Baillotte Restaurant
A Plateful of Joy
Don’t be surprised when you arrive at Baillotte and discover that the interior is not as bright and colorful as it appears on the restaurant’s website. It’s been redecorated since it opened a year ago. The olive-green velvet banquettes have … Read More
Taco Mesa Restaurant
Tastiest Tacos in Town
The long taco wait is over. Sometime last summer, I read that Beatriz Gonzalez, the ebullient chef/owner of two wonderful Paris restaurants, Coretta and Neva Cuisine, was planning to open a taco bar in September. When a website appeared, I checked … Read More
Jamat Restaurant
Mini Kitchen, Maxi Flavors
Jamat is a cozy mini-restaurant in the ninth arrondissement, so small that the chef, Matthieu Sales (who used to work in the fabulous bistro Les Arlots), needs no assistants in the tiny kitchen, in which he can reach everything with … Read More
Oktobre Restaurant
Exquisite Meal, Unhappy Ending
I was dismayed to hear recently that the outstanding Kitchen Galerie Bis (a.k.a. KGB, the younger sibling of the Michelin-starred Ze Kitchen Galerie) had gone out of business, but my mood brightened when I heard that its former co-chef, Martin … Read More
Le Matré Restaurant
Mastery in Montmartre
Montmartre has many, many restaurants, but few that deserve special mention. That has now changed with the opening of Le Matré, a little gem hidden on a side street off the beaten tourist track. Despite a mixup over our reservation, … Read More
La Salamandre Restaurant
Top Marx for Thierry
Multi-starred French chef Thierry Marx is an unusual specimen of the genre. Cheerful, easygoing and likable, he is not only an aficionado of judo and Zen meditation but also puts his values into action by using his celebrity and influence … Read More
Soces Restaurant
A Group Hug of a Restaurant
The restaurant Soces managed to fly under my radar until recently, and that’s a shame. This is a place I definitely want to go back to often. The word “soces” is slang for “pals,” and, judging by the joyous uproar … Read More
Nessia Restaurant
A Chef for All Cuisines
Our meal at Nessia started off well. We arrived unfashionably early and had the rather dark but stylishly decorated restaurant (black marble tables, designer chairs and sconces, open kitchen in the back) to ourselves. We also had the full attention … Read More
Godaille Restaurant
Almost Wrinkle-Free
Throughout our meal at Godaille, my friend Jean-Michel, a French linguist, puzzled over the choice of the restaurant’s name, a word that means “crease” (in clothing or fabric). We finally got a chance to ask our server, who explained that … Read More
Janine Restaurant
The NYT Effect
Call me a snob, but I tremble every time The New York Times publishes an article recommending Paris restaurants; it’s a surefire guarantee that they will be packed to the rafters with tourists from then on. Getting a reservation will … Read More