L’Ecluse Valmy

Terrasse agréable donnant sur le canal Saint-​Martin, plats traditionnels copieux. Le tartare de saumon est bien cuisiné mais pourrait être servi à température un chouia plus fraîche.

Have only ten minutes to find a table for 10 on a Friday night at 10pm? Mission Impossible, right? Well, actually no…
This restaurant, which was recently reopened under new management, has had a bit of a slow start since its makeover. Honestly I think it’s because its menu doesn’t have anything particularly exciting on it, just your usual salads, steak tartare, grilled fish, etc. There was one item, however, that caught my attention when I walked by after its reopening that made me decide to give this place a chance: the homemade stuffed cabbage, one of my eastern european culinary cravings.
So I picked up the phone with stuffed cabbage and empty seats on my mind and lo and behold, they could accommodate us. Whopeee! One star so far.
Our crew amassed little by little and we didn’t sit down until at least 10:15pm, but the staff was friendly and accommodating. Yet another star!
We all ordered different things on the menu, a steak tartare to my left, a hot goat cheese salad to my right, and I (despite the chuckling from my friends about the climate appropriateness of my choice, since it was a balmy summer night) ordered that stuffed cabbage. And I’m glad that I did! It was unlike any stuffed cabbage I’d ever had. Instead of being served in a sweet and sour sauce it was all juicy, tender and flavorful on the inside so no need for sauce, and much lighter than it’s traditional counterpart. Another star!
After a few bottles of rose and hours of animated conversation later, we walked out well after midnight, closing the place down. The owner and his staff were as adorable as can be, despite the late closing time. Tack on that 4^th star! We’ll be back.