Clown Bar, Paris 11

Margaret Pilgrim · May 31, 2019

Clown Bar has been the food press's tout for some time, but when the chef left to open his own restaurant there was concern about its current quality. Well, it's excellent!

Besides the historic circus decor and popularity as a local watering hole, Clown Bar became a comfortable stop for a small plate or two and glass of well curated wine. The menu doesn't exactly suggest this, but the extensive list of starters offers enough to create a fine light meal.

Husband chose the Fine beignets, cod fritters.

I went with giant white asparagus with foie gras. MMmm...

You can see from these pics that portions are LARGE. They can easily be shared for a smaller meal or to create a larger tasting menu.

Husband ordered the house signature duck pithiviers which is large, rich and very sharable,

While I chose turbot. Oh, my! A VERY large portion, perfectly sourced and prepared. Husband asked how I was possibly going to finish it,,.,but I managed.

This was a very large meal, leaving no room for dessert. The menu allows opportunity for many split or shared courses. Everything was very, very good. Wines were excellent and well priced. Service was intelligent and attentive. And amazingly since this is a "drinking establishment", the decibel level was very low. A very pleasant evening. .