Académie de la bière — Restaurant in Paris

I read the about this establishment prior to a recent business trip to Paris. I was excited to learn that it was in walking distance of my hotel.

Ambiance: The interior is small, with ample cafe seating outside (avec convenient weather covering). The decor is simple, quaint, and appropriate for a Paris cafe or Belgian pub. There were more locals than tourists on both visits, which is always a good sign. In short, you will definitely capture the Paris cafe vibe here.

Menu: The menu features a couple of pages of beer (well over 100 bottles). The selections are predominately Belgian and German, with local and regional brews rounding out the mix. There were half a dozen draft selections. Every beer that I ordered over the course of two visits arrived at the appropriate temperature and with the proper glassware. The hoppy beers (Hommel bier and Triple Hopped Piraat) were appropriately fresh.

Food: I ordered Moules Rochefort and frites on both occasions. When I find a dish that I truly love, I have a hard time straying on the menu. These were the absolute best mussels that I have ever eaten (including several trips to Belgium). The mussels were fresh and abundant. This is the most generous serving that I have found in any establishment. The sauce was divine. I was tempted to order additional frites, to continue to savor the exceptional blue cheese flavor. While I didn't stray from my new favorite dish, I did see other tables ordering meat, cheese, and sausage plates that appeared to be generous and mouthwatering.

Value: The portions are generous and the prices are some of the best that you will find in Paris (which can be expensive). A similar meal would have cost more in any country that I have visited.

Service: This is where the establishment truly shines. On my first visit, I sat outside and was well attended by several waiters. They were friendly and knowledgeable. Despite the fact there were several tables (mostly regulars) , I never waited for my next round. On my second visit, I arrived later on a very busy evening. With all of the tables taken, I found a spot at the bar. While it was very busy, the gentleman behind the bar was very attentive and accommodating. He steered me towards a few very local beers that I may have otherwise missed. While the establishment was quite busy and crowded, he went out of his way to make me feel as if I were a local at my neighborhood bar.

When I return to Paris, this will undoubtedly be on my must visit list. If you are a fan of Belgian beer and excellent food, you should definitely seek this place out. You will not be...

We had mussels with moutarde, roquefort sauce, hawai drink and cendrillon drink. The amount of mussels that they give you in a bowl is amazing. There’s like 30 mussels in it. Definitely worth the price compared to what you get in the states for that amount. They have mussels with various sauces (9 euros each) and you just pick which sauce you want. It seems like the muscles were boiled within the sauce broth. The moutarde (mustard) sauce was okay for us. It was different but it had a little bitterness from the mustard. The Roquefort sauce was much better. It’s basically a cheese sauce. I can’t say that the sauces were amazing, just unique and it gave me some ideas on how to cook mussels at home. The mussels were cooked and cleaned well for our dishes, there was extremely little to no sand at all. Usually, I get lots of sand in the mussels still inside. From looking at their menu, they do have a lot of drinks selection. This place is next to a university I think? We came here for lunch, so we didn’t get to see the bar scene but I could imagine it’s a happening place. When we were there, only one waitress serviced all the patrons. She did it fast, efficient, and was very pleasant. She also sang to some of the music that was playing. In addition, she spoke very little English. This place also accepts credit card. Their happy hour starts at 3:30p. If you want to try a bar scene with mussels to munch on instead of fries or what not, this would be the...

The beer selection was very good, but the service was horrible. The waiteress was annoyed because I used my phone to rate some of the beers, but as a previous waiter, I order as she arrived. I wanted to try French beer in France not Belgium beer. I used my best French to order and she smiled. I spilled some beer and she didn't bring a napkin or coaster. So I let the beer dry on the table. No worries. As I was taking a picture of the beer as a souvenir, she took the bottles away as I was taking a picture. I never finished the picture. That annoyed me, I ordered a second beer. Then went to the counter after I was done and said, "la addition." She was standing there with another person not speaking and yelled at me, probably to say she was busy. So I sat back down and waited for 20 minutes she went out of her way to not make eye contact and talked to some of the a few different tables of probably locals, till another waitress asked if I wanted the check. She then came and gave me the check, and I paid cash. I left no tip because she was a jerk. She made me feel like she was the stereotypical French person who didn't like me cause I am American, or maybe because i am half Korean. She went out of her way to make me...