There’s no better place to take visiting Americans out to dinner in Paris than an old-fashioned bistro serving the classics of the genre, even if they are Americans who once lived in Paris and know it well, like my friends Ed and Maia. They were delighted by À l’Épi d’Or, a restaurant that has barely changed since it opened in the 1920s, still furnished with moleskin-covered banquettes and a curvy zinc bar, with mirrored walls, etched glass and some Art Nouveau touches.
One of the many bistros once clustered around the now-departed central food market at Les Halles, it belongs to the small empire of chef Jean-François Piège and his wife Élodie, who also own the nearby Poule au Pot (one Michelin star), another relic of the past whose decor has been preserved by the couple, and several other restaurants.
We were seated in the back room, facing the open kitchen, and we were glad of it, both because we were sheltered from the loud clamor in the full main dining room and because we could keep a close eye on the chef (not Piège, of course, but one of his appointees) and his helpers. When we arrived, we caught them at a moment when they had absolutely nothing to do and were just standing around looking exceedingly bored. It wasn’t long, however, before they were as busy as any kitchen brigade should be.
After catching up on our news, we finally turned our attention to the menu. Ed was in the mood for a steak, but, surprisingly for a bistro like this, there wasn’t one on the menu. It did, however, feature the traditional semainier, with a different fixed-price menu for each day of the week. We were there on a Thursday, when the menu du jour, which I ordered, was a “real” salade Niçoise, sausage with l’Épi d’Or purée, and Dame Blanche. Strangely, croque-monsieur and croque-madame were listed as main courses, for, respectively, €17 and €18.
The salade Niçoise was generous and delicious, with a perfect vinaigrette, packed with fresh, crunchy vegetables (various kinds of lettuce, multicolored peppers, fennel, etc.), olives, quality tuna and anchovies, and topped with a soft–boiled egg. Even though I eventually got tired of so much chewing, I didn’t want to let it go until I finished every bite.
Ed started with a simple green salad with more great vinaigrette and followed it up with breaded fish of the day. Not a steak and it doesn’t look very tempting in the photo above, but he truly enjoyed it and the excellent fat french fries that came with it.
I was just as happy with my non-fatty sausage, which tasted homemade, and the scrumptious mashed potatoes that came with it, as was Maia with her chicken paillard (thin sautéed cutlets) with tomato condiment, olives and arugula.
The only dessert we tried was the Dame Blanche that came with my semainier. I was expecting something like an ice cream sundae but instead I got a sort of ice cream cake topped with a tower of thick, ultra-creamy chantilly. Pure, marvelous decadence.
Ed opted for the cheese plate and was rewarded with a selection of French favorites at just the right temperature and state of goodness.
We all had a great time at À l’Épi d’Or. It’s interesting to compare it with Le Normandie, reviewed here recently. Both have limited menus and offer simple, no-frills bistro dishes, but somehow the food at the Épi d’Or was far more enjoyable. Why? I’m still trying to figure that out. Needless to say, this is the one I recommend.
See our Favorite Restaurants by Arrondissement page to find a good restaurant in the neighborhood where you want to eat.
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