Summer weather has finally arrived in Paris after a couple of months of cool, cloudy days with frequent rain showers. On a fine day, Parisians treasure nothing more than a good terrace. Usually, they are happy to take anything, even a couple of little tables on a busy street, but of course, the ideal is a tree-shaded terrace sheltered from automobile traffic. They are few and far between, but we found a good compromise the other night purely by accident. I had reserved a table at Calice, but, like most restaurants, they don’t take reservations for their terrace because of the possibility of bad weather.
We lucked out by arriving early on that gorgeous evening and were able to take our pick among the many tables on the large terrace. From where we sat, my friend had a view of the fountain on the lovely Square Saint-Médard at the bottom of the touristy Rue Mouffetard, and I had a view of its near-twin at the other end of the short, tree-lined Rue de Bazeilles.
It turns out that Calice has the same owners as Narro, also located in the fifth arrondissement, and my current favorite Parisian restaurant, Baillote, automatically a recommendation. The handsome, sober interior in shades of ochre has an open kitchen and is decorated with a plethora of mirrors cut into various shapes.
Calice has joined the shareable dishes bandwagon – less popular now in Paris but still fairly common – with the difference that it offers both small plates and large dishes for two. Having seen the small dish of two oysters passing by prettily decorated with pink foam and red clover leaves, we chose that as one of our starters. Topped with shiso granita, smoked pickled beets and ponzu jelly, they made a tasty appetite opener.
We followed them with zucchini-flower and smoked-eggplant tempura with shiso foam and a rhubarb condiment. The eggplant gave these fried-chicken-leg lookalikes extra substance. Crispy and perfectly fried, they were most satisfying.
There were only three choices for the large plates for two: duck, fish and the pricey (€90) Black Angus beef picanha. They all sounded delicious thanks to their interesting accompaniments, but after much debating we finally chose the grilled Challans duck breast, a generous helping with veal jus and – since duck always has a fruity accompaniment – an unusual sauce of charred pineapple. One side dish was a superb bowl of fresh peas with guanciale (a more refined cousin of pancetta) and a smoky, creamy sauce. The other was an unimaginative salad bowl of lettuce leaves with a rather nice citrusy vinaigrette. Altogether, it was a fine but not very exciting main course.
From the three dessert choices, we opted for the delightful deconstructed millefeuille with crispy bits of filo pastry (cleverly shaped like leaves), wild strawberries, pistachio cream, wonderful wild-strawberry sorbet and elderberry emulsion.
We thoroughly enjoyed the natural red Ventoux wine amusingly called Vaste Programme from Les Maoù, the cheapest on the list at €40. The service was prompt and friendly.
The restaurant’s name rather pretentiously means “chalice.” I wouldn’t say we found the holy Grail there, but we had a delicious and enjoyable meal. And perhaps, in the end, a good terrace is the holy Grail in Paris.
See our Favorite Restaurants by Arrondissement page to find a good restaurant in the neighborhood where you want to eat.
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