Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeKitchenParis 16 and Benoit, bistros that take you back in time

Paris 16 and Benoit, bistros that take you back in time

Le Petit Pudlo des bistros 2022 has selected 70 tables from the capital’s brasseries. While Paris 16 receives the title of “bistro of the year”, Kelly Jolivet, in the kitchen of Benoit, is qualified as “chef of the year”.

Paris 16

To enter this Parisian bistro is to step back in time. From the red and white gingham-patterned tablecloths to the tiled floors, the leatherette banquettes to the old wooden chairs, passing through the sports-inspired Art Deco designs and the large mirrors covering the walls, illuminated by old sconces, everything has an air of deliciously old-fashioned.

It must be said that the address is not new. Opened in the 1950s, Paris 16 was, until recently, a popular trattoria in the very chic Parisian arrondissement. From now on, after a change initiated by the brothers Jérôme and Stéphane Dumant, people come here not only to enjoy the warm atmosphere of the place, but also to taste traditional dishes of French cuisine. Frédéric Prud’homme, present for a quarter of a century, always watches over the service.

The room of the restaurant Le Paris 16. | Thetravelbuds

In terms of culinary delights, the half-Parisian, half-bourgeois cuisine on offer uses recipes that appeal to all eaters. The score is simmered by chef Kennie Bonaventure, who graduated from the prestigious École de Paris des métiers de la table before earning his spurs in several gastronomic establishments, including the restaurant Chez Georges, run by the Menut family. This is how he sums up his cooking: “A good product, just cooked, a good homemade juice. Simplicity and efficiency!»

Here we feel like at home, but we are in a restaurant. This is an address as we like them, lively and unfussy, where we love to toast and feast. Gilles Pudlowski saw and ate just right.

Chef Kenny Bonaventure advocates simple and efficient cooking. | Thetravelbuds

Appetizers

  • Dandelions, country bacon and poached egg (10 euros)
  • White asparagus mimosa or Hollandaise sauce (19 euros)
  • Small artichokes and raw ham (12.50 euros)
  • Brioche croque-monsieur with truffles (15 euros)
  • Marrow bone and toast (10 euros)
  • Eggs mayonnaise (6 euros)
  • The six snails with garlic butter (12 euros)
  • Green beans and button mushrooms (8 euros)

The dishes

  • Spring calf’s head with gribiche sauce (22 euros)

Spring calf’s head with gribiche sauce from Paris 16. | Thetravelbuds

  • Pepper steak (29 euros)
  • The tournedos (filet), Béarnaise sauce (29 euros)
  • Filet, morels sauce (35 euros)
  • The steak tartare (18 euros)
  • The green-meadow tab (20 euros)
  • Tab with shallots (22 euros)
  • Veal chop with morels (30 euros)
  • Veal sweetbread with morels (30 euros)

Calf sweetbread with morels. | Thetravelbuds

  • Veal kidneys with mustard (22 euros)
  • Fish of the day, depending on availability

Toppings: mashed potatoes, fries, spinach, green beans

At Le Paris 16 restaurant, you can also taste scallops. | Thetravelbuds

The desserts

  • Comté 24 months (8 euros)
  • Pie and dessert of the day (8.50 euros)

At Le Paris 16 restaurant, profiteroles. | Thetravelbuds

  • Big crème caramel (8 euros)
  • The chocolate fondant (9 euros)
  • The rum baba (9 euros)
  • The floating island with pink pralines (10 euros)
  • Lemon vodka granita (14 euros)
  • Vanilla or chocolate ice cream, strawberry or lemon sorbets (3 euros a scoop)

The terrace of the restaurant Le Paris 16, to enjoy sunny days. | Thetravelbuds

18, rue des Belles Feuilles, 75116, Paris. Tel.: 01 47 04 56 33. Card from 35 to 50 euros. Nice selection of wines. Terrace open in fine weather. Booking is recommended. Closed Saturday and Sunday.

Kelly Jolivet, the head of the
restaurant Benoit

The Benoit restaurant, an address recognized for its family and warm side, is one of the last real Parisian bistros. And you can feel it even in the decor: tiling, woodwork, red velvet benches, brass, etched glass panes, faux marble columns, floor lamps at the bar, large mirrors with reproductions of the Beaujolais atmosphere.

Open since 1912, it was sold to Alain Ducasse in April 2005 by the Petit family, who had owned it for three generations. Today, the place is the only bistro in the capital to hold a star in the Michelin guide.

The dining room of the Benoit restaurant transports us into the world of Parisian bistros. | Pierre Monetta

Located a stone’s throw from the Town Hall, the Pompidou Center and the famous Saint-Jacques tower, Benoit has been inviting since the beginning of the 20the century lovers of traditional French cuisine: “At your place Benoît, we drink, we feast like kings”indicates the slogan of the place.

“For once I won’t talk to you about cooking, but about places where we eat!”wrote Alain Ducasse in his kitchen lovers dictionarypublished in 2003, in the chapter “Bistrots et brasseries”. “There is no more bistro and no more Parisian than Benoit. I have a special affection for this beautiful house filled with tasty stories and gourmet generosity. Benoit is a place of conviviality, memories and shared pleasure. It bears witness to a certain way of life and a tradition that are both full of the future!”he notes.

Historical dishes

  • Leopold de Rothschild crayfish soufflé garnished with asparagus and crayfish
  • Henri IV hen in pot served whole then cut in the dining room, for two people
  • Rockefeller oysters (coated with herb butter and roasted in the oven)
  • Beef Wellington, green asparagus and truffle jus
  • Pear charlotte, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry sauce

Traditional dishes

  • Sole vol-au-vent a la marinière by Auguste Escoffier
  • Bladder Poultry by Fernand Point
  • Strawberries Sarah Bernhardt by Auguste Escoffier

Coming: peach melba and, in the fall, hare à la royale by Antonin Carême and pot of jasmine cream by Alain Chapel.

Current map

  • The pie, vegetable pickles (28 euros)

The pie, vegetable pickles, from the Benoit restaurant. | Pierre Monetta

  • Confit duck foie gras, toasted Parisian brioche (32 euros)
  • Marinated smoked salmon, warm potatoes, raw lemon cream (24 euros)
  • Six or twelve snails in shell, garlic butter, fine herbs (18 or 30 euros)
  • Back of cod confit, peas, lemon juices (30 euros)

The back of cod confit, peas, lemon juices. | Pierre Monetta

  • Salmon koulibiac, white butter (41 euros)
  • Blood pudding with two apples (24 euros)

The two apple pudding. | Pierre Monetta

  • Organic tiger calf’s head ravigote (34 euros)
  • Homemade cassoulet, white beans (38 euros)
  • Filet of beef sautéed, Bordeaux marrow sauce, macaroni gratin (54 euros)

At the Benoit restaurant, sautéed beef tenderloin, marrow bordelaise sauce, macaroni gratin. | Pierre Monetta

  • Gourmet sautéed veal sweetbreads, rooster crests and kidneys, foie gras, truffle jus (48 euros)

At the Benoit restaurant, the gourmet stir-fry of veal sweetbreads, rooster crests and kidneys, foie gras, truffle jus. | Courtesy of Patrick Faus for Gourmets&Co

Desserts (14 euros):

  • The classic vanilla millefeuille
  • Savarin with Armagnac, whipped cream
  • Frozen pistachio-passion nougat
  • Benoit profiteroles, hot chocolate sauce
  • Frozen citrus soufflé
  • The Parisian flan

Kelly Jolivet

At the bistro Benoit officiates in the kitchen Kelly Jolivet, a 29-year-old Savoyard who has spent her entire career with the Ducasse group. She took over from Fabienne Eymard in 2022. Her register: that of old-fashioned generosity in the plates and dishes revisited with skill.

Kelly Jolivet, chef at the Benoit restaurant, revisits traditional dishes with skill. | Thirty Dirty Fingers

20, rue Saint-Martin, 75004, Paris. Tel.: 01 42 72 25 76. Card from 45 to 110 euros. Lunch menus at 32 or 42 euros. Capacity of 76 seats and private lounge with 20 seats. Reservation essential. No closure.

Le Petit Pudlo des Bistros 2022

Editions The Feet in The Dish

95 pages

Free

Publication: May 2022

Within the limits of available stocks, you can pick up a paper copy after a meal from the 70 addresses in the guide. It is also available online at gillespudlowski.com.

RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisment -

Most Popular

%d bloggers like this: