Le Parc aux Cerfs

[Lexma90]

Another restaurant to add to the "open on Sunday" list.

For the second time visiting Paris, on our trip in May, we were there on a Sunday, which caused me to undertake a far-more-obsessive than usual search for the "just-right" restaurant, especially as Sunday was the last night of our two-week vacation as well. For me, the restaurant selection process involves more than just the food - the location, the ambience, how it fits in with other restaurants on the same journey, and of course the price. With me were my husband and our 12-year-old son, an adventurous eater who loves to eat out as much as we do.

Our final decision was Le Parc aux Cerfs, 50 Rue Vavin, 6th, which has been mentioned here on eGullet, but not often. The couple of French reviews that I found were favorable, their website pictures were appealing, and it sounded like the place had the type of upscale bistro atmosphere that I had in mind for our last evening; I didn't want to schedule anything too fancy or formal for that night. On our last trip, our Sunday-night dinner was at Mon Vieil Ami; which was a very good experience for all three of us, but I'm always wanting to try somewhere new. On this vacation, we spent most of our time in southwestern France, so I wanted to steer away from that region's cuisine (as good as it is). And after time in Barcelona earlier in the trip, we didn't want more seafood. The location, as well, fit our needs - close enough to our hotel to walk to it, but still gave us a chance to see a part of Paris that we hadn't been to before. Our visit did not disappoint!

Le Parc aux Cerfs was a pleasant 20-minute walk from our hotel just off Boulevard St. Germain, through Jardin Luxembourg. It's tucked in amongst non-dining establishments, and has a welcoming entrance. The decor was, indeed, upscale bistro, though not so high-concept as, for example, Mon Vieil Ami or Au Bon Acceuil. The furnishings, such as a turn-of-the-century combination hat rack and mirror, added a quaint feel. The paper-covered tables, complete with crayons for drawing, reminded me somewhat negatively of "family-friendly" restaurants in the U.S., but I assume it's a novelty for Parisiens. (I didn't notice anyone other than our son making use of the crayons.)

As far as I could tell (couldn't see or hear the entire restaurant), we were the only English-speaking patrons, which always pleases me, unfairly, I know, as we're a table of English-speaking patrons! While we could converse fine with my limited French, the manager (owner? maitre 'd?), who spoke fluent English, took our order; our waiter also spoke some English.

The meal itself was enjoyable. For the entree, I had their housemade pate of foie gras, served with the usual raisin bread, an appealing fruit sauce, and pecans (first time I've seen pecans in France). DH and DS both had a red cabbage salad with shrimp. The raw cabbage was formed into a small cake, about 6-8 inches in diameter, white cabbage underneath and dark red on top. The boiled or steamed shrimp were arranged on top, with a lake of carmelized garlic underneath the cake. A beautiful presentation of a nice, refreshing item, though I can't tell you exactly what it tasted like, as nobody shared with me!

For the main course, I had saumon a la planche, served on top of a small mound of large red beans, and with a basalmic vineagrette. The beans were disconcerting at first; my memory is that they were a little cooler than room temperature. On thinking about it, I would have enjoyed them more had they been lukewarm. The combination of tastes and textures between the salmon, the beans and the vineagrette was a good one, though. DH had dorade, prepared very simply, served with a tasty parmesan risotto (again, fashioned into a cake), with some sort of pesto. DS had the duck breast, which was served with a tart lemon sauce and a variety of fresh vegetables (carrots, haricots vert, pea pods, celeriac strips), which even our vegetable-neutral son liked and ate. The lemon sauce really made the dish; it's so common to see fruit sauce with duck, but the lemon flavor took it one step further.

I must admit, none of the desserts, nice as the list sounded, really struck our fancy. So after I had a coffee and DH finished off our wine (the restaurant was out of what he had originally ordered, so we went with the waiter's recommendation of 2004 Domaine Cheze), we headed out. I'll be blasphemous and admit that after we reached the neighborhood of our hotel, I had a crepe with creme de marrons, and DH and DS had gelato from Amorino to truly finish off the evening.

This is the first restaurant report or review I've prepared for eGullet, so I'd appreciate any helpful suggestions. For the record, for our other night in Paris on this trip, we ate at Ze Kitchen Galerie. We enjoyed that experience as well (though probably wouldn't call it fantastic), but it's been reported on enough on eGullet and elsewhere that I doubt I'd have anything new to add.

[little ms foodie]

Our friend and fellow eG'er Forest took us here last time we were in Paris, we enjoyed it quite a bit! Nice dinner, great space and good prices. I know she considers it one of her "go to" places as it certainly is not touristy and the food is solid. They also have a great cheese plate!

[John Talbott]

Another restaurant to add to the "open on Sunday" list.

This is the first restaurant report or review I've prepared for eGullet, so I'd appreciate any helpful suggestions. 

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Welcome and please do write more reviews. The only thing I might suggest is to note the amount of the check, since people seem to appreciate that.