Danielle S.
Yelp
Finding somewhere to eat in paris on a Sunday evening without reservations is TRICKY! I had a bunch of places written down by area that I would like to try, but most of them were closed or mega slammed so that we couldn't get a table without a reservation for the 6 of us.
After wandering around for what felt like forever and being turned away from numerous places, we came across this gem (whilst on the way to another bookmarked restaurant). It's on the corner of a side street just off a busy boulevard - I don't know whether that makes it a local hidden away neighbourhood bistro or not, but it sure felt like one on this Sunday evening (even though it was full of Americans bizarrely - maybe it has made it onto a recommended food blog or something...I don't know)
It's a really small space inside and despite it being close to 10pm on a Sunday night with an absolutely slam packed restaurant, we still managed to get a table for 6 of us with next to no wait. My boyfriend gave his nicest smile to the waiter and miraculously managed to open up a table for us! but actually the whole time that we were there, not one group that came to the restaurant were turned away - quite a few of these walk ups had to wait at the (very small) bar for their table, but they were all eventually seated, which was really quite impressive.
The lady who served us might have been the owner and she was great - so friendly and lovely. there were only 3 serving staff on the night that we were there and they were all ridiculously busy, but this place ran like a smooth ship. Once we placed our orders (there was quite a delay with this initially but that was okay because like I said, this place was BUSY!) the drinks and food were pretty quick to come.
The bottles of red and rose wine that we ordered for the table were both absolutely delicious - the reds on the menu tended to be more expensive - our bottle was 26 euros compared to the bottle of rose for 18. It was one of the best reds I had the whole holiday though, so no complaints from me here! I wish I could remember the name of it...
We ordered the bruschetta for the table - there were two different types, so we went for both. One was a mozzarella and capers affair I believe and it was good, but the star of the show was the gorgonzola and aubergine - absolutely delicious! Even my dad who apparently doesn't "like" gorgonzola wolfed this down. the bruschetta was 9 euros each, but was a very hearty portion so definitely worth the money.
For my main dish I ordered the linguine fruits de mar - so delicious! At 20 euros, it was a pricey option, but the quality of ingredients was so high, and the service we received so good that I didn't mind paying this. I wouldn't pay this every evening for dinner, but every so often, sure - why not? My dining companions were all more than happy with their choices - the four cheese ravioli went down particularly well - a magnificently glorified mac and cheese essentially!
As with most good Italian restaurants, the portions here are not massive, but definitely enough to keep you satisfied (actually, more than satisfied).
I'm so happy we came across this restaurant (and that we were turned away from all the others that we tried) - it really was a gem. I don't think it has been open too long in its current capacity, so I really wish this place the best of luck - the sheer hard work and effort put in by the guys and girl working there should ensure that it does!