Good Addresses - May June 2024

Our restaurants of the month 

 We’ve discovered more great spots over the past two months! Mostly around Paris—we hope to venture farther afield in future articles...

 Zin’s – 125 rue Yves Le Coz, Versailles

A fabulous Mother’s Day lunch at Zin’s in Versailles! 

This restaurant has very few tables, making for a wonderful, intimate setting. The service at this family-run restaurant is lovely: the father is the chef and wine cellar manager, the mother runs the dining room, and their son works alongside his father in the kitchen. Anne-Marie, Alain and Alexis Zinsmeister are at your service! 

They’re also very easy to chat with, whether you know your wines or not. 

Now for what was on our plates and in our glasses. 

A special menu for Mother’s Day that proved a big hit: 

Smoked salmon charlotte with asparagus and horseradish; veal shoulder with chanterelles and crisp vegetables; a glass of goat cheese, beet and arugula pesto; red berry pavlova! 

Everything is well executed, and the dishes are thoughtful and perfectly seasoned. It’s a treat at €59 per person. Note that lunch menus are usually €39! 

To accompany it all, we chose a 2018 white Mas Jullien (Languedoc-Roussillon) on Alain Zinsmeister’s advice. It paired perfectly with both the starter and the main course: white fruit, fennel, magnificent minerality and acidity! Perfect! 

The restaurant also has a superb wine list, ranked among France’s top 100: treat yourself to wines from Burgundy, the Rhône, Bordeaux, Languedoc, the Loire and beyond! 

Well worth discovering! 

Rooster – 137 rue Cardinet, Paris 17th arrondissement 

Rooster: a fantastic restaurant that our team loves! 

Frédéric Duca knows how to make guests feel welcome at this lovely restaurant, where his Southern-influenced cooking is excellent! 

Right now, he’s hosting “dinners like in Provence,” featuring delicious Southern dishes. 

A single four- or five-course menu – €80/€95, well worth the trip! 

The varied wine list lets you try plenty of wines that pair beautifully with the dishes, with guidance from the sommelier! 

Fogo – 8 rue Meissonier, Paris 17th arrondissement 

A superb restaurant specializing in cooking over fire and embers, headed by Raphael Rego, a Brazilian chef with a Franco-Brazilian dream! The fascinating story of a Brazilian who arrived at Ferrandi culinary school without speaking French, worked hard and followed his passion… We could go on about it for ages! In any case, dinner was brilliant—flawless from start to finish! Ember-grilled octopus with yogurt, lemongrass and açaí; pork picanha with carrots and tutu de feijão; creamy and crunchy Brazilian chocolate with baru nuts. We were blown away! The smoky flavor is wonderful, beautifully integrated without taking over. This isn’t a backyard barbecue with too much charcoal; it’s subtle, flavorful and expertly done. 

You can also choose sharing plates that change with the day’s deliveries. 

Treat yourself at this lively restaurant with its lovely wine list! 

Elmer: 30 rue Notre Dame de Nazareth, Paris 3rd arrondissement

Invited to a tasting of wines from Alsace’s Domaine Ostertag, some of us enjoyed a wonderful meal at Elmer in Paris! 

An excellent bistronomic restaurant serving fine cuts of meat and fish cooked on a rotisserie or over a wood fire, alongside beautifully crafted, fresh dishes made with produce from small French organic or environmentally responsible producers. Delicious, and all at reasonable prices! 

Lunch menu from €32

À la carte dinner from €75

A wonderful welcome and attentive service in a sleek, understated, trendy setting. 

We had a wonderful time exploring Alsace through numerous cuvées from Domaine Ostertag, including Alsace Grand Cru Riesling Muenchberg, Riesling Clos Mathis, Riesling Heissenberg and many more! Precise, complex wines with crisp acidity: what a treat! 

Our wine bars of the month 

From Jura With Love, Paris 18th arrondissement – 5 rue Eugène Sue

A perfect spot for Jura fans! 

The wine list is appealing in its simplicity, bringing together leading Jura estates while letting you explore several of the region’s grape varieties: Tissot, La Pinte, Chardonnay, Savagnin, Poulsard and Trousseau. And there’s more: craft beers, Crémant du Jura and a few spirits for cocktails! 

What’s on the plate changes with the seasons… They offer plenty of wine-and-cheese pairings and are always happy to give you advice! 

The Mont d’Or is a huge hit in fall and winter! 

There are delicious sharing boards: the Red Run (for four to six people) and the Blue Run (for two), featuring 50-day-aged Morbier, aged goat cheese, 24-month-aged Comté, Bleu de Bresse, smoked pork loin, bacon, cured ham, braisi and dry sausage; jam and Laughing Cow cheese for a laugh and for longtime fans (since it’s made in the Jura). You’ll also find dry sausage, spreads and other terrines. 

Treat yourself to all these artisanal products straight from the Jura. 

For anyone you’ve dragged along who isn’t a fan of this region (sacrilege!), there’s always a fallback: a few wines from Burgundy and Pays d’Oc, among others, plus a rotating selection from different regions! 

Bonus: a seasonal terrace and a cozy interior

Cave Le Quatre, Paris 18th arrondissement – 4 rue Versigny 

Another great find in a lively neighborhood in Paris’s 18th arrondissement! 

A seasonal terrace for sunny days and a beautiful interior: you can enjoy it in winter or summer! 

This wine shop has a lovely selection of bottles (with a small corkage fee if you drink them there), as well as a fairly wide choice by the glass: Rouge pétard, Chenin and other refreshing whites! 

Quality sharing boards and wonderfully attentive service—just what we love! 

Panto Baguette, Paris 18th arrondissement – Rue Eugène Sue 

At the risk of repeating ourselves, there are quite a few little wine bars to discover in the 18th arrondissement… and Panto Baguette is one of them! 

Here’s the gist: a nice menu, trendy, artsy, unfamiliar names, vinyl records, mustaches…

You either love it or you don’t (we love it) 

Seriously, though, the dishes are inventive, original and delicious: we went for blood sausage croquettes with fromage blanc, black curry and cilantro; grilled green asparagus with cherries, sherry, feta and basil; and bincho-grilled zucchini with Soissons bean hummus, sobacha, lemon and chenopodium (what’s that?)… We don’t know all these ingredients, but it’s delicious, surprising and a real treat! Everything comes as small plates to share; order three or four for two people.

As for the wines, the selection isn’t huge—come only if you like natural wine! Fans of more traditional methods may be disappointed, or opt for a craft beer or cider instead. 

The verdict: lovely, attentive service; beautiful food, wine and decor; a seasonal terrace open until 10 p.m.; a slightly steep bill, but a fantastic evening! 

We promise we’ll try a different neighborhood for the next article...