Indian food.” So the other evening, five of us trooped into Kirane’s, which, according to its business card, means “ray of sunshine.”

Juste le Zinc

Juste le Zinc

March 25, 2015 | By Heidi Ellison | Restaurants

Last week I reported on a sterling experience at Moustache, where we ate well, were treated royally and had an all-around good time. Not long after, I went with two friends to Juste le Zinc, a new restaurant in the eighth arrondissement that had been getting rave reviews, where the food was pretty wonderful but the treatment was less than royal.

Muxu & Twinkie

March 11, 2015 | By Heidi Ellison | Restaurants

The Customer Is Always Wrong Muxu. This will be less of a review then a plea to Parisian restaurateurs: please learn to admit your mistakes and accept suggestions and criticism from customers instead of blaming Favorite

Le Mordant

Design Meets Bistronomy In Unlikely Location

March 4, 2015 | By Heidi Ellison | Restaurants

The bistronomy movement has given Paris many great little restaurants serving creative, carefully sourced food at reasonable prices, but it has done little to make a mark on the design scene. Most of new bistros are content to cosmetically spiff up the interior of the restaurant or café they have taken over and add a few fancy light fixtures. Here, however, is an exception to the rule: Le Mordant.

Siseng

No-Fuss Fusion By the Canal

February 24, 2015 | By Heidi Ellison | Restaurants

My usual advice to those who want to eat at popular lunch spots in Paris is to arrive by 12:30, since French people always eat lunch at 1pm sharp. That doesn’t hold true for Sinseng, however. I got there shortly after noon the other day, and the place was already filling up. By 12:30 it was packed. So my advice is to get there at noon, when it opens.

Les Pinces

Surf and Turf the French Way

February 16, 2015 | By Heidi Ellison | Restaurants

This will be a short review, but not as short as the menu at Les Pinces, a new restaurant in the Marais where you can order only three things: a whole lobster, a lobster roll or a côte de bœuf (prime rib), each one priced at €25.