The restaurant critic on some great recent restaurant openings in Paris. Also: his favourite fish, cheese and pastry shops in the city
EATING OUT
Recently opened Paris restaurants that Alec thinks are really good (Autumn 2014)
Porte 12
12 Rue Des Messageries 75010 Paris; +33 (0)1 42 46 22 64, www.porte12.com
“Singaporean chef Andre Chiang’s[footnote]Chiang’s Restaurant Andre in Singapore was number 6 in the 2014 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list[/footnote] new place.” – Alec
Pages
4 Rue Auguste Vacquerie 75016 Paris; +33 1 47 20 74 94
Writing about it on his blog, Alec called Pages the best new restaurant of la rentrée (autumn season) 2014 and concluded: “This was a deeply enjoyable meal and a beautiful demonstration of how a Japanese chef can sublimate French technique and produce into a cuisine that reflects both his roots and personality.”
Neige d’Ete
12, rue de l’Amiral Roussin, 75015 Paris; +33 1 42 73 66 66, www.neigedete.fr
Another notable new Paris restaurant with a Japanese chef in charge.
Le Servan
32 Rue Saint-Maur, 75011 Paris; +33 1 55 28 51 82, www.leservan.com
Run by Tatiana Levha, a French chef with a Philippine background, this is a great new neighbourhood bistro according to Alec. “I recommend it to anyone who’s sincerely curious about how Paris is eating right now.”
Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athénée
25 Avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris; +33 1 53 67 66 65
“Rather unexpectedly, the new Alain Ducasse reboot is really good.”
BUYING IN
Jacky Lorenzo
Marché Richard Lenoir, 75011 Paris (Open Thursday and Sunday mornings)
“This is where I bought the sea bass for our dinner. It’s very expensive but the fish is never out of the water for more than a couple of hours.” – Alec
Sébastien Gaudard
22 Rue des Martyrs, 75009 Paris; +33 1 71 18 24 70, www.sebastiangaudard.fr
“Wonderful pastry shop on my nearby market street. Gaudard is one of the best pastry chefs in Paris.”
Le Repaire de Bacchus
11 Rue des Martyrs, 75009 Paris; +33 1 42 85 56 81, www.lerepairedebacchus.com
“An excellent local wine shop.”
Le Verger de Martyrs
3 Rue des Martyrs, 75009 Paris; +33 1 48 78 75 51
“I usually buy organic fruit and veg at the market, but the selection here is really nice – the mushrooms in particular.” (pictured above)
Laurent Dubois
47 Ter Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75005 Paris; +33 1 43 54 50 93, www.fromageslaurentdubois.fr
“The one thing we don’t have in our neighbourhood are really great cheese shops, so sometimes I have to do a cheese run to Laurent Dubois.”
Fromagerie Quatrehomme
62 Rue de Sèvres, 75007 Paris; +33 1 47 34 33 45, www.quatrehomme.fr
“This is another of my favourite cheese shops in Paris.”