Astier — Restaurant in Paris

A dream of a bistrot. One might have fresh, delicious oysters with a shallot vinaigrette or cured mackerel to start; and then a flawless steak au poivre with the French version of tater tots, or a guinea fowl suprême with bacon and mushrooms, and Astier’s take on dauphinoise; and perhaps a chocolate soufflé with just a touch of lime zest or their legendary Baba to finish.

From the little pâté they give you as an amuse bouche to the last scrape of the soufflé ramekin, it is all absolutely magnificent, the kind of meal that becomes almost tragic because you realise it must eventually end. The servers make you feel like you’re coming back to your mum’s house for some much needed tenderness, and are excellent guides—if you go alone and as such are probably not ordering multiple mains, you’ll have some difficult choices.

I think the suprême is the best in Paris, possibly France, possibly the world. It’s natural to eat it and cry. With a glass of the cote du rhone (a lovely €9) it’s one of the greatest lunches to be had. And, somehow, I’ve never had trouble...

I was in dire need of a place for a large group (7 of us) on a Monday night in August...Astier came up trumps and I had high expectations as I love their other places (Jeanne A, Jeanne B and Cafe Moderne). To be honest I was not that impressed by Astier.

The service started off kind and efficient but dropped off as the place became busy and we waited almost 20 mins to order our desserts, despite catching the waitresses eye and indicating we were ready multiple times.

The food was decent, uncomplicated French fare but nothing to write home about - probably the most stand out dish is their very impressive cheeseboard which they deliver to the middle of the table and you help yourself (be warned they are hawk-eyed about those who have not ordered cheese sampling!).

All in all what made my evening was the company not the lacklustre service and only-OK food. Don't think I'd go back except if I was in another 'Monday in August' type bind again...

But do go check out Jeanne A, Jeanne B and Cafe Moderne, all of which...

Came here the other night as we ordered the special dish of the day, which was duck breast with veggies, gnocchi and a sauce. The service was extremely good as we had a sommelier in training who served us, he was great in recommending the wine and was kind enough to open a new bottle after we spotted the Languedoc smelling quite sour (it went off). The new one was fine and he was a delight to talk to when recommending the different dishes to try. The food was absolutely delicious!! The menu is small and concise so you know that whatever they make would be fresh. One criticism is that there is practically no option for vegetarians, so you would have to miss this if you're a veggie/vegan. This is an unapologetic French restaurant which doesn't compromise on their Gallic roots (hence the menu having an emphasis on meat/fish and nothing else) and I recommend this restaurant if you're after authentic French cuisine with a modern touch. Would I go again?...