This is Paris! But the Paris of a hundred years ago, with liqueur adverts on the walls, red banquettes, frosted light fixtures and a collection of knick-knacks. In this luminous corner bistro that’s vibrating with life, local workers, tourists and people from the nearby Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood rush to get a seat in the dining room or on the terrace (one of the prettiest around) for a bite of this heartwarming bistro cuisine, sent out by uniformed waiters reminiscent of Claude Sautet’s film Garçon! The day we went for lunch, we opted for all the traditional brasserie classics: six beautiful Burgundy escargots served with their little fork; a perfectly made marbled rib-eye steak with a thick knob of butter on top, served with some excellent matchstick fries that were thin and crispy, which we dunked shamelessly into the mustardy mayonnaise. Consequences be damned, we ended the meal with a lovely chocolate pudding which, as our witty waiter put it, “is certainly better than a Danette pudding cup!” Other options include: roast chicken with the drippings, rib-eye steak with shallots, tomato and crayfish tartare, leeks mimosa, ravioles du Dauphiné in a cream sauce, roasted duck confit or chocolate profiteroles… Ah, the past, it’s not what it used to be! // Albert Gredinbar
FEELING THIRSTY? Well-chosen bottles: a Saint-Amour from the Bataillard family (€7.50), a beautiful and organic Bourgogne-passe-tout-grains produced by Hubert Lignier (€49 a bottle), along with some grand crus, like a Saint-Julien from the Château Talbot (€195) or a Pouilly-Fuissé from the Domaine Guillot-Broux (€125).
PRICE: À la carte €41-68.
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