What: Boissonerie (aka Fish)
Where: 69 Rue de Seine, 75006 Paris, France - In the St-Germain district (6ieme arrondissement)
Why: Cozy place with fantastic french country cooking right off the touristy section with a great wine list.
Verdict: Highly recommended. Comfortable, easy going, you can get service in english, food was some of the best we had especially at the price. Get a reservation and be ready to spend the night there.
Firstly I have to say how much I love the St-Germain des pres area. If you're visiting Paris for the first time, get a hotel here. It's so lively and fun with lots of great cafes everywhere. This find was by absolute luck on our part last summer. We were walking down rue de Buci which is busy with terrasses filled to the brim. Too busy, we keep walking. We get to a corner and look down, see a cute little sign of a fish. We walk towards it to see what it's about and see that there's a busy restaurant on this quiet side street. We pop our heads in and ask if they have a table, they did but with about 45 mins wait. We decide we might as well instead of walking around for 45mins instead. So we take a seat at the bar (window sill actually) and order a bottle of wine from the huge list they have. The bartender takes our order, walks out the front door and goes next door. This is where they keep their wine.
Nice bottle in hand, we start to take in the decor and atmosphere. Rustic wooden top tables, a metal fish sculpture above the bar, and then we see the plates going by. Yum! Halfway through our bottle a very nice waitress brings us to our table in the back and brings us a basket of warm fresh bread that's made at their other restaurant across the street which is a sandwich shop. Perusing the menu, so many things look good! I opted for lamb saddle on a bed of french du Puy lentils with chorizo and madeira sauce. I still dream of this meal, I'm not kidding. We've been able to re-create a similar version at home, but the sauce I make without madeira wine. <***LINK TO RECIPE***>. So even though the place is named Boissonerie, the name is a play on words; Boisson=drink, Poissonerie=fish market, the meat dishes are excellent. The portions are perfect. You're not rolling out, but you're not scanning for a crepe stand after either.
It was so good we went back a couple of days later. And you know what? As much as I wanted to have something else, I ordered the EXACT same plate. I couldn't help myself.
So if you're headed to Paris and will be in that area, do yourself a favour and get a reservation. Look it up on yelp, trip advisor, whatever you want to, it's always highly recommended. Just a fun cozy place you want when you're traveling and making you wish this place was in your neighborhood.
- Marc
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