Fish restaurants in Paris

[emsny]

Looking through posts for the past couple of years, I don't see any threads dedicated to Paris restaurants that specialize in fish / seafood. Any favorites, plain or fancy, new or old? We were thinking of a return to La Cagouille, where we haven't been in years (this is for a very brief late-November visit), but wouldn't mind someplace a bit more central.

[cigalechanta]

I prefer fish years ago I went to La Marée and Prunier and they were great but don't know what the rating is now.

I love oysters so I wish I had read this when I went in February:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/travel/24Bite.html

[John Talbott]

We've blown hot and cold on La Cagouille, currently cold.

This week, though, we had another fine meal at Rech, now under Alain Ducasse's flag, whose 34 Euro lunch menu with its enormous eclairs and what they call pain perdu, which are meals in themselves, is a terrific buy.

Jarasse, also now part of an Empire (Rostang, Caroline), is kinda fun too.

[emsny]

Thank you, John - I think Cagouille was always a bit up and down, but on our two or three visits there in its first years we always had fun, notably eating the moules brule-doigts. Rech was not on my radar screen; I've looked at its web site and it seems to offer just what we were looking for. Should one assume nowadays that a turbotin served in a Paris restaurant is from a fish farm? They would say "sauvage" if it weren't, I suppose. Does its Ducassification mean that one has to book ages ahead of time?

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Friends and hotel staff speak well of Vin et Maree, Palais Royale location. We haven't been there.

[julot-les-pinceaux]

Let me be one to mention to classics here: Le Duc and Le Divellec have the best fish in town, hyper fresh, very simply prepared (more so at Le Duc). They still are basic Paris addresses for me.

[Laidback]

So much depends on your price range. To me, nobody in Paris has ever done a better job with fish and lobster than Le Divellec; it is one of the most expensive seafood restaurants and tends to be traditional rather than experimental/cute which is fine by me, as my preference in seafood is rather straightforward...I don't want my beautiful, fresh lobster lobster desecrated with unconventional spices and weird combinations. On the other end of the price spectrum, my favorite for years was the Bistro du Dome, just across the street from the flagship, but one of my last visits before Les Fables de la Fontaine opened, I experienced a serious lapse in the preparation(severely over cooked) and service(could care less). Since Les Fables opened it has become my medium priced favorite. Fresh seafood in Paris is expensive to very expensive to exorbitant.

[John Talbott]

Any favorites, plain or fancy, new or old?

Since we're brainstorming, there are a couple of other places about which I've reported in the past year that I like: specifically Jarrasse + Maree de Passy the latter of which C. dislikes for reasons that elude me as well as Fables.... under its new sort-of management. As for old, I'd agree about the Bistrot du Dome.

Should one assume nowadays that a turbotin served in a Paris restaurant is from a fish farm? They would say "sauvage" if it weren't, I suppose.

I'd guess, I sort of assume unless I spot the magic words - petit bateau or ligne or sauvage it's farm grown.

Does its Ducassification mean that one has to book ages ahead of time?

Not for lunch; dinner I canna say.

[pierre45]

I am surprised no one mentionned Gaya rive gauche .Gagnaire's restaurant .Its modern cuisine ,some dishes with an inventive twist.

Also quite reasonable .

[John Talbott]

I am surprised no one mentionned Gaya rive gauche .Gagnaire's restaurant .Its modern cuisine ,some dishes with an inventive twist.

Also quite reasonable .

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Agreed Pierre, it's very nice. Also emsny, note Laidback's topic in which he reports on Le Winch.

[Forest]

I went to Gaya a few months back and was disappointed with it - and while it's reasonable in price for the quality of food expected, it's not cheap and I remember not being happy with the enjoyment/price ratio. (I think we spent about 100 Euros/pp for starters, mains, a few desserts and wine) I was with 4 others and they, too, felt the same way, so it's not just a question of my order.

i should have posted immediately at the time when things were fresh in my mind, so now I don't remember the specifics on why I wasn't impressed. Let's try:

I found the amuse-bouche to taste way too fishy (yes, I know it's a fish restaurant, but I don't expect it to taste so strong it's not enjoyable).

As an entree they recommended a tuna dish and my fellow diner didn't like it. We all tasted it and were nonplussed so it was sent back practically uneaten. (Good note: they comped this entree - which we didn't ask for or expect). And, sure, maybe a dish is just okay and no one loves it, but our thought was if it's a recommended dish that's not on the menu, don't you want those to kind of shine, rather than get sent back almost untouched!?

I started with the gruyere toasts topped with razorback clams and a slice of chorizo. It was fine, good, even - but not something I would rave about.

And, the deserts were very mediocre. I didn't order one - but I tasted all of them at the table and nothing was outstanding. The one I recall was something with a rather dry chocolate tarte?, a pate de fruit and a bit of whipped cream (not piled on top of each other but in a little line on the plate).

On the plus side, the service was very good.

All five of us left with a pretty bland impression of the food and a general "not going there again attitude". But I've heard good reviews of it, so maybe we just hit a bad night? I'm interested in any other reviews to the contrary.

Edited October 31, 2007 by Forest (log)

[John Talbott]

Well this is what I said in Sept 05

Gaya par Pierre Gagnaire aka Gaya Rive Gauche, 44, rue du Bac in the 7th, 0145.44.73.73, still looks like the building it’s in is wrapped a la Christo under gauze, but the place itself is in full swing at long last. As someone who’s always liked GRG, in its various incarnations, I was delighted to see that the “lifting” had made it even lighter, brighter and bluer. Clients at this point seem to be a mixture of political & cinema celebs, local business-folk and functionaries, but dress is from ties to tees. Seating is easy at lunch, but dinners are already fully booked. The boss was there the day we went and as far as I’m concerned it was all Gagniere with none of the old Gaya left over. First, we had three amuse gueules; raw fish on a toothpick (I assume to show you he still can pick the product), anchovy paste on toasted bread and little, almost desserty-type cookies and flat breads. We shared the courses: to start, we had a few Special #2 oysters; then our firsts were a “cocktail” glass of wasabied mango & grapefruit, then noodles, topped off with thinly sliced cod as well as an “egg mimosa,” what were really three lines of incredible fishy-food, a chopped herring thing, a chopped bulot thing and balls of egg yolks surrounded by cod (I think) and accompanied by a tiny bowl of the water the bulots were cooked it – very neutral but refreshing; mains were a deconstructed tempura-ized cuttlefish and haddock and coques on a bed of mixed grains (bulgar, quinoa and an ancient variety of wheat from Provence) – both exquisite; and desserts of a turinois (sour cherry sauce at the bottom of a glass, with a middle of pralines and other crunchy stuff, topped off with a chocolate wafer and a “chantilly” with green apples – really a rocket salad with whipped cream enhanced with pistachio and Izarra liquor on top. The coffee was served with macaroons of different flavors, each sliced in the middle where delicious confiture stuff was layered. The price – I notice no one else gives prices on eGullet but I will – without liquid and oysters (which we ordered on a whim) would have been just about 100E/2 – not bad! (firsts are 6-32 E; mains are 22-65 E; and desserts 8.50-10; so it’s an elastic price-range. Go back? you bet, soon.

[boston]

Looking through posts for the past couple of years, I don't see any threads dedicated to Paris restaurants that specialize in fish / seafood. Any favorites, plain or fancy, new or old? We were thinking of a return to La Cagouille, where we haven't been in years (this is for a very brief late-November visit), but wouldn't mind someplace a bit more central.

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21 at 21 Rue Mazarine.

Paul Minchelli's resto. Somewhat limited menu but fresh fish done well. Worth it if you are in the neighborhood .

Boston

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I am surprised no one mentionned Gaya rive gauche .Gagnaire's restaurant .Its modern cuisine ,some dishes with an inventive twist.

Also quite reasonable .

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I didn't realize it was that approachable, pierre. What is your take on an average out-the-door for two people, 3 courses, modest bottle of wine, coffees?

[emsny]

This has all been very helpful; thanks, all. Not that any reservations have actually been made - we're in Paris for only four nights, two of which are already bespoken.

[emsny]

Let me revive this thread to ask if anyone has been to 21 rue Mazarine recently.

[Felice]

Let me revive this thread to ask if anyone has been to 21 rue Mazarine recently.

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I have not, but it is one of the only restos in the Fooding's "Trop Bon" category that I have not tried and none of them have let me down so far, so I would not hesitate to go and it is certainly on my list to try.

[emsny]

Thanks, Felice. Lazy off-topic question: on the Fooding web site, is there a list of restaurants by "rating" category - as in Trop Bon? As we're usually in Paris for only a few days a year and the rest of France for only a few more days than that at most, I've never really used Fooding (whose name gives me the willies almost as much as the English "foodie").

[Felice]

Thanks, Felice. Lazy off-topic question: on the Fooding web site, is there a list of restaurants by "rating" category - as in Trop Bon? As we're usually in Paris for only a few days a year and the rest of France for only a few more days than that at most, I've never really used Fooding (whose name gives me the willies almost as much as the English "foodie").

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Yes, you can go to http://www.lefooding.com/guide.htm and then choose "trop bon" under catergory (you need to pick Paris for the department) and you will get their favorite restaurants in each arrondissement, in all price ranges. It doesn't list all of the best restaurants and most are non-starred, but if a resto is on their "trop bon" list, chances are it's good. They are definitely not the Michelin guide or Pudlo and target a different audience (mostly bobos), so this is not a guide that will appeal to everyone here. The site is great because it is more current and lists new places each week. And if your French isn't up to speed, John always sums up their "bonne nouvelle" in his digest.

[emsny]

Thanks again, Felice; very handy.

[John Talbott]

Add Goumard.

And am I the only one who still haunts that old haunt, the Bistro du Dome "discovered" almost 20 years ago by P. Wells?

[fortedei]

Went to Le Duc for dinner a few weeks ago. This is among the best fish restaurants in Paris? We were expecting the freshest fish, simply prepared. That’s what we were told Le Duc served and that’s what we wanted. Couldn't even get that.

In a nutshell: mediocre menu which quite clearly rarely or ever changes even if the fish listed aren't available. A wine list that could charitably be described as mediocre. Have they never heard of Rhone Valley reds? Isn't there anything decent from Provence or The Languedoc to be put on a wine list... you bet there is. In whites, if you're going to concentrate on Burgundy at least have a decent selection (no off years, no long over the hill oxidized wines).

The service was inept. Is it possible to get a bottle of water in under 20 minutes, even if the restaurant is only a quarter filled at 8:30? How many times does one have to ask for a bottle of water before it comes; two, three, four times? Is it possible for the sommelier (at least he pretended to be one) to pour the bottle of red wine into the empty wine glass that he set out for the red, rather than into the half filled glass of white wine? Is it possible for the sommelier to pour the wine into the glass rather than on the table cloth? The service was without any smile whatsoever; nothing, blank! Just going through the motions.

The soupe de poisson looked like dirty water and tasted not much better. Once again, even with this dish, inept service; here's why. The waiter comes and laddles half the tureen into my bowl. Beside the bowl, he sets down the croutons (actually small tasteless pieces of bread) and something that looked like some form of rouille, but didn't resemble any that I'd ever had before. The tureen was then removed. After finishing the bowl, I didn't want any more soupe, but even if I had wanted it, no one was going to offer it because the tureen simply disappeared after ten minutes and the other half was never offered. First time that's ever happened.

The turbotin was tasteless. The vegetables were a mass of brown rice and a puree of parsnips, neither having much flavor. The bread is a disgrace (the butter was good). The oysters were wonderful. Didn't stay for dessert. Four of us: four first courses (two of oysters) four second courses, two mediocre bottles of wine and two bottles of water. Check, close to 475 Euros.

What a ripoff. Go at your own risk.