It’s been quite a long time since I first ate at Les Arlots and loved it. I have tried to go back there many times, but it was always booked up on the date I wanted. In the meantime, backed up by the opinions of other reviewers and the fact that it has been named Best Bistro in Paris twice, in 2017 and 2024, I often recommended it to others. Last week, I finally managed to get a table for lunch and can now confirm that I wasn’t steering anyone wrong by steering them to Les Arlots.
A glance at the cramped interior revealed one reason why the restaurant fills up so fast. To reach our seats at a corner table in the small front room, each of us had to ask the person at the aisle table to get up and move their chair. She had to move again when the waiter arrived to pour our wine, but we had managed to shout our food order to him without forcing our neighbors to move.
The other reasons for the difficulty of getting a reservation is, not surprisingly, the restaurant’s friendly atmosphere and top-notch food.
My friends started off with a sublime seasonal first course: the tartare de Saint Jacques (scallop tartare) with a fresh-tasting bergamot-flavored sauce, nicely adorned with hazelnuts and tiny flowers. Highly recommended.
I was slightly disappointed with my starter, not because it wasn’t good but because it wasn’t what I expected. In France, couteaux (razor clams) are usually served hot in their shells with a buttery, garlicky sauce. I love them. But on that day at Les Arlots, they arrived cold in a salad with potatoes, fennel, arugula and a delicious escabèche (a spicy marinade). After my initial surprise, I realized how good it was, but I still would have preferred the usual version.
For the main course, I had the same thing I had on my first visit because I remembered how much I liked it: sausage and mashed potatoes with a lovely gravy. The sausage is succulent and delectable – it’s not for nothing that the restaurant calls itself a “bar à saucisse” – and the potatoes and gravy were perfection. Very satisfying.
Two of us had the famous sausage, but another friend ordered and enjoyed the fresh, flaky aiglefin (haddock) on a bed of soothing celeriac purée, topped with caramelized radicchio.
For dessert, we shared a good but not exceptional rice pudding with a cursory blob of caramel sauce on top.
The other dessert, however, was exceptional: a refreshing “salad” of Sicilian oranges with white-chocolate cream, light yet luscious.
We trusted our waiter to choose glasses of wine for us according to our specifications and the dishes we had ordered. Not only did he let us taste them first, but he also picked the perfect tipple for each of our meals.
Lunch in the cozy closeness of the small restaurant was a charming experience. Chef/owner, Thomas Brachet, whom I remembered well from my first visit because he invited me into the kitchen and had his staff pose for a picture with him, is still every bit as present and friendly. He was out on the street when we left and blew us goodbye kisses, even though I can’t say we are exactly close friends or even acquaintances. He certainly appreciates his customers – and shows it.
Make sure you reserve
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