Bar des Prés - Saint-Germain — Restaurant in Paris

Simply an amazing experience, Le Bar des Près surpassed my expectations on their food, the service and the atmosphere. In Paris, Japanese food, especially sushi / sashimi is very hard to find good quality…Japanese food requires lots of attention to detail and balance, even simple aspects like getting the rice perfect…plus Japanese food is very traditional and set, you simply don’t do much innovation and change things up. So I was a bit wary of having Japanese food with a French influence…happy to report all the dishes were next level and amazing, new ideas with a twist that were delicious. The sushi was very well prepared and was so happy to have proper sushi in Paris …so hard to find. I was most impressed by the sharing plates though, they would take a Japanese approach to start with something simple as raw fish and then add layers of complexity via sometimes Japanese ingredients like yuzu or maybe something French like black truffle…each sharing dish was a new experience and each very unique and surprising in a very good way. Ordered several of the tasting plates and after each round, got the menu again and ordered another round of different plates. Not one was disappointing…trusted the chef 100% after this. Highlights for me were the Galette craquante with avocado…almost had a Mexican inspired touch to it. Also the scallops with miso and sesame, light, fresh, well balanced and very flavorful. Also yellow tail with yuzu, passion fruit and avocado…enjoyed this one immensely. Even the salad of spinach, yuzu, black truffle and shaved dried fish / katsuobushi …was epic in flavor, totally worked so well. One aspect of Japanese cuisine that is sometimes doesn’t shine as bright is Japanese desserts…luckily the French are stellar with desserts and I highly recommend the Perles du Japon with coconut milk, mango and lime…was like a Japanese version of mango sticky rice but with...

A Lackluster Fusion Experience, maybe not even worth mentioning so that’s why I will do exactly that. To give you a bit of a taste.

I made a reservation and took a taxi to visit this establishment, which I must note is primarily a cocktail bar, not a traditional Japanese restaurant. Nonetheless, I will focus on the food.

Over the past decade, Japanese-inspired cuisine has become a staple in major cities worldwide. Despite some reservations, I decided to dine here at the insistence of my friends. Unfortunately, I found the fusion dishes to lack creativity and authenticity. Nondescript flavors and totally random combinations.

A notable observation was the presence of a rice cooker behind the bar, which felt out of place in the otherwise polished and posh Parisian setting, though it did remind me fondly of Japan. The food does not remind me of Japan at all!!! (This is certainly not a compliment)

The sushi remained borderline acceptable, but not good definitely, with the main issue being the rice. None of the ingredient combinations left a memorable impression. Nothing was just sparkling. The love is not there!

As someone who takes Japanese cuisine seriously, I must express my disappointment. Three out of six tiny "to share" plates relied heavily on avocados, with only four to five different ingredient combinations in total.

Additionally, being asked by two different waiters six times how the food was became rather tiresome rather quickly. As I kindly reminded them, if you need to ask more than once, it’s likely not great.

In summary, the experience was disappointing but not...

Atmosphere: the location is small but boasts both a bar with bar seating and booths for parties of 3 or more. They make excellent cocktails in a buzzy atmosphere playing good chillout music. Perfect for an intimate catchup with friends or date night, in the heart of st germain.

Food: every dish we tried was excellent despite the menu being relatively small. All the fish was excellent quality and the sushi was served at room temperature which i give extra points for. I highly reccomend the spicy tuna roll and salmon California maki, also the spinach salad. It was all really good and fun to share over drinks- a surprisingly good take on sushi. The desert was good too, including the chiffon matcha cake and chouquettes (ask for both without the chocolate sauce.)

Service: excellent, quick and professional. Note that it is above average pricing, so it needs to be budgeted for.

Final notes: 100% will go back time and time again as they have consistently delivered. Definitely a fun...