With so much amazing food, I wanted to separate the great food and restaurants we visited (besides Michelin level restaurants which get their own unique posts) to make it easier to keep track.
On the first night we arrived, we went to a bistro called Les Antiquaires at the recommendation of our concierge. It was cute and lively which is always a great sign.
We dove straight into mains and I went with the lamb which was incredibly tasty and had a fantastic peppercorn style sauce. MrsFlamingo went with a roast chicken, but she dove in before I could snap a picture.
And of course, I had to get a dessert while on vacation and went with profiteroles which were some of the best I've ever had. The chocolate sauce was so dense, deep and pure, I was in heaven!
After checking out the Eiffel Tower, it started to rain, so we made a dash for a row of restaurants and quickly settled on Le Cafe Gustave. It turned out to be a perfect brasserie for lunch. I had to start with escargot and pomme frites. MrsFlamingo passed on the escargot, but gave the frites a massive thumbs up.
For our mains she went with prawns that were cooked perfectly along with steamed rice. I went with the confit duck over fried potato, it hit the spot, but could also have used a sauce.
As we were walking around, we had to stop at one of the famous pastry shops and ended up at 86Champs, a combo L'Occitane and Pierre Herme extravaganza. MrsFlamingo absolutely loved the decor.
We got seats at the counter to watch the action as desserts were assembled.
Someone ordered a cart that included an entire show, but we didn't want to eat too much so we'd be hungry for dinner.
I went with a "lite" raspberry cheesecake. Oops... It was perfect and there's a reason Pierre Herme has the reputation.
MrsFlamingo was smarter and had just a single macaron of strawberry and pistachio.
The macaron section up front.
For lunch after we had checked out the Louvre, we felt like having something different than bistro fare and figures some Italian would be good. MrsFlamingo found a great pizzeria called Iovine's. Trying to have a bit more protein, I went with a veal Milanese and arugula salad. It hit the spot!
This was followed with a mushroom pasta for good measure that was tasty and totally unnecessary.
After lunch, MrsFlamingo really wanted gluten free pastries and we found a fantastic gluten free bakery called Helmut Newcake.
Truly stunning looking pastries.
I tried some and it's about as close to normal tasting as I've ever had, definitely would recommend it for anyone with a gluten allergy.
For dinner one of the nights, we went to Alain Ducasse's casual, yet more updated and modern bistro called Champeaux. I'd heard of it and the vibe is definitely hipster-tastic.
Things started off strong with gruyere or comte cheese puffs, super intense and I could eat a bunch of these.
We followed this up with a lobster souffle that was a miss in our books. While the flavors were definitely fresh, it was just too intense of lobster and didn't work for our tastes.
However the coquillette pasta with comte, ham and black truffle was amazing and just like the one I'd had in the La Premiere lounge last year. For me this is my favorite pasta in the world.
We followed that up with the Crapaudine-style roast chicken. This was a stunning roast chicken, so intense with flavor, crispy skin, with a nice lemon zest to keep things light. The sauce with jus was so pure of chicken flavor. This was accompanied with pomme puree and green beans. Such a comforting and perfectly executed meal.
For dessert we went with the strawberry tart and raspberry sorbet. Refreshing and perfectly executed.
Near our hotel was a cute bakery called Eric Kayser. They had fantastic pastries.
Look at those eclairs!
I had to get a chocolate one to test.
And being in Paris, I had to get a fresh baguette toasted with butter and marmalade. A horribly unhealthy and not-keto breakfast, but also perfect at the same time.
In Versailles, we found a random restaurant for lunch near the train station before exploring called Phebus.
MrsFlamingo had a burger and fries, it was fine, but nothing special.
I went with a wild concoction of a pizza that was also fine.
Back in Paris, MrsFlamingo wanted to check out the Four Seasons George V. It's most definitely the most opulent FS we've both ever seen. If you wanted a definition of stuffy, this is it. However amazing floral boquetes all over.
The gorgeous courtyard with the 3-star Le Cinc on the other side.
We decided to get drinks at the bar to see what they could pull off. Definitely a swanky vibe and fun people watching.
Amazing alcohols on display.
I started with their play on a cucumber gimlet that was refreshing and perfectly executed. The bartenders were friendly and wanted to keep making cocktails that are slightly different than the norm.
That resulted in a play on a negroni that had a few different new ingredients including a wash of peaty Scotch. The smokiness added a new dimension that was fun.
For dinner we needed a break from European food and we found a great Thai place called Tamarind.
We split a tom ka soup that was good, but certainly not the best. I went with a half bottle of La Commander Bordeaux, it too was fine, but certainly wouldn't go seaking it out.
For our mains, MrsFlamingo had prawns with curry and I went with a curry lamb that was to die for! We ordered pad thai that wasn't very good and we mainly had our primary mains. Net however, if you need a change of food, we'd definitely recommend Tamarind, but be selective on what you choose.
Another breakfast of champions at Eric Kayser :)
For our final night, we went to L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon St Germain, the original location. It'd been over 10-years since I was last here and am now significantly more foodie educated, plus had dined at the Hong Kong location a week before. How does it stack up, well check that post out here.
The food in Paris is amazing as one would expect, it's hard to find where to spend your time and money with so many options, so hopefully this helps!
- Topic