Vins et Terroirs
66 Rue Saint Andre des Arts
75006, Paris
Metro: Odeon/St Michel
Actually this is a restaurant I've spoken about in past blogs as I had my birthday dinner there back in April but it never fails to disappoint. Most recently I took Danielle there when she was here for a little visit because she had never tasted snails before and vins&terroirs do some of the best I've ever had. Vins&Terroirs does a great set meal for 19 euros, one starter and one main or one main and a dessert. Unlike most places you have a choice of about six different courses for each one so there is no shortage of choice. I always have the same thing escargots a l'ail (snails in garlic) and filet de canette avec pommes de terre sautees/puree (fillet of duck with sautee potatoes/mash potato and a BBQ honey sauce)...both to die for! Danielle was willing to try snails so we both had the same dinner plus a nice glass of free rose (I go there often so they have started offering me a free glass of wine, very kind)! It's such a delicious meal and such good value I would recommend it to anyone visiting or living in Paris. Just be aware if it's Friday or Saturday night you might have to book, they get very busy!
Alcazar
62 Rue Mazarine
75006
Metro: Odeon/St Germain des Pres
I still have to pinch myself sometimes when I think about this restaurant. Yes, it was real and yes, you did eat there. This restaurant came as a bit of a surprise, it's in an area I know very well (Saint Germain des Pres) but had somehow never been brought to my attention. Probably because a) from the outside it doesn't appear to be anything too special and b) it's rather on the expensive side.
Luckily for me I have friends, one friend in particular who has great taste in restaurants and as always when I dine out with him, I wasn't disappointed. I felt a little bit under-dressed in a basic blue dress and heels, I would have preferred to be wearing a more glamorous dress and more glamorous heels but c'est la vie. I didn't realise we were going to such a fantastic restaurant, I had just come from work and hadn't even touched up my make up...oops! But anyway, I digress. So, after the shock of the beauty of the restaurant I was further indulged by the menu and the champagne. Romain ordered a bottle of rose champagne that was served with little raspberries in the glass, it was divine and I literally felt like a princess or some kind of celebrity (oh the little things). It was just surreal to be in a restaurant like that with French people drinking champagne with raspberries in, I couldn't stop smiling. How much my life has changed in one year! After the champagne we had the most delicious starter. Romain and Jonathan chose foie gras with toast and onion chutney whereas us girls chose smoked salmon with sweet bread. Both were delicious (Romain was kind enough to let me try some of his foie gras) which I would definitely have next time, it was rich but just so tasty #foodorgasm. After Romain had the roast chicken and I had a small roasted bird (I forget what it was in English...I did find out but I didn't know at the time) with a kind of sweet couscous. Again it was just delicious and it wasn't the end yet...for dessert Jonathan and I had saint marcellin (a very strong goats cheese, not for the faint hearted) while Romain and Jog's girlfriend had the millefeuille which literally translates as 1000 layers, vanilla and brandy flavoured. Of course as with all French meals we rounded it off with an espresso and a disgestif (Jet 27 and ice)...what a meal! I really was impressed by this restaurant, a little more expensive than the normal night out (fortunately I was invited this time - Thank you again Romain) but still only 26 euros for a formule of starter/main or main/dessert which really considering the quality of the food is not half bad. Not somewhere to go every week but perfect for a special occasion with friends, family or if you want to treat your other half.
Last but not least...
Les Fabricants
61 Rue Jean Pierre Timbaud
75011 Paris
Metro: Oberkampf/Parmentier
This is the restaurant I discovered most recently, thanks again to the wonderful Romain! Les Fabricants is what I would call a Basque restaurant, serving food from the South West of France, famous for their huge salads and snails with a cheese sauce. It's very similar to Chez Gladines (especially the menu) but for me, personally, it's ten times better. I went to Chez Gladines (in the 13e) a few weeks ago with some friends and was honestly, quite disappointed. The atmosphere was great, buzzing, loud and full of people but due to the rush and business of the restaurant the food looked like it had been chucked on the plate. There didn't seem to be any time or care gone into the meal and actually my veal was overcooked and the potatoes were burnt...not a great first experience. However at Les Fabricants it was an entirely different story. I have been there twice now and both times thoroughly enjoyed my meal. I just went there on Monday and we were a large table of six so we had a few different starters including snails in a cheese sauce, potatoes covered with ham and blue cheese and charcuterie (different sliced meats) with of course a couple of baskets of bread (a necessity in any French restaurant). They were all delicious, we were all like children in a sweet shop diving into each starter trying to savour the taste of each different dish. Finally we moved on to mains...I ordered escalope de veau Montagnarde which is Veal escalope with mushrooms and potatoes in a creamy sauce. It literally looks like a mountain of food! They place the potatoes in the middle and the veal escalope on top, then they pour the sauce on and all around the meat so you have plenty to dip in...as many like to do...don't they Romain ;) It's absolutely delicious but a word of warning, go hungry because you need your appetite for the size of these meals. They also do great chicken and duck, one leg of duck with forest mushrooms, a duck fillet with roquefort sauce '(I haven't quite found the courage to try this yet...next time) and a chicken dish 'Spanish style.' The salads are also fantastic and absolutely huge, they are served in large aluminium bowls that look like they could be a feeding bowl for a horse! I wasn't joking when I said you needed to be hungry...
Of course we accompanied the meal with 2 bottles of wine, both red, one Spanish and one French (a Rioja and a....I forget the other one). I preferred the Rioja hence my lack of memory haha...it was delicious, full-bodied but not too fruity so it was really tasty. It went down a treat :) Last of all we had espressos followed by a digestif (it's very traditional and important in France to have all of the courses) which were a mix of Jet 27 and an apple-based liquor with ice which was really tasty.
Most shocking of all we ate and drank all of this for a mere 30 euros per person. You can spend much less than that as most main courses are no more than 13 euros, even the huge 2 person sized salads, but we were celebrating Romain's new adventure so we went all out :-) Great ambiance, great staff (one of the waiter's is South African and a total hoot) and fantastic food. Go as soon as you can!
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