Le Florimond — Restaurant in Paris

A Moveable Feast—Yes Paris has charcuteries where you can enjoy a very casual picnic along the Seine—a budget snack-type meal of baguettes and cheese and wine. Then there are mediocre diner-level places that will never make the city a top vacation destination—you can eat very inexpensively but these places are no big deal (yes, that was a big surprise after all the hype). Then there are celebrity restaurants featured in the picture books where you can spend a fortune in a couple of hours—they are a “wow” but you will be dining charcuterie-style the rest of your vacation. Thankfully we found Le Florimond—a good local unassuming French restaurant that offers quality French food with upbeat and friendly service at reasonable prices. It is wonderful to see from the many glowing reviews that this great restaurant is still going strong 12 years after we enjoyed a superlative dinner there! First of all, when the very French waiter who seats you is wearing a tie with Yosemite Sam on it, you can guess that you are at the beginning of a wonderful dining experience that will create a food memory that will stay with you for the rest of your life! It was so helpful that he was gracious and hospitable to the point of translating the entire menu for us to English. We enjoyed sidewalk seating and the food was delicious. I still vividly remember a remarkable sense of timelessness as we sat unrushed and enjoyed that late summer Paris evening. How wonderful to be transported back in time to those wonderful moments of gustatory enjoyment! When we return to Paris, this very fine restaurant will be our first dinner stop! It was much more than a meal. It was . . . A...

This is the most special restaurant experience my husband and I have ever had. We went here for dinner and loved it so much that we went back for lunch the next day. We were greeted at the door by Laurent, with a handshake and a big smile. He was the most gracious and genuine person I’ve ever encountered in a restaurant. For my entree I ordered the stuffed cabbage (which is the chef’s grandmother’s recipe) and it was the best meal I’ve ever had. My husband ordered duck confit with a fabulous au-jus and mashed potatoes. He also thought it was the best thing he’s ever had. We split a poached pear and raspberry sorbet dessert and it was divine, I wish I had ordered my own. The chef of 20 years even came out to greet us at the beginning and after the meal, and he was so kind and welcoming as well. I think this is one of the only times I’ve ever seen the chef come out to greet people. We went back the next day and Laurent immediately remembered us (he remembered that I wanted to order my own pear dessert). My husband and I shared the stuffed cabbage again and the lemon risotto fritters. Both were phenomenal, but the stuffed cabbage was the shining star. People don't believe me when I say that my favorite meal in Europe was stuffed cabbage, but it is the truth! Thank you to everyone at Le Florimond for making the end of our Europe trip so special. I will remember this experience for the rest of my life and we cannot wait to return next time we...

Three of us went here on the recommendation of the hotel concierge who was kind to get us a reservation early in the evening. We were greeted at the door warmly and sincerely. Two very charming young men assisted the service — they were as eager to practice their English as we were to practice our French. It was a spontaneous and unexpected connection. For entrees, we had smoked salmon and a generous slice of foie gras. For mains, we had fish, stuffed cabbage and duck confit. My duck was crispy outside and juicy inside, I only wish there was more and it was complimented well with the sauce and gratin potatoes. The three of us agreed that the most exciting dish was the stuffed cabbage as it was very savoury with soy and anise flavours. We took turns dipping baguette in the gravy. My two friends and I agreed that the cabbage dish had some similarity to a Chinese dish called Lions Head 狮子头 just minus the cabbage! That’s a compliment as we all love that dish - a big streamed pork meatball. Unfortunately, I cannot talk about dessert as we were already full by that time although I was desperately trying to find room for some cheese. The restaurant knows that there are my tourists in the area and I got the impression that it tries it...