Les Papiles, France, Paris - When can I go back?

An impromptu trip to Paris was sure to produce some memorable dining experiences and plenty of great material for the Travel Bites blog. Les Papiles, a small but fantastic bistro located near the Luxembourg Gardens, certainly did not disappoint!

We took it on good advice that we needed to book in advance and although we were early for our reservation, within minutes of sitting down the place had filled up to almost bursting point. While the owner understandably wants to maximize the number of diners each night, possibly the only negative point that I will raise for Les Papiles is the limited personal space for each diner which invariably means that you are forced to listen to the conversations of those around you and the body heat plus the heat radiating from the open kitchen made the restaurant uncomfortably warm.

That small gripe aside, Les Papiles cannot be faulted. The service was brilliant (Bertrand Bluy, owner and operator, was incredibly welcoming and happy to help with our wine selection) and the food, rather than being over-complicated or fussy, was fresh, creative and simply delicious. The dinner menu is a four course set menu, but it does change regularly according to the best produce of the season. Below is a description of what was served up for us in late November:

For entree we were served individual plates that were beautifully decorated with white beans, sausage, herbs and cream/butter and a shared pot of creamy soup that we generously scooped into our bowls. While I would hate to know how much butter and cream went into this dish, the richness of the soup balanced perfectly with the spice of the sausage and the texture of the white beans. Elegant flavours and great presentation. On a normal day, I would have been perfectly content to have stopped at this point - but there were three more courses to come!! (I was already regretting having eaten so much lunch!).

If the Entree was beautifully presented, the rack of lamb that emerged piping hot from the kitchen and landed on our table was almost too picture perfect to pull apart. Hand on heart, this was the best lamb I have ever eaten. It was soft, moist and each bite melted in my mouth. It was served with creamy baked potatoes that I sadly had to ignore due to limited stomach space - the lamb definitely got preference!

In true French style, the next plate to arrive was a simple cheese plate - a long, elegant, perfectly stinky slice of creamy cheese that was served with caramelized onion and slices of baguette. By this stage I was full; really, really full. For goodness sake, I didn't eat all my cheese! If rejecting amazing french cheese was a criminal act, which it should be, then I was guilty!


Desert arrived shortly following and despite the complete lack of stomache space, the cool and light texture of this dish was refreshing and the perfect way to round off the heaviness of the previous dishes. From bottom up, there was a layer of sweet stewed apple, followed by a light, yet creamy layer that was similar to a creme brulee but perhaps a little more yoghurt like in texture. On top was a divine layer of caramel foam that danced across my tongue. Heaven!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

It is difficult to rate a restaurant as Highly Recommended after just one meal, but I can with great confidence, give such a recommendation to Les Papiles. I have never eaten at a Michelin Star Restaurant, but if this place isn't dining at its best, then I don't know what is. And when you see the price tag below what more can you ask for!! 



The bill (for 2):
2 x Degustation Menu of 4 courses
TOTAL: 66 Euro (Approx. US$85) (not including the bottle of wine we ordered)

Restaurant address: 30 rue Gay Lussac 75005 PARIS

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