Paris Vegetarian Recommendations

[Beachfan]

I managed to have dinner at both Leon de Lyon and Les Loges. My meal was almost excellent at Leon de Lyon and excellent at Les Loges. The difference in what my vegetarian wife had was huge.

Leon de Lyon - the best you could say is that they were accomodating. Choice of soup or simple salad to strat along with a suggestion of a (seemingly simple) vegetable plate.

Heres an excerpt from the email with Les Loges proposal (which was divine!!)

"Hen's egg in Tio Pepe

Water of Cucumber in the ceéléri and the watercress of Fountain

Cream of Jerusalem artichoke in Beans coke and rapée truffle

The cooked asparaguses in vinaigrette, smell of sage

The Turnip of the mushrooms of wood in the Marjoran

Chanterelles in the creamy italian rice and the parmesan cheese

A selection of Cheeses Especially Chosen for you by our specialist Mr.Boujon

An irresistible Selection of Sweet Temptations Created for you by Your Chef:

Nicolas Le Bec

Hen's egg in Tio Pepe

Water of Cucumber in the ceéléri and the watercress of Fountain

Cream of Jerusalem artichoke in Beans coke and rapée truffle

The cooked asparaguses in vinaigrette, smell of sage

The Turnip of the mushrooms of wood in the Marjoran

Chanterelles in the creamy italian rice and the parmesan cheese

A selection of Cheeses Especially Chosen for you by our specialist Mr.Boujon

An irresistible Selection of Sweet Temptations Created for you by Your Chef:

Nicolas Le Bec"

(Well accompanied by Beaurenard 1999 CDP white)

The difference in the creations of chefs who care is amazing. 'Nuff said.

[ajay]

Beachfan,

your experience at Les Loges was exactly what my mom was hoping for at Troisgros Gagnaire and Arpege. However, we were never able to elicit a proposed vegetarian menu in advance. I noted briefly in the Lyon thread that most of the offerings that my mother received were garnishes of main courses thrown together with little consideration of how they stand on their own.

Your experience is more in line with what we were expecting at that level of dinning. We gave each of the restaurants plenty of advance notice regarding the vegetarian diet. However, in every case, they were not prepared to provide a meal equal in caliber for her.

So what's your secret?

Are there any other restaurants in France (at any price point) that you (or perhaps more accuratley, your wife) have found to be vegetarian friendly.

ps. if you have the time, I'd love to hear about your i.e. non-veg meal at Les Loges.

[Beachfan]

I'll post my meal from Les loges next week when I'm home. As for vegetarian haute cuisine, no secret, most of my experiences have been like yours. We hedge our bets by going for lunch; it's easier to handle the disappointment at lunch prices.

I`m surprised you got unimaginative food at Arpege; my wife was having a fabulous veg meal there until the Malboro's got the better of us (table for four next to us having one cigarrette each between each of the seven courses; then they rolled out the cigar cart!).

thought Passaud was doing almost all vegetables these days?

Beurheisel does a preplanned, printed vegetarian menu.

Any

[Beachfan]

Ajay, I timed out before completing my post. Beurheisel wasone of the ( best vegetarian meals ever.

As was Les Loges. There was a chip in one of the plates (which they exchanged for us promptly). My wife's comment was "this guy's so good, he could serve the food on a rock". She is pretty sparing with accollades.

Overall, chances in Provence with one stars are much better. Christian Ettienne, la Mirande, le Prieure all have vegetarian options.

If you go back to Lyon, the restaurant Cote Rotie is moving there - Steve P reports they have excellent vegetarian options (also confirmed by Stephane Ogier).

Lunch at Grand Vefour today was very good vegetarian wise : they had a tomato-three ways appetizer that was outstanding (on the menu); for a main course, my wife got an above average vegetable plate. It was actually three plates; a warm pea salad, a sautee of superb mushrooms and some excellent vegetable tempura (including basil leaf, yumm). Followed by an excellent cheese plate and eight billion deserts (74 euros for lunch).

I have my fingers crossed for l'Astrance.

On a related note, Bouley (NYC) and Fleur de Lys (SF) are outstanding for vegetarians.

Would you post a little more on Arpege?

PS as you can see from the number of posts on this thread, you and I will have to generate the options ourself; not much interest in the subject from others.

[cabrales]

The November 2002 edition of Food Arts indicates that Le Bec apparently supervises not only Les Loges and Cafe Epicerie, but also Bastide de Marie in Provence and several properties in Megeve. All properties are owned by the same small French company called Compagnie des Hotels de Montagne.

After having received Gault-Millau's support, he noted that, while customers are his best critics, "My goal is to get two stars in five years and three stars in seven." I'm sure Michelin, which has yet to confer a star on Le Bec, will have something to say about that.

[cabrales]

Have members visited Le Bec's "Cafe Epicerie"? It's open for Sunday lunch, among other times.

[Druckenbrodt]

Does anyone have any recommendations on restaurants in Paris where I can feed my vegetarian boyfriend? Without being offered a special 'vegetarian dish' involving cabbages and bananas?

At the moment he seems to be winning his argument that London restaurants are more open minded, creative and know when to avoid meddling to much with good fresh produce.

Although I'm a happy carnivore, sometimes even I don't want to eat any more meat, and crave a bit of crunchy greenery that hasn't been boiled to death and then drowned in butter.

I'm craving Beirut Express on Edgware Road at the moment or some real Keralan cooking.

Or anything Indian which hasn't been pulverised and drowned in cream. Or some hearty Italian peasant food. Or an authentic Japanese restaurant (not a Vietnamese sushi bar).

The french have such fantastic produce - why can't they chill out on the meat content occasionally?

[John Talbott]

If you Google vegetarian restaurants in Paris you'll get at least a dozen and there's a fine list here. The best known is Entre Ciel & Terre in the 1st and is listed in the Michelin, Zagat's lists two - Bon and Genier de Notre Dame and there are lists each year in both Figaroscope and Pariscope's Time Out which I don't usually save. Also remember that Indian restaurants run for or by Hindus are vegetarian. Finally, even the top places will prepare vegetarian food on request, indeed guys like Alain Passard (L'Arpege) are trying to make it with just veggies.

[Druckenbrodt]

Thank you so much for your wonderfully informative email - I'm really looking forward to exploring some of these suggestions.

I love Indian food but every Indian restaurant we have tried in Paris so far has been a disaster; Okra that taste like they came out of a tin, a slurried saag paneer, wimpy spices that taste old and dusty... one waiter told us that they alter their cooking for Parisian tastes... which makes you wonder a bit.

[Gifted Gourmet]

If you Google vegetarian restaurants in Paris you'll get at least a dozen

John Talbott, where were these places when I was in Paris some five years ago with my vegetarian daughter? She could find nothing to eat without the obligatory jambon or ecrivisses ... it was the one thing that marred an otherwise ethereal visit to the City of Lights ... we wound up eating at an Italian restaurant on the Champs d'Elysees because at least they had pasta without meat.

Thank you for the listings and, should I ever return, I will offer my daughter the list with no small measure of glee!

[ereidy]

I had a very memorable vegetarian meal at Maceo....they have both a regular menu as well as a vegetarian menu.

[Bux]

Finally, even the top places will prepare vegetarian food on request, indeed guys like Alain Passard (L'Arpege) are trying to make it with just veggies.

Does anyone have any idea if Passard's vegetable dishes are entirely vegetarian. The French do have a habit of cooking or finishing off vegetables in stock or preparing them with animal fats. Potatoes cooked in goose fat are superb, but I digress, and in the wrong direction. I ate there less than a year ago, but my menu included a lot of seafood and some fowl. There was a choice from a very interesting selection of vegetable dishes, ten of them in fact, and all appeared to be strictly vegetarian, but appearances can be deceiving. In addition to the choice from the vegetable collection, there was an egg dish and a preset vegetable dish on the tasting menu that I believe were devoid of meat, stock, etc. I know a friend with a servere allergy to fish and seafood ate there recently. He was uninterested in the poultry offerings and just asked the chef to prepare a vegetable course of his choice to match each of the fish courses his companions had chosen. He said it was one of the best meals of his life. Passard's talents do not come cheap however. A simple vegetable dish more suitable to a appetizer than main course runs some 60 euros. My meal may have been the most expensive one I've had in Paris.

[Le Zouave]

Maceo in the 1st used to have a vegetarian menu — but they've changed their chef a couple of monthes ago, and I can't tell if it's still there. Pascal barbot, at the Astrance in the 16th, often has a lot of vegetarian dishes. I also heard something about a very small place called Po mana in the 10th: ayurvedic food, maybe?

[artisanbaker]

there's a restaurant on the hill leading up to montmartre that bills itself as a vegetarian restaurant serving provencal cuisine. i ate there a couple years ago and got a tomato tatin that is still one of the best savory preparations i've ever eaten. the only drawback was that it was easily 90 degrees in the place, no exageration!

i'll see if i can track down the name because it was very very good and probably under 30 euros a person.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

We have an acquaintance who is vegetarian. (He eats nothing that had a face.) From the several times we have met for dinner, and from reports from his travelling companion, he has met absolutely no resistence when the waiter has been informed that this diner wishes to be served nothing of animal origin. (He does eat eggs and dairy.) I am under the impression that this request has been conveyed to the reservationist when bookings have been made. The plates that I have seen served have been lovely: creative, balanced, filling. I do want to repeat Bux's admonition that the French use many meat concentrates in their cooking; I did not bring this to the attention of the table, certainly did not ask for guarantees when ordering and everyone at table left content. There are endless lush and vibrant dishes out there that contain no meat. Give the dining room notice and request them.

[Louisa Chu]

Finally, even the top places will prepare vegetarian food on request, indeed guys like Alain Passard (L'Arpege) are trying to make it with just veggies.

Does anyone have any idea if Passard's vegetable dishes are entirely vegetarian.

Bux, they're not.

And John, that's not really true - as far as L'Arpege trying to make it with just vegetables - their menu still features the caviar, langoustines, and foie gras, etc.

[Bux]

I'm sure I'm repeating something that was said here before, maybe I was the one who said it, but Passard has said he had nothing agianst red meat, it's just that he feels he can't get the quality he wants to cook. I don't know if it's really harder to get good lamb or beef than it is to get good fish, but that's what he's been quoted as saying.

[Le Zouave]

there's a restaurant on the hill leading up to montmartre that bills itself as a vegetarian restaurant serving provencal cuisine.

I'm not sure, but that sounds like the Grain de folie. Last time I ate there, maybe a year and a half ago, I had nothing but terrible salad and tomatoes — maybe the hommos was OK, but that was about it. If that's vegetarian food, I'll rather have a steak...

[Druckenbrodt]

This is all very interesting and enlightening. It makes perfect sense when you think about it to warn the restaurant in advance. I suspect this probably only works in the smarter restaurants but it's a curteous thing to do and I can see how a French chef might respond more positively.

It goes back to the classic French thing where the first answer is always 'non'. A native friend told me recently you always have to ask three times in three different ways and finally they'll relent. Especially if you throw in that there's a crucial factor 'romantique' at stake.

I discovered Maceo is not far from where we live. I ran past there the other night and saw they have an asparagus menu at the moment. I definitely plan to give it a try and will report back when I do.

Generally, I think restaurants which are specifically vegetarian don't really work. I'm not sure why that is but generally they're a bit disappointing.

Just been in the Dolomites and I wonder whether with the Italians it's a confidence thing? I know this is a controversial thing to say in front of Francophiles. But my point is; if you're really confident that your ingredients are great, perhaps you don't feel quite the same need to always chuck in meat or fish to make the dish 'work'. For example before dating a vegetarian I was always using meat stocks in soups or using pork in some way to add flavour. A bit like going overboard on the salt, butter and olive oil. But p.v. (post vegetarian) I've experienced a series of culinary epiphanous moments when my boyfriend has cooked for me. I think one of the key things I've learnt is that if you are vegetarian, you really need to be a good cook and learn respect for your ingredients. Or rather, if you are an indifferent cook but eat meat, you can generally create food that is passable - but it will never be truly memorable.

[MobyP]

You have to be careful with that French 'Non.'

The rule in at least one Parisian top end place is: if you can't see it, smell it, or taste it, it's not there.

Even when it is.

[artisanbaker]

http://www.letsgo.com/FRA/04-Paris-241

it's "le soleil gourmand"

i have good memories of this place.

[Le Zouave]

le soleil gourmand: absolutely. Not bad at all, and a warm welcome. Btw, someone told me the vegetarian "po mana" was about to close, or had just closed...

[origamicrane]

well just got back from Paris again and managed to get to a few of these veggies restaurants.

Entre Ciel & Terre is no longer there its been replaced by a place called Lemoni but it wasn't open when we got there on saturday night, looks like a weekday venue only.

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Tried to find the le soleil gourmand but couldn't even find the road.

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the only veggies restaurant i got to was Le Grenier de Notre Dame. The place is small and we sat next to the computers in the side room that is an internet cafe???!!

Anyway that was rather strange as we got the humming and strange glow from the computer screens. Anyway the food was pretty good the moussaka , and paella were good sized and pretty tasty, the veggy lasange was ok but not too exciting and teh veggy fritteres were pretty good if over salted.

The only thing that spoilt it was, we had 3 waitresses that served us that night 1 was french and the 2 others where chinese and the two oriental (chinese/vietnamese?) waitress were brusque boarding on rude. They never smiled once, looked very annoyed when we asked what some dishes were, and when we tried to get their attnetion they just simply turned and walked away. What really annoyed us was that one of them bought over the bill after the main course when we were just comtemplating having dessert and before we had time to even breath she had turned and wallked off.

The food is ok but the service is very poor.

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Although La Duree is a tea house more then a restuarant, we did have a very nice omelette with mushrroms,gruyere, herbs and asparagus and a very large salad of rocket, beans, and caramelised vegs.

well thats it on the veggy front for now. Will hopefully get to some others when i'm in pris next.

[John Talbott]

Much too late for your trip, but perhaps useful to others is a list I just came across at the Ciao website.

[jeunefilleparis]

Tomorrow night I leave for my first trip to France since I became a vegetarian last year. I m a bit nervous since so much of my previous trips have revolved around food. In New York I have found no problems having amazing vegetarian food, in both casual and upscale places. The restaurants do not have to be vegetarian( though are welcomed), but just places that would be more accomodating to my needs. Any advice would be much appreciated! They can be typical french or other types of cuisine.

Merci

lauren