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Saturday Night Paris Restaurants open


countess

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Does anyone know a good restaurant in central Paris which is open on a Saturday evening?  We are happy to spend about £60-70 per head all in and would like to include a decent drink or two.

We are staying near Madeleine but anywhere reasonably central which has good food and a nice, relaxed, and even better romantic, atmosphere would be great.....

any recommendations appreciated.  I've been spoilt by going on business and eating at places like Lucas Carton and Pierre Gagnaire........

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L'Astrance was, and I believe still is, open on Saturday for dinner. With wine, it should meet your budget with ease and a bargain at that price. It's become a very tough reservation to get, however.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

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  • 11 months later...

Our last night in Paris is Saturday (late May). We will have dined at La Regalade friday night, Boyer in Reims the night before, and various meals (5 nights) in Beaune previous. We had thought about Claude Colliot based on a previous post, but unfortunately, they are closed Saturday.

Colliot sounded very interesting, and we are looking for a very good restaurant that may be hovering just "below the radar". We enjoyed La Regalade when we were there 2 years ago - Krug by the glass, Pate de Campagne to die for...and despite recent concerning reviews, we are still keen to give it another try (they too are closed on Saturday).

Any suggestions for a last night in Paris for two people that may be approaching food burn out? We are trying to avoid Michelin *'s. Great wines at reasonable prices a bonus, too.

P.S. been to Willy's, but was not "wowed". :blink:

We are staying in the 6 arr, but will go anywhere.

Thanks for any recs!

Mark

Edited by boris (log)
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We really liked Chez Casimir - 6, rue de Belzunce. 01-48-78-28-80 - Thierry Breton's grandbaby bistro; open Saturday night.

and

Aux Lyonnais, 32, rue St.-Marc, 2nd 01-42-96-65-04, which is not really "under the radar," I guess.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

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Not in the 6th but in the 7th I would highly recommend Le Clos des Gourmets, 16 Avenue Rapp, 01.45.51.75.61. Fixed price menu 30 Euros for 3 courses. Open Saturday night, quite small so you will need to book in advance. Wine list is reasonable and fairly short. Report based on last Saturday night, Arnaud Pitrois is definitely on top form, catch him now before he gets too big and too expensive.

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I know the request specifically disclaimed the desire for a michelin star, but given the itenerary, I think a visit to Astrance may be in order (if they are open and a table can be procured of course). It sounds to me like most of the dinning on the trip will consist of food without a tremendous amount of innovation. It might not be a bad idea to conclude the trip in Paris with a meal that is on the cutting edge. I have only been to Astrance once but enjoyed it immensely (not to mention the fact that it is fairly well priced for the value).

Members with excellent palates (Lizziee and Robert Brown) have come out against Astrance and I haven't heard much since, but I was thrilled. I wish Cabrales would consider extending self-imposed posting guidelines to advising people on Astrance (and updating us on all dinning in France) because even when our palates don't agree, Cabrales's posts are the closest I come to taking in cuisine without actually being physically present :laugh::rolleyes:

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I know the request specifically disclaimed the desire for a michelin star, but given the itenerary, I think a visit to Astrance may be in order (if they are open and a table can be procured of course).  It sounds to me like most of the dinning on the trip will consist of food without a tremendous amount of innovation.  It might not be a bad idea to conclude the trip in Paris with a meal that is on the cutting edge.  I have only been to Astrance once but enjoyed it immensely (not to mention the fact that it is fairly well priced for the value). 

Members with excellent palates (Lizziee and Robert Brown) have come out against Astrance and I haven't heard much since, but I was thrilled.  I wish Cabrales would consider extending self-imposed posting guidelines to advising people on Astrance (and updating us on all dinning in France) because even when our palates don't agree, Cabrales's posts are the closest I come to taking in cuisine without actually being physically present :laugh:  :rolleyes:

I had lunch at Astrance last October and would second the recommendation. I was truly wowed. Very innovative food and wonderful lightness, and you didn't feel stuffed at the end of the meal. The wine list is long and has lots of excellent choices -- but although the selections of Burgundies and clarets are tempting, I would stay away from them. The type of food here demands Loire or Languedoc wines that can handle the unusual flavor combinations (we went with a 1993 Huet Vouvray demi-sec that was the perfect match).

Best regards,

Claude Kolm

The Fine Wine Review

Edited by Claude Kolm/The Fine Wine Review (log)
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The wine list at L'Astrance has changed a lot recently. I forget when it changed exactly.

Craig -- Was the version you received a grey, folder-like cover made of a light cardboard-like material with the L'Astrance flower emblem (like the grey on the menu)?

Or was the version of today -- bound black leather, much more extensive, and resembling a huge photo album? It still has the L'Astrance logo on its cover, but now it is embossed. The first page inside is a page from an old list of types of wines recommended for different types of ailments (e.g., crises de foie). :hmmm:

I have an extremely high regard for the cuisine at this venue. :laugh:

Edited by cabrales (log)
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I have to qualify my reaction to Astrance as it is based on only one meal in 2002. Unlike Cabby, I found the cuisine a poor mixture of jarring flavors plus ingredients that were handled from mediocre to poor. I am not exactly a purist when it comes to food as I have had 2 extraordinary meals at El Bulli and Pierre Gagnaire is a favorite restaurant in Paris.

Other possibilities for Saturday dinner is Benoit - traditional bistro food handled well. It is not cheap, however, for bistro food.

Other thoughts regarding restaurants open on Saturday are Aux Lyonnais (Ducasse's new venture into bistro food) and Hiramatsu.

(http://www.hiramatsu.co.jp/lang_french/carte.html) I have not eaten at either one so I have no first hand experience.

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I disagree on Astrance. I found it excellent in every respect, and the best gourmet value in Paris. There's a reason why getting a table there is so difficult...

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

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fresh_a: I'm not sure L'Astrance's surprise menu (at 90-95 euros before wine) is the "best gourmet value in Paris" if three-star lunch possibilities are taken into account, but I think L'Astrance offers excellent cuisine (regardless of price) and a very good quality-for-value relationship. It's just that there are very good quality-for-value relationships during lunch at three stars too. :hmmm: (I am not talking specifically about Saturday lunch, as obviously Grand Vefour, Lucas-Carton and Pierre Gagnaire are not open during Saturday lunch. Query whether Guy Savoy is open for Saturday lunch and whether it has a special priced lunch menu. Probably not. Note I am also excluding wine components, as those of course tend to be more expensive at three-stars, where one will not find some of the nice lower-priced wines inhering in L'Astrance's wine list.)

I would agree that, if one wanted a large number of dishes during a meal, L'Astrance might offer the best gourmet value in Paris.

I appreciate the poster initiating the thread was addressing Saturday *dinner*

Edited by cabrales (log)
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I don't think it's possible to find any three star in Paris that has a tasing menu with wine for 95 Euros... More like double that , minimum...

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

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fresh_a: Are you so sure the L'Astrance surprise menu still includes wine? Note I have ordered wine separately each time I have gone recently, but you might want to check on the wine being included. I'm just not sure, as I wanted to order wine from the wine list. :hmmm:

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The surprise menu is in two versions, as far as I know:one with wine, and one without. The one I had included a glass of wine with each course.

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

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Thanks everyone for your recommendations - they all sounded great, but I think we've been convinced to TRY and get reservations at L' Astrance. (with perhaps Chez Casimir or Aux Lyonnais as a back up).

ONE MORE QUESTION:

Could someone remind me of the reservation policy at L'Astrance? Do I call one month to the day? What time (Paris time) do they start answering phones? Any other bits of advise appreciated - Thanks.

...feeling deja-vu with respect to our "French Laundry" reservations last year!!

Mark

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One month to the day. I'd start around 9 am Paris time (might even try faxing the night before).

BTW, several people here mentioned the menu surprise. I purposely avoided it and took the other menu, which I thought sounded more likely to be a resounding success (and it was).

Edited by Claude Kolm/The Fine Wine Review (log)
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The menu surprise at the Astrance wasn't even a surprise as Christophe, the owner, told me what it contained!

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

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Unless there has been a recent change, La Regalade is open for dinner on Saturdays. If you were to switch your dinner there from Friday to Saturday, you would then have a much larger choice of restaurants for Friday dinner.

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... to me the plates seemed less likely to work than those on the regular menu.

This is, in fact, one of the prime reasons I will take a tasting menu or the advice of someone I trust. While the dishes that seem less likely to work are often those that do not work, it's the dishes that seem unlikely to work, but do, that are the memorable ones. Of course ordering them leads to both my my best and worst experiences in restaurants, but it's a matter of nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The advantage of a "surprise" menu is largely that I don't have to overcome my early warning radar that tells me (rightly or wrongly) that a dish is going to be a disaster.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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The advantage of a "surprise" menu is largely that I don't have to overcome my early warning radar that tells me (rightly or wrongly) that a dish is going to be a disaster.

Except that the surprise menu at L'Astrance has been widely written up, so there is no real surprise to it.

My avoidance of that menu was due to the fact that it is the one to which I had seem some negative commentary. The regular menu was far from tame, though.

Edited by Claude Kolm/The Fine Wine Review (log)
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