A Paris Food Writer Tells Us Where To Eat In Her City
Victoire Louapre is a food writer based in Paris. After living abroad for many years, she returned to her home country to work at Le Fooding, an influential restaurant guide whose aim is to discover the hottest restaurants in the City of Light. Between a lunch in Bastille and a goûter in Le Marais, she gave Food Republic her ten favorite spots in Paris right now.
Dersou
A fantastic restaurant near Bastille owned by a Japanese chef and a mixologist who used to work with the Experimental Cocktail Club team. The lunch menu is very affordable (the best seat is at the bar, right in front of the open kitchen), and there's a brunch option on Sundays. At night, Taku Sekine and Amaury Guyot serve a food and cocktail pairing that is divine — if you're not too drunk to remember it! 21 Rue Saint-Nicolas, +33-9-81-01-12-73; dersouparis.com
Ellsworth
A very Anglo-Saxon place owned by the team behind Verjus and Verjus Bar à Vins. The food has a strong North American influence, with dishes such as raw Brussels sprouts salad, duck meatballs, buttermilk fried chicken and apple fritters. 34 Rue de Richelieu, +33-1-42-60-59-66; ellsworthparis.com
Le Servan
A bistro owned by the young chef Tatiana Levha and her sister Katia, not far from the Père Lachaise cemetery, where the grave of Jim Morrison is covered in lipstick marks. Tatiana, who used to work at L'Arpège with Alain Passard and L'Astrance with Pascal Barbot, is most famous for her Thai-style cockles and black pudding wonton. 32 Rue Saint-Maur, +33-1-55-28-51-82; leservan.com
Clover
Here's proof that the Left Bank is making a comeback. This restaurant, which you must book one month in advance, was created by Jean-Francois Piège (who also happens to be a judge on French Top Chef) and his wife, Elodie. 5 Rue Perronet, +33-1-75-50-00-05; clover-paris.com
Heimat
The recent opening from Pierre Jancou (Racines, Vivant near the Jardins du Palais Royal). A young Italian chef, Michele Farnesi, prepares incredibly cooked pasta and a large choice of offal. 37 Rue de Montpensier, +33-1-40-26-78-25; heimatparis.com
Hero
Recently opened by the team behind Candeleria, Glass and Mary Celeste. It is most famous for its cocktails and Korean fried chicken, though the small plates (jellyfish salad, kimchi mac and cheese) are definitely worth a try. Look out for the YOLO option: one whole fried chicken and one bottle of champagne! 289 Rue Saint-Denis, +33-1-23-45-67-89; heroparis.com
La Marée Jeanne
After Jeanne A and Jeanne B, Frédéric Hubig gave birth to La Marée Jeanne, a bistro dedicated to the sea. On the menu? Small and large plates of cooked fish, raw fish, shellfish...and the already famous croq'homard (a lobster croquet monsieur). 3 Rue Mandar, +33-1-42-61-58-34; lamareejeanne.com
Le Clown Bar
Located in what remains of the Cirque d'Hiver (and the ceiling shows that a circus used to take place inside these walls), this small bistro opened by Sven Chartier (formerly of L'Arpège and Saturne) has a menu that works like a haiku. 114 Rue Amelot, +33-1-43-55-87-35; clown-bar-paris.fr
Bar à Vin A.T.
Hidden below Atsushi Tanaka's restaurant, where David Benichou (ex-sommelier at Vivant) pops natural wine and serves small plates of deliciousness: flower tomme, Galicia wagyu beef ham, saucisson. 4 Rue Cardinal Lemoine, +33-1-42-01-20-49, facebook.com