L'insolite — Restaurant in Paris

A Hidden Gem Across from Hotel Fabric – A+ Experience!

On our last night in Paris, after passing by L’insolite multiple times and always seeing it buzzing with people, we finally decided to give it a try—and I’m so glad we did! We were staying just across the street at the Fabric Hotel, and despite not having a reservation, the warm and welcoming staff kindly found us a table for three in the cozy back corner.

The ambiance is charming, with dim lighting and whimsical touches like the vintage bicycle by the window that sets a relaxed, inviting tone. The compact menu is perfect for sharing, and we opted for four standout dishes on this warm summer night. The citrus glacé with olive oil, fennel, and basil was refreshing and delicious. The gnocchi with haricots verts and peas was delicate and flavorful. The tagliolini with zucchini, basil, and pine nuts was beautifully balanced, and the bistecca alla Fiorentina—finished with flaming rosemary—was cooked to perfection and paired with crisp salad and some of the best mashed potatoes I’ve had.

Our server was incredibly kind and attentive, rounding out what was truly a top-notch dining experience. If we had room, we would have absolutely gone for the chocolate mousse! L’insolite is a delightful find—full of flavor, charm, and hospitality....

To be short: this is one of the best restaurant in Paris, with no doubts!! Food is great (all the ingredients are well selected, and they really valorise them with the cooking ) + there is a good selection of wine + the ambience is really cool (not too crowded neither too quiet) + the girls working there are super nice and friendly! They work with small plates to be shared, which is very cool because like that you can taste multiple things. What's more there's a quite good selection of vegetarian plates and they ask you from the very beginning if you follow a specific food regime. In this photo you can see a special croque with comte cheese, mashed potatoes (the best I've ever had) and beef tongue. Also the price you pay is correct compared to the quality and the quantity of food. UPDATE OCTOBER 2024: This was one of the best restauranta in Paris for me, so I decided to come back. Food is still great but there were too many tables near each other, the place was noisy and the waitresses always served us in a hurried manner, never taking an extra minute because they were obviously in a hurry. Too bad! I will definitely return because the food is always fantastic, but I hope to find a warmer and...

What I didn't like:

The service was lackluster. We got ignored for the first 10 minutes, at which point we stopped the male waiter and asked for a menu. He responded pointing to a blackboard, saying the whole menu was written there. We then had to wait a while before someone took our order, at which point we found out that the dishes on the menu were small plates to share (the first waiter did not explain this to us). We had to then ask for the wine menu, which was not offered to us initially (this is a wine bar). After 10 minutes the male waiter came back, took the wine menu without asking us which wine we wanted: when we stopped him, he said his colleague will come to get the order for the wine.

The food was mediocre. The haddock croque was burnt on the outisde. The endives accompanying the scallops were unimpressive. The tagliolini cacio e pepe were way too salty.

What I liked:

The wine list is extensive, the ambience is nice, the female waitress was very kind, and the concept of having different dishes to share is fun.

However there is a mismatch between the price and the quality of the experience as a whole. I cannot recommend this place...