Le Progrès Marais — Restaurant in Paris

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A little cautionary tale from Le Progrès Marais…

Rue de Bretagne is one of the most charming streets in Paris, and honestly, any restaurant with a sidewalk terrace there gets a head start just from the ambiance alone.

Le Progrès Marais has been one of my regular spots in that area for a while now. No, it doesn’t serve the best food in Paris — not even close — but it’s decent enough, the staff are friendly, and the terrace is lovely.

That said, a word of advice for summer visitors: if you see “poulet rôti…” on the daily menu, read the full description very carefully. Make sure it doesn’t say “froid” at the end — because I didn’t.

You see, I expected something like shredded cold chicken in a salad, which would’ve been fine. Instead, I got a whole cold chicken leg, with bones and all, sitting sad and congealed on the plate. The meat hadn’t even been properly cooked through — it was stuck to the bone in that unpleasant, chewy way.

I politely told the waiter, “Excuse me, but my chicken is actually cold…” He gave me that classic “oh-you-poor-tourist” look and said, “Didn’t you read the menu? It says cold chicken.”

And, well… he was right. It did.

But imagine a menu said “poulet pourri” — and I, with my less-than-perfect French, mistook it for “poulet et purée”. Would it still be fair to serve me rotten chicken just because it was technically on the menu? I don’t think so.

So yes, maybe it was my mistake — but dear reader, let it not be yours. If you see “cold roast chicken” on the menu at Le Progrès in summertime… do yourself a favor...

I visited this cafe over the weekend and the service was diabolical. We were greeted by a tall waiter with a ponytail who in response to us saying ‘hello’, told us to get out of his way, threw some menus at us and left us standing on the pavement where he then ignored us.

We eventually sat down (god knows why we hadn’t left by this point), waved at him to which he replied….’I am serving, but I won’t serve you’. Then said something to a nearby table who all laughed and looked over but we didn’t understand as we don’t speak great French. Can only assume it was not a flattering comment. This was in fact the only time in our 3 day trip to Paris where I thought …I’m actually thrilled not to be able to understand French.

At this point, once again, we should have walked out but think we were both so shocked that we ended up staying put. Finally a lady served us, who we naively thought was going to be nicer but no…she was also unfriendly and dismissive. We ordered a drink and even though we were looking directly at the food menu, she whipped them out of our hands and walked off. We managed to claw them back and order although clearly this was a great annoyance to her.

The whole experience was utterly bizarre and unpleasant. Food was also average….2 salads with a tiny bit of tasteless dressing and a bowl of chips. Thankfully the glass of rose was drinkable which we needed for our shredded nerves. I’d suggest spending your hard earned cash somewhere that...

Friendly spot with a cracking view – perfect for a pre-hill pint!

Stopped off here for a quick drink before heading up to Sacré-Cœur and it was a great little find. We sat outside with a lovely view of the area – perfect for people-watching and soaking in the atmosphere.

Pints were €9.50, which is definitely on the pricier side, but it’s a prime location so not unexpected. We didn’t eat, but the food coming out looked decent and the place had a nice, relaxed feel to it.

Staff were really friendly and welcoming, which makes a big difference. All in all, it set us up nicely for the trek up the hill to Sacré-Cœur. Would happily pop in again for a drink in...