Clamato — Restaurant in Paris

Part I: I dropped by this spot alone after a long work event in Paris.

I intended to just get in and out because I hadn't had dinner yet and just needed something before hitting the pillow at the hotel. I grabbed a stool at the bar since I was dining solo.

The menu here rotates based on the freshest ingredients available for use, so getting too focused on any one dish wouldn't be very helpful to any readers, so I won't get too detailed, but I did initially order one entree (in France appetizers are called entrees) and one plat (main course), fried artichokes and monk fish escabeche respectively. However, while waiting for my food, the woman next to me, Bella, who happened to also coincidentally be visiting from NYC, started raving to the bartender about how good her entree dish was. A self-proclaimed carrot dismisser, her endorsement for this confit carrot entree was so enthusiastic that after briefly striking up a conversation with her about it, I decided to order one for myself as well (might as well use up my travel stipend).

The food was very good, and the carrots were indeed pretty stellar, with a great balance of flavors from the carrots themselves and the accompanying salsa and bottarga infused creme dip—sweet, savory, tart, nutty. The monk fish escabeche was also great, and definitely worth sopping up the extra broth with some bread, as all excellent seafood soups and stews demand.

But in all honesty, the star of the night was the service and the atmosphere. After working a rather stuffy event all day, I needed to decompress with some genuinely friendly and interesting people, which is serendipitously exactly what I found here. Throughout my meal, I had a lovely conversation with the woman next to me, sharing thoughts about Paris, NY, the food, our backgrounds, etc. And pretty soon, we'd gotten the bartenders involved in our discourse too. Our main bartender, Redwin, started sharing insights about the recent political turmoil, but also the pop culture, the various districts, and several other bartenders started chiming in about travel tips. The conversation was wide-ranging and meandering, which is always my favorite, and we legitimately ended up closing out the bar with the staff, but not before the very insightful and friendly Redwin offered up a handwritten shortlist of all his favorite Paris restaurant recommendations which Bella and I both eagerly copied down.

By the end of the night, this bar had turned one of the more boring days of my trip into one of the most interesting and exciting, while keeping it all casual and comfortable the entire time. Big shout out to the staff here and extra big thank you to Redwin whose dining recos were spot on and led to Part II of my Parisian...

I am not at all religious, theological, or myopically ethnic, but what I experienced at Restaurant Climato tonight forced me to "center" on who I am, and what place I have in the world. We put our name in for dinner personally, as Climato takes no reservations. One hour later my phone rang, letting us know our table was ready.

Immediately on entering Climato, a definitive chill was felt. A decidedly North African and Middle Eastern clientele and wait staff was evident, but it was no big deal to me. I have traveled to Morocco and Tunisia and loved my experience. Yet, the apparent aggressive tension took hold unexpectedly. The bartender was very cold, once we were seated at the bar. We were compelled to draw his attention, but he simply pointed to one of the female servers who took our order, but she hesitated at our choice of wine. She said the bartender was the wine expert, and he came over and begrudgingly suggested a wine. My wife and I sat back and waited for our meal.

The fish dishes were quite good, but nothing special, and the servers delivered our dishes in a timely manner. The bartender never gave us another look during our entire meal, and we were forced to pour our own wine.

At the end of our dinner, our dirty dishes sat in front of us for an inordinate amount of time. The bartender continued to ignore us. Finally, the Maitre D' came over and asked if we wanted dessert, while she removed our dishes. We did, and she took our order, but on her return from the kitchen engaged in a discussion with our bartender, who looked in our direction shaking his head. Finally, our meal was done and we asked for the "addition." The bartender ignored us, and the charming Maitre D' provided us with our bill. While my wife was deciphering the check, I walked to the back of the restaurant to use the bathroom. Some dude who worked in the kitchen was in the toilet room and decided to scream at me in French. Fortunately, I didn't understand a word, but flipped him the bird and chested him. I had enough of this B.S., and he saw it in my eyes and backed off. The entire meal and time at Climato was very uncomfortable.

I know Europe is currently overwhelmed by a myopic fear of immigration, and it has become ultra nationalistic and fearful. However, after World War II and the Holocaust, antisemitism has no place on the continent. I also realize that the existence of Israel and its policies may cause anger and resentment, but a person's nationality and choice of religion has no place within this resentment. My night at Climato was a reminder that we are far from a unified planet that accepts humanity on face value. Hopefully, in the coming years, we all can make this planet a better place...

ONE Terrible experience. NOT because of service. Though service was very poor.

Really a sister Michelin restaurant is Septime? They should be a shamed to have affiliation to Clamato.

Got there at 8pm. The wait time was siad about 1.5 hours. Sat down at 910pm. Ok great earlier than expected. Ordered food at 920 and the fist dish did not arrive till 950pm. No one offered bread. Order was messed up while 2 groups sat down after us had their 3rd round of dishes and a refill of bread served.

The brunette waitress is horrible. Worst service ever. She goes out her way to avoid contact so she does not have to serve you.

Thr asian waitress was the best. She's on point and got everything taken care of in a flash.

The bar tender was making a Michilada. All ingredients are poured into the cup he said I can't because I have no beer. Really? You have one job. How you not know you ain't got no beer? So I told him to surprise me with his own creation and it was really good. A spicy in your face clamato mezcal drink that was refreshing and unique. But this accident was the only good part of the dining experience. The drink was over salted...

Everything was overly super over-salted. The anchovy tasted sweet compared to its counter part potato in the dish, NOW Imagine the salt level established in the dishes. Sea food was not all fresh. The clams/cocles were sandy, and the broth was over salted to the point that I had to pour water to dilute it. Utah Oyster was nice and juicie, although it was boring and had no characteristics other than good texture, at least it was fresh. Cant imagine having rotting raw oysters in the summer of Paris on the side of the Paris alley-street, thus they get 1 star for this success along. Cerviche was boring. The chilly oil was a nice visual touch but it killed the taste of the fish, which further inserted uncertainty about the quality and freshness of their sea food. The girls to our left and right indicated the same about the salinity and the freshness. I heard multiple times among different dishes they ordered.

CLAMTO YOURE A SEA FOOD RESTAURANT, HOW DO YOU FAIL LIKE THIS? The whole experience took about 3 hours to suffer through.

Avoid this place. It will ruin your Paris trip like it did mine.

Clamato do NOT contest or reply to this review I'm posting... you asked me in person today what was wrong and You yearned to know my opinion, viola and this is it. Good food is the byproduct of heart, demeanor and attitude harmoziezed with qulaity ingredients, patience and knowledge. All I tasted was...