Richard Hesse
Passage 53
The succulent slow-cooked veal came with seasonal baby vegetables. Pros: Ace ingredients, great staff Cons: A bit pricey, but good ingredients don’t come cheap; picturesque, but very rickety spiral staircase up to the designer restrooms. On its business card, Passage … Read More
Quedubon
The beef was there, but where was the excitement? Pros: An extensive wine cellar, good products. Cons: A lack of that infectious pride in outstanding products that sets other caves à manger (like Papilles) apart. Styling itself as a bistro-cave … Read More
Fogón
Tapas with a twist are a specialty of the house. Pros: Outstanding vegetable cooking; great staff; restful, understated decor. Cons: Wine list a bit short; at these prices, diners could be seated a little less cheek by jowl; two dinner … Read More
Miroir
Pros: Well-sourced ingredients, pleasant staff.Cons: Tables too close together; bluefin tuna on the menu (tsk, tsk). It might be a conceit, but Miroir’s name is nowhere to be seen on the facade; it’s scrawled on the glass door in what … Read More
Le Grand Pan
Pros Carefully sourced food Quiet, very local vibe ConsDitzy serviceMiles from anywhere It seems odd to name a restaurant after the only god reputed to have died in prehistoric times. Certainly, the temptation to start reaching for the mythological conceits … Read More
La Marée
When you walk into La Marée, you get a sense of having entered another world. Outside is the heaving eighth arrondissement, with Rue Daru itself being home to the Orthodox Cathedral and other things Russian, plus a noticeable density of … Read More
Chamarré Montmartre
“I hope you realize that your reviews are subjective?” queried a food-loving friend the other day. Duh. And you can also catch a place on a bad night. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t like reviewing poor meals. … Read More
Goumard
Safe Bet During my first year at college in London – the place that William Cobbett called “The Great Wen” (a boil, not an apple) – I dated the daughter of a rather forbidding Scottish customs and excise officer. On … Read More
Le Cigale Récamier
Busy, Busy, Busy The rack of lamb was succulent and perfectly cooked. Things got off to a slightly difficult start at Le Cigale Récamier, when the meeter-and-greeter (!) bluntly told me that I was an hour late for my reservation … Read More
L’Ordonnance
Better than Happy Pills Down-to-earth food in a warm, friendly venue. If you have euros in your pocket that haven’t been exchanged from another currency (i.e., the dollar or sterling), the best place to be right now for eating is … Read More