Les Côtelettes

Paris is considered to many as the most romantic city in the world. I would have to agree because J’aime Paris and I love this hidden gem of a restaurant.
We stopped by on Monday but they were closed due to something we couldn’t read in French. We thought it was a wedding. We figured out they would be open on our last night. The one thing anyone should do, on the night before they leave Paris, is to go and have an amazing meal. This place did not disappoint. It is located next to a laundry mat on a small side street from Rue de Rivoli. If I hadn’t read about this place in a travel magazine, I would have missed it and missed out.
The menu is different everyday depending on what is available and what the chef feels is of quality. Most of the vegetables come from their garden. His wife waited on us because she was the most fluent in English. She explained what was on the menu, what they were sold out of, and if I would be able to explain it to the partner. 6 entrees or starters, 6 plats or main meals, a cheese plate, and 4 desserts.
We started with the mozzarella and tomatoes, something we both understood in French, and grilled squash on toasted bread with sundried tomatoes and shaved parmesan. Both unique in presentation and delicious. For our plats, we ordered the steak with fingerling potatoes and zucchini and the fish with a basil pesto over a vegetable turine. The fish was like butter! very tender. The well seasoned steak was grilled perfectly. We also ordered a Côtes du Rhôné which went well with the meal, as well as dessert.
We decided on the fondant au chocolat and the crème caramel. We really liked the fondant, but who wouldn’t love chocolate in Paris. It went well with the wine. The crème caramel sounds fancy, but it was just like flan. Flan… crème caramel… the latter sounds much better. It was good, but I think we were expecting something more unique. We should have had the soup du cerises avec fruits rouge.
The service was warm and attentive. Most of the diners were locals, and families. We sat next to two Brits who ordered the last poached peaches dessert… damn them! lol! The owner’s wife treated us like family… or maybe distant cousins. It’s refreshing to eat at a restaurant that encourages you to stay and relax instead of turning the table.
Joie de vivre!

Pour ceux qui recherchent un petit bistro calme à 2 pas de la Bastille, dans une impasse tranquille. L’accueil est chaleureux, plats traditionnels de nos régions françaises avec une cuisine raffinée. Comptez un repas env 35−40EUR (avec le vin) par personne.

Un nom de restaurant comme celui-​ci né peut que convaincre les amateurs de porcinets. A côté de Bastille, on salive avant même avant d’arriver à sa table et on continue dès que l’on s’empare de la carte.
Entre rognons de veau et magret de canard, herbes et olives, Les Côtelettes savent aussi manier d’autres types de plats carnés. Produits de marchands, vins de vignerons, le restaurant né rigole pas avec les bonnes valeurs de la cuisine française.

As the French would say, c’est correct. The duck was excellently cooked, with very crispy skin. The veal was very tender with mashed potatoes done exactly right. The staff was very warm. For a very well-​executed, friendly night out, I’d definitely recommend this place.

Cuisine fine. Service chaleureux et soigné. Bonne table, bons vins. Cadre simple mais convivial et accueillant. A découvrir absolument !