Chez Fernand — Restaurant in Paris

We came here with no booking at 8-8.30pm and got a table straight away. The restaurant filled up quick though. We got the beef bourguinon - it was one of the better ones we had in Paris but it was Soooooooo Salty!!! I couldn't eat all of mine. My partner had the cote de porc - Huge serving! But was too greasy. The ambience, service, portions of meals and creme brulee could give this place 4 stars. Food taste and extremely saltiness of my meal only gives this place a 2.5-3 sstars. Also the bone marrow is very fatty and filling since you have it with bread. Would recommend to share to have a taste.. not quite a 1 person entree. We sat close to another couple and didn't feel like complaining that night about the bourguinon but unfortunately half of the bourginon was left uneaten because of the saltiness :( Highlight of our night was sharing our Creme brulee together :)

Also i think there's a review on here about english and french menus. Once seated the waiter/waitress will ask you which you prefer or just hand you the english menu if you speak english eg "hi could we have a table for 2". Their french menu is available on a large and obvious blackboard hanging on the walls - it's not hard to miss. They do hand the blackboards around to tables though so you may have to wait for the french menu - there's also 1 on display outside if you need. We had fun trying to translate the French menu ourselves but I'm sure the waiter can explain it if you ask. We ordered off the english menu and the French menu (as they weren't identical). We didn't have a problem with 2 different menus since they had no issue with us ordering from either. We didnt feel any discrimination at all since we walked thru the doors. Would recommend this place for a french feed and if you can stomach large...

Bone Marrow A classic and authentic French dish that's hard to find due to its complex preparation. Though it looks rich and fatty, the flavor is incredibly fragrant. Cooked just right, the texture is semi-solid—somewhere between jelly and butter. The accompanying salt is key, balancing the richness of the marrow and adding depth. The baguette is crispy but not too hard, soaking up the flavorful fat beautifully. Absolutely delicious!

French Farmer Snails (Escargot) A must-try in French cuisine. The snail meat is chewy but tender, with a slightly bouncy texture, similar to field snails. Paired with garlic butter sauce, it's rich and savory.

Prepared Beef Tartare A generous portion as it's listed under mains. The beef is finely diced and mostly free of sinew, giving it a good chew without toughness. The seasoning is quite bold—best enjoyed with the baked potatoes on the side, which are crispy on the outside, soft inside, and carry a buttery aroma.

Beef Bourguignon Another French classic. Served piping hot and still steaming. The large chunks of beef are fall-apart tender and deeply infused with red wine flavor. The thick sauce is rich, and the accompanying ingredients, including the potatoes, are soft and full of flavor from the stew.

Crème Brûlée No French meal is complete without dessert, and crème brûlée is the star. The caramelized sugar on top is crisp without being overly sweet, while the custard underneath is silky smooth and melts in your mouth. Strong egg and vanilla flavor, with visible vanilla bean specks. A perfect ending...

We had a nice meal at Chez Fernand five years ago, prompting a repeat visit at this neighbourhood restaurant in St. Germain des Pres during our recent trip to Paris. Opening hours are 12-2.45pm (lunch) and 7-10.30pm (dinner) daily (closed on Sundays).

We arrived around 6.30pm without reservations. They were able to seat us at one of the long row of tables, filled with mostly local French speaking diners. Menu is in both French and English and features a fairly standard range of traditional French dishes. There is a fair range of reasonably priced wines available as well. Staff were patient, polite, timely and very friendly throughout our meal.

On the occasion, we ordered the scallops, sea bream with risotto and a prime rib prepared medium served with potatoes. In short, ingredients were fresh and dishes were all very well prepared. The scallops and fish fillet were delicious. The beef steak was soft red-pink in the middle with just the right amount of char on the outside. It also tasted very good. The risotto and potato sides, were perfect complements to the mains.

For desert we had good creme brulee as well as a delightful order of vanilla ice-cream served with kirsch marinated cherries. This was a smaller but better version of the same dessert we tried at this restaurant years ago.

In short, it was a very good meal, one of the best we experienced during this trip to Paris. We'll gladly seek to return for yet another dinner at Chez Fernand the next time we are in the...