5 favorite Paris restaurants and recipes – happy Friday!

Salut and bonjour week-end! I’m still dreaming about Nice – stuck in Riviera mode. Check out this cool travel guide from Air France I just found for more daydream inspiration – they also recommend Le Galet! I enjoyed all the great niçoise food last weekend and could do it all over again actually, but today I think I’ll talk about Parisian food, specifically restaurants that I’ve been to. Let’s take a stroll around Paris. Here are 5 favorite Paris restaurants and recipes – happy Friday!

Café Kitsuné

I’ve mentioned Café Kitsuné several times before, obviously it’s a favorite. I mean, it’s french, and foxes, how could it not be? I was beyond overjoyed when I finally got to visit them in the Palais Royal on our last trip to Paris. Which is why I’ll point it out again. And because I found out they have some nice recipes on the Maison Kitsuné website. White Matcha Latte? Oui, merci!

Les Deux Magots

Les Deux Magots is the perfect place to sit and soak up the charm of St. Germain and watch the world of Paris go by. A Paris institution, and another of my favorites. The first time we went we sat outside with une bière et un kir. The last time we were there we had beautiful lunch on the patio. I’ve replicated the salad I had at home, very simple, very chic. Bien sûr, I ordered the St. Germain salad. In fact I think I’ll make it for lunch today!

Le Récamier

I loved Le Récamier, so much that after I went with my husband, when I took my Trip of a Lifetime Part I (ah memories…) with my mom I had to take her there too. And the souffles I ordered were so delicious and perfect, I ordered them both times. I’ve tried to replicate the Soufflé  aux Champignons & Sauce (Mushroom Souffle) and it was good, but not nearly as dreamy as theirs. Some day I will try to replicate the Soufflé  au Caramel & a la Fleur de Sel. My mom had a Spring Pea Soufflé, also beautiful and perfect. Grard Idoux, the former chef there, published a book of Soufflés, and if I knew if any of those recipes were in it, I would buy it in a second. Here is a recipe for his Soufflé au Chocolat.

Da Rosa

When we popped in to Da Rosa on our last Paris trip, it was just for cocktails while we waited on our dinner reservation across the street. The sangria I had was the jam. It was so charming, such a cool atmosphere, we promised ourselves we would come back. The food looked delicious, especially the pasta. I found a recipe (in French) on Le Fooding for their Smoked Salmon Croque. Mmmm… enjoy!

 Le Petit Châtelet

I saved the best for last. Le Petit Chatelet is absolutely my very favorite restaurant in Paris. Maybe because that’s where we went on the evening we were engaged and then where we went to to celebrate our honeymoon. Perhaps, but each time we have gone everything has been beautiful, charming and perfect. On our engagement dinner we ordered Magret de canard and Entrecôte and now it’s our tradition each visit. We try something different for our entrée and dessert. Last time there I had poire pochée au vin rouge, glace violette – magical. Here’s a nice recipe for poached pears from the Spruce Eats. Maybe you could make a violet Nice Cream to go with?

I won’t try to replicate recipes for the duck or steak, but how about an entrée? One that we tried there was Poêlée de Champignons à l’ail, pan fried mushrooms with garlic (sounds so much better in French). Simple and delicious, non? Enjoy your Friday and your weekend! On the menu chez moi for pizza Friday? Hot Sausage and Crispy Chard Pizza (chicken sausage, mais oui). À bientôt!

Print Recipe

Sautéed Mushrooms with Garlic and Shallot

Inspired by an entrée at the lovely Le Petit Chatelet, these mushrooms make a delicious start to your Parisian inspired meal.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time7 minutes mins

Total Time12 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: French

Keyword: entree, Parisian, sauteed mushrooms

Servings: 2 generous

Ingredients

• 10 oz small button mushrooms * (champignons de Paris)
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 small shallot, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions

• Clean any dirt from the mushrooms.

  Heat the oil in a sauté pan and cook the mushrooms over high heat until they begin to release their liquid, about 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper.

  Add the butter, shallot, garlic, parsley and thyme. Continue cooking over high heat, stirring, until garlic is fragrant and mushrooms are brown, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.