New restaurants! How exciting. If you’re anything like me, your Paris restaurant list is always growing. You have your all-time favorites, while also trying new spots, so it can be hard to keep up. But keep up we must, because good things are happening.

There are 7 new restaurants/wine bars on the restaurant surveillance radar that are glowing bright above the rest.

Le Fooding, of course, is all over it with its small army of food gnomes. But I think I have ONE new yet-to-open restaurant that the gnomes haven’t announced yet. A good one, too. (#3)

Here are 7 new must-try Paris restaurants & wine bars:

 

1. Capitaine

Oh Captain, my Captain. How’s this for a resumé:

Astrance – 3 Michelin stars

Arpège – 3 Michelin stars

Ambroisie – 3 Michelin stars

Le Servan – Awesome on all accounts

Yah, that’s Baptiste Day, the capi-tain of Capitaine.

It’s really something to have that kind of a restaurant pedigree under your belt, for one. But then he took his fine dining precision and hopped into the wild and fun, super cool upper food circle of the 10th and 11th, the undisputed neighborhoods of the natural-wine loving and food obsessed. Le Servan is a favorite in that sect, so the man has street cred.

Le Fooding reports, “The night we went, there was a selection of mouthwatering hors d’oeuvres to share, like these mischievous pork meatballs with mayonnaise (€8) or the light vegetable tempura with a glass of white wine from the Domaine Giachino in Savoie (€6.50), which paired wonderfully.” While they didn’t love one of their dishes, they did mention a “divine, juicy pigeon on a bed of arugula and chanterelle mushrooms with a plum-coffee paste (€38)”.

You can get a 3-course lunch for 29€ or dinner for 40-60€.

Restaurant Capitaine

 

2. Buffet

I’ve made it no secret that one of my long-time favorite spots has been Au Passage, and that my favorite spot this year has been Le Grand Bain, which is run by the former head chef of Au Passage. Also a massive fan of Martin Boire & Manger, which is a sister restaurant of Au Passage – they have shared staff and chefs.

This style of cooking is my wheelhouse. That made it sound like I’m good at it, but I’m good at eating it. Well, if we can expect the family to keep the reputation strong, then Buffet is being head up by an Au Passage alum. Plus Edward Delling-Williams of Le Grand Bain and ex-Au Passage and Martin chef Peter Orr have both given the thumbs up. So we can expect good things.

 

 

One of those good things being good natural wine, whoop whoop. For a lunch steal, they offer entrée/plat/dessert at lunch for 19€. Be right over. You know what is impossible to do, though? Google “Buffet Paris”. That will not get you there.

 

Buffet

www.restaurantbuffet.fr/
8 Rue de la Main d’Or, 75011 Paris, France
01 83 89 63 82

3. Robert (Not yet open)

Speaking of the Au Passage/Martin family…This restaurant isn’t open yet (tout nouveau!), but it will be soon, and it belongs to the family. Loïc Martin (Martin Boire & Manger) and Peter Orr (ex-Martin and Au Passage) are opening Robert, named quite proudly after Peter’s father. It will be a departure from the many popular small plates restaurants gracing the Paris dining scene, which tend to rock an atmosphere that shouts, “I’m so cool, I don’t need to finish the walls.” And they don’t.

Peter (above) spent years working in London and says he’s excited to be getting away from small plates and “back to a more traditional style of dining. Paris is full of small plate places, which I love, but I want to go back to my London days.”

Instead of industrial and hip, expect something a bit more classic and refined, both in food and in style. “I think most new places in Paris look very similar, so we are trying not to do that. [It’s] more like something you might find in London.”

Loïc (above) still actively manages Martin Boire & Manger and is no stranger to creating good food and good atmosphere, as evidenced by the crowds one can find on any given night (see below).

 

The restaurant will have a semi-open kitchen with a custom built central stove unit, custom plates, and an open, light decor with lots of wood. The food will be modern European, somewhat similar to what we see at Martin, but slightly more refined and elevated, and in an entrée/plat/dessert format.

Look for Robert to open in the 11th in early February.

Robert

Info coming soon

Wed-Sat for lunch & dinner (Closed Sun-Tue)

 

4. C.A.M.

If you follow any Paris chefs on Instagram, you’ll see that C.A.M. is receiving visits left and right from well respected chefs doing super creative things in their kitchens. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and where there’s chefs, there’s good freakin’ food.

Here’s a more detailed look at what to expect.

RESTAURANT C.A.M

5. Benichat

Next up, Benichat. David Benichou (ex Vivant/Vivant Cave, Bar à Vins A.T, Clown Bar, Brutos) has a passion and eye for interesting natural wines.

Considering his experience working for natural wine-centric restaurants, it makes sense that he opened his own place. He is friendly, speaks perfect English, and has a gentle, fun loving personality with a penchant for quirkiness.

Plus he has a giant loveable dog named Iago. What more could you want? If you want more, you’re asking too much.

Go drink cool, fun, and interesting wines – the popular ones and the ones you’ve never heard of – at Benichat. There’s usually a selection of cheeses, charcuterie, and olives. As a plus, it’s open every night.

Benichat

6 Rue Bichat, 75010 Paris, France

Open daily 6pm-2am

01 42 08 61 10

 

6. Café du Coin

Remember when Bones became Jones? And though the atmosphere and feel of the place changed a little, the food was (and is) still really good? Florent Ciccoli, owner and chef at Jones, opened the new restaurant Café du Coin.

You can get a freaking good deal at lunch with formules between 12-19€. At night, plates are between 5-9€, which by the way, is also a freaking good deal. Natural wines between 3-5.50€ a glass make me curse America for its $16 glasses of wine. And that’s the generic crap wine. Go, eat well, and be happy.

Café du Coin

Address: 9 Rue Camille Desmoulins, 75011

Mon-Fri 12:15pm-2:30pm and 6:30pm-12am (Closed Sat/Sun)

01 48 04 82 46

3 course lunch menu: €19 (3 courses); À la carte €35-ish

 

7. Coup d’Oeil

And finally, David Rougier (ex-Etna) opened his own spot. I fully expected this to be a solid, fun wine bar with a great selection of wines (mostly, if not all, natural), but it’s much more than that.

They are cranking out some really great looking food. I have yet to try it, but the place looks great and so do these plates.

They are open Tuesday through Sunday for both lunch and dinner. At lunch, you can get a plat du jour for 17€, OR for just ONE EURO MORE, you can get a starter/main or main/dessert for 18€, OR…wait for it…for only one. more. euro. You can get all three courses! Entrée/Plat/Dessert: 20€. That is a no brainer. I really hope it wasn’t a typo on the chalkboard I looked at. Doesn’t seem possible, right? That’s a lunch steal, man.

Coup d’Oeil

Open Tue-Sun Lunch/Dinner (Closed Mon)

80 Rue Sedaine 75011

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

The post 7 New Must-Visit Paris Restaurants appeared first on Paris Food Affair.