Le Paris Montparnasse — Restaurant in Paris

I was drawn into this establishment because of the “spareribs” that was on the outside menu. I felt like having something a little different from all other mainstream restaurants around the Montparnasse area. And I got what I asked for, regretfully. But let’s start with the good things first.

As starters I took the esgarcots (snails), which were actually not bad at all. But for my main meal I decided (read: made the terrible mistake) to go for the spareribs.

After waiting for not too long I received what is in the attached photo and all my happiness faded away like if there suddenly was a dementor in the seat next to me. I sent the pic to my friends and asked them what they thought I ordered. I consider their guesses “phase 1 bowel-cancer” and “ISIS napalm victim” close enough to describe how I thought about my order.

I hollered a waiter over, who turned out to be the owner of the restaurant. This guy was obviously not very happy with me criticising his culinary wisdom but this man kept arguing that that is how spareribs are commonly served. When I asked him: “you mean pork belly turned to half stone, half burned without ribs in them?” he quickly added “It’s typical in France”.

But it got worse. According to this insightful guy, serving black burned-down pork fat is a typical serving style for charcoal oven-cooked food (although he perseveringly referred to it as ‘grilled’). The question why my so-called spareribs contained no ribs at all was not something he could answer to unfortunately. He concluded that this was the most popular dish in the restaurant and that all customers love it. I answered by asking him to take the cremated pig back to its own hell and asked for an Argentinian steak while thinking that he would probably get shot in the face if he actually took this dish to Texas, USA and call it spareribs.

Although the Argentinian steak was not really mouthwatering either, I was already delighted that it was not charred to death. Luckily, there were no Americans around because if they had seen the amount of grease in the fries that were served along with the steak, they would have immediately started setting up oil rigs to retrieve it all. I saved the lasts swigs of beer to wash away the taste of this semi-biochemical waste. I figure that most underfed Africans would most-likely choose to starve to death rather then descending to this degree of consumptions.

Needless to say, I didn’t bother for dessert.

Final score: 6 snails, a steak, two beers and a pig who needlessly lost its life: 57 euros.

Conclusion: You had better eat the sole of an averagely worn and filthy shoe than ordering dinner at this place and expecting to leave with a sense of dignity and content. But if you like burned and overpriced food, cooked by absolute unknowing and incompetent imbeciles, and don’t mind the sensation of retching and loathing while eating: This is the perfect...

When: Sunday at 10:30pm Party Size: 2

French Onion Soup: 9/10 Jam-packed with flavor compared to what I had at a different restaurant. Strong onion flavor which was heavenly. The bread inside must have been toasted before they added it because it still had a nice crunch to them. I recommend getting a bowl.

Escargot: 8/10 It came with 6 snails, perfectly presented and pretty large. They were easy to get out and were covered in pesto which made these very tasty. I'd get these again.

Foie Gras: 7/10 This was the first time I had foie gras cold and it was good. Very strong flavor when eating by itself. However, when you add a little bit of the peach chutney with greens on a slice of bread....it is a perfect bite. The chutney is very sweet but delicious and can overpower the liver so just put a dab. It was also a healthy portion of foie gras.

Burger + Fries: 8/10 The burger was okay, nothing memorable. The sesame bun was a little dry but the aoilis on it help moisten up the bite. Fries were better than previous places in Paris, but similarly, nothing special.

Service: 10/10 The place was empty since they close up at 12am I believe. With that said, both waiters were super attentive to us and put two tables together for us to accommodate what we ordered. It was a joy.

Ambiance: 6/10 There was only one person there when we arrived late at night. I actually really enjoyed that it was quiet. We sat outside and it was so peaceful Sunday.

Overall: 8/10 One of my favorite meals in Paris this trip. I'd come...

Amazing food, excelent quality and low prices! The best Croque-Monsieur out there.

Me and my dad stopped here for a lunch, during our visit to Paris. We didn't know what to expect... And we were blown away! We both ordered the Croque-Monsieur and we got an exceptional one! A Croque-Monsieur had chredded cheese on top & inbetween the bread, causing a very cheezy taste. We also got a lot of fries and vegetables. Water is free and extra beverages come at an extra charge. One Croque-Monsieur is more than enough for one person, as the bread, fries and vegetables will fill your stomach a lot. The prices are low, regarding what quality you get. For the food in the picture, I payed € 13 for the Croque-Monsieur (in Belgium, I would have payed € 17+)

Inside it is railway themed, which is very fitting, because the restaurant is one minute away from the station (Montparnasse). I have seen a lot of people eating there with their suitcases besides them, so if you want to eat very good while on the go, this is the way to go.

One thing to take note of: If you have a reduced mobility, the toilet is on a different floor and you need to get there by using a saircase. I don't know if there is a lift, so just a heads up.

Thank you, Le Paris Montparnasse, for the experience, the kind staff and the good food. If we ever travel back to Paris/the Montparnasse region, we...