Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [190]
L’OS À MOËLLE Map French, Bistro €€€
01 45 57 27 27; 3 rue Vasco de Gama, 15e; menus lunch €17 & €30, dinner €36; lunch & dinner to 11.30pm Tue-Fri, dinner to midnight Sat; Lourmel
Marrowbone chef Thierry Faucher (ex-Hotel Crillon) makes no bones about his outstanding cuisine wholly inspired by ‘the market, the season and the humour of the moment’. His six-course sampling menus are among the most affordable in town, embracing delicacies like scallops with coriander, sea bass in cumin butter or half a quail with endives and chestnuts, while his chocolate quenelle (dumpling) with saffron cream is award-winning. Should you fail to snag a table, try his wine bar Click here opposite.
SAWADEE Map Thai €€€
01 45 77 68 90; 53 av Émile Zola, 15e; menu lunch €14.50, dinner €20, €25, €28 & €32; lunch & dinner to 10.30pm Mon-Sat; Charles Michels
For 20 years this well-known restaurant has been bidding sawadee (welcome) to Thai-food lovers – and is in most guidebooks to prove it. The décor is rather impersonal, but the sophisticated cuisine more than makes up for it. Twist your tongue around prawn or chicken soup flavoured with lemon grass, spicy beef salad (a real treat), satay sticks (chicken, beef, lamb and pork) with peanut sauce and other classic dishes of Siam.
LE CRISTAL DE SEL Map French €€
01 42 50 35 29; www.lecristaldesel.fr, in French; 13 rue Mademoiselle, 15e; starters €10-17, mains €16-24; lunch & dinner to 10pm Tue-Sat; Commerce
The raved-about stage of young rising chef Karl Lopez, this modern bistro has a distinct kitchen feel with its small brightly-lit white walls, white-painted beams and gaggle of busy chefs behind the bar. The only decorative feature is a candle-lit crystal of rose-tinted salt on each table – a sure sign that food is what The Salt Crystal is all about. Lopez’s tarte à la bergamote fraîche meringuée (lemon meringue pie) – divine – has to be the zestiest in Paris. Reservations essential.
LE CASIER À VIN Map French, Bistro €€
01 45 57 27 27; lecasieravin@noos.fr; 53 rue Olivier de Serres, 15e; starters €7-10.50, mains €13.80-19.50; lunch & dinner to 10.30pm Mon-Fri, dinner to 10.30pm Sat; Convention
The bottle-lined walls, ham-cutting machine, wood-slat blinds and tatty mustard façade promise great things. Indeed, this much-loved bistro is a dining staple in most 15e Parisians’ daily lives. Titillate your tastebuds with a signature assiette de dégustation (tasting platter; €12.50) of fromage (cheese) or charcuterie (cold cuts), or go for a classic like pot au feu de canard (duck stew) or tartare de bœuf (steak tartare). After the main course, sweeten your tastebuds with a bowl of riz au lait à l’ancienne (old-fashioned rice pudding) and leave in love with the place.
AL WADY Map Lebanese €€
01 45 58 57 18; 153 rue de Lourmel, 15e; starters €10, mains €14.50-18, lunch menus €12 & €14.50; lunch & dinner to 10.30pm Mon-Fri, dinner to 10.30pm Sat; Lourmel
It’s not so much the decor as the incredibly warm welcome complemented by a cuisine well above average that has made this Lebanese restaurant much-loved over the years. Around for a couple of decades, Parisians flock here to gorge on meal-sized platters of mixed hot and cold mezzes, grilled meats and unbeatable-value lunchtime menus. Among the handful of Al Wady specialities is moutabal, a typical Lebanese aubergine dip spiced with walnut and pomegranate.
Return to beginning of chapter
ALSO RECOMMENDED
Le Troquet (Map; 01 45 66 89 00; 21 rue François Bonvin, 15e; 2-/3-course menu lunch €24/28, dinner €30 & €40; lunch & dinner to 11.30pm Tue-Sat; Sèvres Lecourbe) ‘Ordinary’ things cooked with a spin by Basque chef Christian Etchebest.
Les Dix Vins (Map; 01 43 20 91 77; 57 rue Falguière, 15e; menu lunch €20, dinner €24; lunch & dinner to 11pm Mon-Fri, dinner to