Good Addresses - May June 2024

Our restaurants of the month 

 More lovely addresses discovered in the last two months! Mostly in the Paris region, we hope elsewhere for the next articles...

 Zin's - 125 rue Yves Le Coz, Versailles

Fabulous lunch at Zin's in Versailles for Mother's Day! 

This restaurant has very few covers: the setting is great and intimate. The service is lovely in this family restaurant: the father is the cook and cellar master, the mother manages the dining room, and the son accompanies his father in the kitchen: Anne-Marie, Alain and Alexis Zinsmeister at your service! 

Moreover, it's very easy to talk with them, whether you're knowledgeable or not. 

Let's talk about what we had on the plate and in the glass. 

A dedicated menu for this beautiful Mother's Day that was much appreciated: 

Smoked salmon charlotte with asparagus and horseradish; Veal shoulder with chanterelles and crunchy vegetables; Goat cheese, beet and arugula pistou verrine; Red fruit Pavlova! 

Everything is well done, the dishes are crafted and perfectly seasoned. We enjoyed ourselves for €59 per person. Note that lunch menus are usually €39! 

To accompany all this, our choice fell on a Mas Jullien 2018 white (Languedoc Roussillon), which paired perfectly with the starter and main course following Alain Zinsmeister's advice: white fruits, fennel, magnificent minerality and acidity! Perfect!

Also note that this restaurant has a superb wine list, which is part of the Top 100 best wine lists in France: indulge yourself in Burgundy, in the Rhône, in Bordeaux, Languedoc, Loire and elsewhere!

To discover! 

Rooster - 137 rue Cardinet Paris 17th 

Rooster: a great restaurant that we greatly appreciate with the team! 

Frédéric Duca knows perfectly how to welcome guests in this lovely restaurant where his Southern-influenced cuisine is excellent! 

Currently, he's doing "dinners like in Provence" with delicious southern dishes. 

Single menu in 4 or 5 courses - €80/€95, worth the visit! 

The wine list is varied and will allow you to taste numerous wines that pair perfectly with the dishes while listening to the sommelier's advice! 

Fogo - 8 rue Meissonier Paris 17th 

A superb restaurant offering fire and ember cuisine, headed by Raphael Rego, a Brazilian chef carrying a Franco-Brazilian dream! Fascinating story of a Brazilian who arrives at Ferrandi school without speaking French, hardworking and passionate… We could talk about it for a long time! In any case, amazing dinner, flawless! Grilled octopus, yogurt, lemongrass and açaí; pork picanha, carrots and tutu de feijao; creamy and crunchy Brazilian chocolate, baru nuts. We're amazed! The taste of the embers is very pleasant, well integrated without overpowering. It's not the backyard barbecue where too much charcoal was used, here, it's subtle, flavorful and very well crafted. 

You can also choose sharing plates that depend on the daily arrivals. 

Treat yourself in this restaurant full of pep with a lovely wine list! 

Elmer: 30 rue Notre Dame de Nazareth Paris 3rd

Invited for a wine tasting from the Alsatian estate Ostertag, some were able to enjoy themselves at the Elmer restaurant in Paris! 

Very high-quality bistronomic restaurant featuring beautiful cuts of meat or fish cooked in a rotisserie or over a wood fire, very elaborate and fresh plates from small French organic or eco-responsible productions. A delight, all at reasonable prices! 

Lunch menu from €32

Dinner à la carte from €75

Super welcome, attentive care, in a sober, refined and trendy setting. 

We enjoyed ourselves on the Alsace side by tasting many vintages from the Ostertag estate, among which were the Alsace Grand Cru Riesling Muenchberg, the Riesling Clos Mathis, the Riesling Heissenberg and many others! Precise, complex wines with sharp acidity: we're delighted!

Our wine bars of the month 

From Jura With Love Paris 18th - 5 rue Eugène Sue

Perfect address for Jura fans!

The wine list is well done in its simplicity and includes great Jura estates, while allowing you to discover several grape varieties from the region: Tissot, La Pinte, (Chardo, Savagnin, Poulsard, Trousseau), but not only, craft beers, Jura crémant and some spirits for cocktails!

As for what's on the plate, it varies with the seasons… They do a lot of wine and cheese pairings and are also delighted to advise you! 

The Mont d'Or in autumn-winter is a huge hit! 

There are delicious boards: red slope (for 4 to 6 people) and blue slope (for 2 people) on which you can find: morbier 50 days, dry goat cheese, 24-month comté, blue cheese from Bresse, smoked pork shoulder, bacon, ham, braised meat and sausage; jam and Laughing Cow for the joke and the old fans (because produced in Jura). You'll also find sausage, spreads and other terrines 

Enjoy all these artisanal products coming directly from Jura. 

For those we dragged there who aren't fans of this region (sacrilege), there's always a backup solution with some wines from Burgundy or Pays d'Oc in particular, and also wines of the moment whose regions may vary! 

Bonus: seasonal terrace and warm interior

Cave Le Quatre Paris 18th - 4 rue Versigny 

Another great address in a lively neighborhood of Paris's 18th arrondissement! 

Seasonal terrace for sunny days, very beautiful interior: you can enjoy it in winter as well as summer! 

There's a nice selection of wines in this wine shop (small corkage fee for on-site consumption) as well as a fairly large choice of wines by the glass: Fiery red, Chenin and other refreshing whites! 

Quality boards, attentive service, everything we love! 

Panto Baguette Paris 18th - Rue Eugène Sue 

At the risk of repeating ourselves in this article, there are quite a few small wine bars to discover in the 18th… Panto Baguette is therefore also one of them! 

Here's the lowdown: Nice menu, trendy, boho, unknown names, vinyl records, mustaches…

You either like it or you don't (we like it a lot) 

More seriously, the dishes are crafted, original and delicious: we were tempted by black pudding croquettes, cottage cheese with black curry, coriander; grilled green asparagus, sherry cherries, feta, basil; as well as bincho zucchini, soissons bean hummus, sobacha, lemon, goosefoot (what's that?) … We don't know all these names, but it's very good; it delights and surprises! Everything is served as small sharing plates, order 3-4 for two people.

Regarding wines, there isn't a huge selection, only come if you like natural wine! Aficionados of more traditional methods will be unhappy or will have craft beer or cider. 

Summary: Lovely and attentive service, it's beautiful on the plate, in the glass and in the decor, Seasonal terrace until 10 PM, Bill a bit pricey, but great evening! 

We promise to try a different neighborhood for the next article...