Is La Grande Épicerie a good lunch spot?

[AlexForbes]

I've been searching and searching the Paris dining topics, so far with no luck.

I wanted to know if any of you recommend lunch at any of the many

restaurants at the fancy food shop

La Grande Épicerie, which is part of Le Bon Marché, the upscale dept.

store on the Rive Gauche.

There is a Café on the 2nd floor (the Design section of the store)

that serves many dishes - raw tuna and smoked

fish "lasagna", for instance, in a minimalist setting.

There's also a sushi spot (Matsuri) which apparently sells Japanese

books, music and ikebana.

A third restaurant, called Delicabar, is shutting down and will be replaced by an Italian restaurant soon.

Has anyone been to any of these recently and can tell me if they're a good lunch bet?

thanks!

[PhilD]

I've been searching and searching the Paris dining topics, so far with no luck.

I wanted to know if any of you recommend lunch at any of the many

restaurants at the fancy food shop

La Grande Épicerie, which is part of Le Bon Marché, the upscale dept.

store on the Rive Gauche.

There is a Café on the 2nd floor (the Design section of the store)

that serves many dishes - raw tuna and smoked

fish "lasagna", for instance, in a minimalist setting.

There's also a sushi spot (Matsuri) which apparently sells Japanese

books, music and ikebana.

A third restaurant, called Delicabar, is shutting down and will be replaced by an Italian restaurant soon.

Has anyone been to any of these recently and can tell me if they're a good lunch bet?

thanks!

←

I wouldn't say they are destination lunch spots but if you are in Bon Marche they are fine. They are fairly typical of the places you get in food halls the world over, reasonable food and a good bet for a quick snack.

The Bon Marche ones are great for people watching, the ones on the groundfloor are in the food hall, the 2nd floor one is in the middle of the young designers section of womens wear - I believe it has an outside terrace but I maybe mixing that up with Printemps.

[AlexForbes]

Thanks, PhilD, I realize that these are not destination restaurants by any means, but this is for an article I'm working on, and I was trying to find out more since their website is very bad and annoying to navigate...

So if anyone happens to have eaten there recently, I'd love to hear about it!

[robyn]

I haven't eaten there - but just today I read the write-up about Delicabar in Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris. Sounded pretty good and I bookmarked it as a possible lunch spot during a shopping day. Do you know when it will be closing? Robyn

[buttery]

Does La Grande Épicerie have any tables or counters available for those who'd like to sample what they've just purchased at the market? Or are they only for those ordering from a menu?

[Felice]

I guess I havent been to the Bon Marché in a long time because the only place I remember is Delicabar, which I found to be quite good. I don't remember there being any other restaurants. Matsuri is a chain of converbelt sushi with a few places in Paris.

[PhilD]

Does La Grande Épicerie have any tables or counters available for those who'd like to sample what they've just purchased at the market?  Or are they only for those ordering from a menu?

←

Don't believe so. They are cafe's for people to grab a snack whilst shopping. Remember 99% of the people there are simply doing their regular shopping, we used to go there most days to buy our dinner, to locals it is simply a shop, albeit a good one.

Also, it is a department store rather than a market, in Paris markets are a very differnt proposition.

[PhilD]

I guess I havent been to the Bon Marché in a long time because the only place I remember is Delicabar, which I found to be quite good.  I don't remember there being any other restaurants.  Matsuri is a chain of converbelt sushi with a few places in Paris.

←

Felice, the place on the 1st floor is more of a cafe than a restaurant, it is off the large space at the top of the escalators that come out of the food hall, and i think it has been there a long time.

I also don't remember a Matsuri, but they have had a rolling renovation program that has increased the size of the shop a lot. When we were last there (earlier this summer) I recall the Delicabar looked like it was about to undergo/complete renovations.

[TarteTatin]

We ate there in January (again, not a destination place, but happened to be starving while shopping...poor planning).

It was packed, just packed with tourists. All the places had lines. We basically chose the shortest line, which was an Italian place with pastas. It really was just ok, and very expensive for what we got. The couple next to us had a dessert, a tiramisu it looked like, that was huge enough to serve a family of six.

About six months earlier, we went mid morning and had a lovely hot chocolate at the coffee bar. Real chocolate served in a pitcher, with a separate pitcher of milk/cream-I believe. I think I mixed the two myself.

Another time we had a split of champagne at the champagne caviar bar.

So, I guess it depends on what you want, and what time/day you go.

EDITED TO SAY:

SHOOOT! I'm talking about the wrong place! Disregard this post or delete it! How funny!

I'm talking about Printemps or Galerie Lafayette. Je suis desolee!

Edited September 22, 2008 by TarteTatin (log)

[Ptipois]

From what you described it really sounded like Lafayette Gourmet

The various food bars are fun there. The Italian place is nothing to write home about. The Bellota-Bellota bar is really nice (and the main of pata negra ham, olive oil purée, low-temp. soft-cooked egg and tomato-garlic relish truly one of the best treats to have in Paris anytime).

[robyn]

From what you described it really sounded like Lafayette Gourmet 

The various food bars are fun there. The Italian place is nothing to write home about. The Bellota-Bellota bar is really nice (and the main of pata negra ham, olive oil purée, low-temp. soft-cooked egg and tomato-garlic relish truly one of the best treats to have in Paris anytime).

←

Is "there" Lafayette Gourmet - or Bon Marche? Robyn (a little confused)

[PhilD]

From what you described it really sounded like Lafayette Gourmet 

The various food bars are fun there. The Italian place is nothing to write home about. The Bellota-Bellota bar is really nice (and the main of pata negra ham, olive oil purée, low-temp. soft-cooked egg and tomato-garlic relish truly one of the best treats to have in Paris anytime).

←

Is "there" Lafayette Gourmet - or Bon Marche? Robyn (a little confused)

←

Two different departments stores. Le Grand Epicerie is the food hall in "Bon Marche" which is on the Left Bank (IMO the best department store in Paris). Lafayette Gourmet is the food hall in "Galleries Lafeyette" another department store (next to Printemps) on the Right Bank. Both have cafes and food outlets. The OP was asking about Bon Marche, TarteTatin posted about Lafayette.

[Ptipois]

Is "there" Lafayette Gourmet - or Bon Marche?  Robyn (a little confused)

←

I was referring to Lafayette Gourmet on boulevard Haussmann.

[John Talbott]

Is "there" Lafayette Gourmet - or Bon Marche?  Robyn (a little confused)

←

I was referring to Lafayette Gourmet on boulevard Haussmann.

←

There are several eating places in the GL on Haussman; my take on the Chene Vert is as follows:

5.05 Chene Vert, 99 Rue de Provence, 01.40.23.52.31, closed Sunday (when its host, Galeries Lafayette is). The easiest way to enter is from the GF wine shop and you find yourself suddenly in a restaurant not a department store. There is modern but not goofy furniture and superb service. The place is under the wing of David Van Laer whose food I liked at Maxence + Manufacture before that. It’s a nice menu but, as I was warned, a bit pricey, 45 € for the 3 course menu, but the wines are more reasonably priced (from 15-35 €). The amuse gueules looked “standard” but were superb. I didn’t like the choices on the carte, my companion had trouble deciding, but I was saved by the market menu. I started with the soup of lobster and lentils and diced undercooked (properly) veggies, she had a “minute” of tuna that was vastly over-cooked (the waiter apologetically said that’s the way the clientele (who, like Galeries Lafayette customers, are a mixed lot) like it – we didn’t, although the accompanying salad was good. Then I had sweetbreads with crunchy asparagus that was quite good; interestingly, her Iberian pork tasted more like superbly toasted on the outside, raw on the inside, slices of cote de boeuf than pork – it came with swiss chard and a butter croquette. Finally, I had the dessert special where the pineapple was terrific, the mango sorbet OK but the Magnolias-type shot glass full of a layered thing, was “so what?” Total = 110 €; do it again? I don’t think so.

There are another dozen or so restos, bars, sandwicheries, sushi counters, etc only one of which I've sat down at and wouldn't recommend.

[robyn]

Two different departments stores. Le Grand Epicerie is the food hall in "Bon Marche" which is on the Left Bank (IMO the best department store in Paris). Lafayette Gourmet is the food hall in "Galleries Lafeyette" another department store (next to Printemps) on the Right Bank. Both have cafes and food outlets. The OP was asking about Bon Marche, TarteTatin posted about Lafayette.

←

Don't worry about which is best - I will probably hit both . Although it looks like I could spend a week wandering around the neighborhood near Bon Marche (it's called Sevres-Babylone - yes?). Curious that it seems like almost all stores - including big ones like Bon Marche - are closed on Sunday. Planning for Sunday will be tough. We have tickets for the auto show - but I have been told that the auto show on weekends is ridiculously crowded. Also - a lot of museums are free that day - so I assume they will be very crowded too. Perhaps I will stay up all night for Nuit Blanche and sleep all day Sunday! Robyn

[robyn]

There are several eating places in the GL on Haussman;  my take on the Chene Vert is as follows:

5.05 Chene Vert, 99 Rue de Provence, 01.40.23.52.31, closed Sunday (when its host, Galeries Lafayette is).  The easiest way to enter is from the GF wine shop and you find yourself suddenly in a restaurant not a department store.  There is modern but not goofy furniture and superb service.  The place is under the wing of David Van Laer whose food I liked at Maxence + Manufacture before that.  It’s a nice menu but, as I was warned, a bit pricey, 45 € for the 3 course menu, but the wines are more reasonably priced (from 15-35 €).  The amuse gueules looked “standard” but were superb.  I didn’t like the choices on the carte, my companion had trouble deciding, but I was saved by the market menu.  I started with the soup of lobster and lentils and diced undercooked (properly) veggies, she had a “minute” of tuna that was vastly over-cooked (the waiter apologetically said that’s the way the clientele (who, like Galeries Lafayette customers,  are a mixed lot) like it – we didn’t, although the accompanying salad was good.  Then I had sweetbreads with crunchy asparagus that was quite good; interestingly, her Iberian pork tasted more like superbly toasted on the outside, raw on the inside, slices of cote de boeuf than pork – it came with swiss chard and a butter croquette.  Finally, I had the dessert special where the pineapple was terrific, the mango sorbet OK but the Magnolias-type shot glass full of a layered thing, was “so what?”  Total = 110 €; do it again? I don’t think so.

There are another dozen or so restos, bars, sandwicheries, sushi counters, etc only one of which I've sat down at and wouldn't recommend.

←

This seems very typical of dining in high end department stores. Generally good - sometimes better than good - but it is easy to drop a lot of money. For those of us "shop 'til you drop" people (which I am when I am in a place with good shopping - at home - we have great golf - terrible shopping) who are married to husbands who wilt easily - the restaurants are usually a good bet even if they are somewhat overpriced (when your husband is wilting - the last thing you want to do is hit the streets and spend 30 minutes searching for a decent place to eat).

I think the most expensive meal we ever had at a department store was at the Harrod's food courts. Fresh seafood - including lots of oysters. Delicious. Robyn