Richard Hesse
Café de la Nouvelle Mairie
A great place for an enjoyable, torture-free evening with friends. Pros: Good organic wines, great vibe. Cons: Food could be improved on, too many wines to taste at one sitting. It would be difficult to get any closer to the … Read More
Simonin
Fancy dishes but little atmosphere and ill-fitting, Trekkie-like waiters’ uniforms. Do you look at your waiter at a restaurant? Do you check out how he or she is dressed? Does it matter? My answers to the first two questions would … Read More
Le 1er
A detail of Le 1er’s wild comic-book-style mural. You don’t usually expect to be taken aback by a restaurant, but Le 1er managed just that. We were flying blind after a trip to a vernissage (no drink) and a hugger-mugger … Read More
Clémentine
Old-timey comfort and good, fresh food. Pros: Fresh vegetables, well-chosen wines, pleasant atmosphere.Cons: None to speak of. Attentive readers will have noticed a second arrondissement bias in my recent reviews, and this one is no exception: I’ve been checking out … Read More
La Bourse ou la Vie
The quirky decor includes a caricature of the owner drawn on the wall and pigs on the ceiling. The pepper sauce on the steak at La Bourse ou la Vie gave me a five-minute-long attack of the hiccups, my central … Read More
La Closerie des Lilas
Every struggling American writer on the way to a date with destiny has passed through the Closerie. Places associated with literary figures… hmm. The Deux Magots will forever bring to mind Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, but one can’t … Read More
Aux Charpentiers
Classic French food in a historical setting. Pros: History, interesting decor, reasonably spaced tables, plenty of local dinersCons: Somewhat distant service Aux Charpentiers is in a nice part of town, with the Eglise Saint Germain-des-Prés just round the corner and … Read More
Chez Grenouille
You won’t find nouvelle cuisine at Chez Grenouille. Pros: solid winter fare, excellent products, the restaurateur’s justified pride in his work. Cons: colorless decor The walk from my second arrondissement office up to Chez Grenouille in the ninth was longer … Read More
Procopio Angelo
Viva Angelo! The amazing burrata mozzarelloa with San Daniele ham. You could be forgiven for walking past this hole-in-the-wall without a second glance, but it would be a mistake. Look inside and you will spy an open kitchen in the … Read More
Ethnic Angel
Ethnic Angel is not only a supermarket with exotic foods and great wine, but also a restaurant. I recently thought I had finally made it through to the status of valued client at Julhès, the snooty deli (cheese mostly, wines, … Read More