L'Alchimiste — Restaurant in Paris

This cozy, rustic restaurant tucked away in the corner of a street has always caught my eye, being consistently packed during lunch and dinner hours. After living in the neighborhood for years, I finally had the chance to try it.

Be sure to come hungry, as the portions are generous. The complementary appetizer was intriguing, with flavors we couldn’t quite place. I highly recommend the pastilla de confit de canard – a delightful balance of sweet and savory with an interesting mix of textures. For something lighter, go for the croustillant au cantal.

The molten chocolate cake was a standout – dense, rich, and not overly sweet. The roasted apples served as a perfect palate cleanser with their slight acidity, ideal for those without a sweet tooth. The apple tart, more akin to an apple cake, was also delicious and not too sweet. Lastly we also got to try the poched pear cream with chocolate – it was my favourite out of all 3 desserts!

Given the reasonable prices (20€ for a menu, 5€ for a glass of wine), the generous portions, and the quality of the dishes, I highly...

Best Meal in Paris! This is one of my favorite restaurants in Paris- an absolutely authentic, local joint. The service was amazing! The proprietor took such good care of us and was very patient with our limited French. Such a fun experience. Even better than the service was the food. Everything we ate was incredible, but a few dishes stood out: Raviloes du Rayons bathed in a rich chorizo gratinée, Lyonnais sausage cooked in a thin pastry with a pistachio sauce, topped with Foie Gras, figs & apricots on a bed on lentils with a balsamic reduction, and Reinette apples roasted in Cassis with a dark chocolate sauce, finished in violet liqueur were the highlights. When the proprietor brought the check for the three course meal plus wine and a gratis digestif, I thought he had made a mistake. So affordable! We ate at a ton a great restaurants in Paris including a Michelin star, but this was, without a doubt, the best meal. I plan to return to L'Alchemiste every time I return to Paris, and...

I feel bad leaving this review as this place as so many good reviews but here we go… first, we spotted two cockroaches on our table during the meal. We killed the first one but the second one was too much and we left mid meal. I can’t recommend this place considering this. I would say it already looked dirty and ran down when we got there, so it seems like there’s a lot of hidden hygiene issues with this place.

I’ll also comment on the atmosphere: really weird, we felt like everybody including the waiter could hear our conversation even when we whispered. I felt weird the entire meal and almost was happy that the cockroaches gave us an excuse to leave mid meal.

The food is… it’s not bad but it’s not great either. The portions are huge but it doesn’t feel very fresh. Tbh even without cockroaches I don’t understand why this place has...