Le Repaire de Cartouche — Restaurant in Paris

A friend suggested us to go here for Sunday lunch, however, due to work we had to change our train back to London and we couldn't try on Sunday. So, we decided to come here tonight (Friday). The place was completely empty, from the moment we arrived (8pm) to the moment that we left (10pm). Maybe that was a red flag, but we did not care, as we really wanted to try this place. We had a very big and late lunch, so we did not want to go for starters/main/dessert. We ordered some fois gras, some cheese and some wine. On the menu, we pointed at Fois Gras (28 euros) and Fromage (10 euros) for two. The waiter was not very happy of us not ordering the traditional way, but you are a waiter, you are not there to tell me how and what should I eat, so I just smiled and insisted for having the cheeses as starters, and not as dessert. I found it very dumb just having this conversation: just bring me what I order! Who cares the order in which I decide to eat the food I pay for? Anyway.. Fois gras was nice, but nothing special. The bread was delicious and the waiter kept refilling it without us asking which I thought it was a very nice hospitality gesture. But the hospitality started and ended there. We decide to leave as we were too sleepy so we ask for the bill: we were charged 60 euro for the cheeses (the cheeses were a LOT and we couldn't finish them at all, some of them we did not even touch). So we ask why the cheeses were so expensive, as the menu stated 10 euros and we asked that for two people, so we expected to pay 20 euros. Anyway, we decide that okay, maybe there was a misenderstanding, so can we please have the rest of the cheeses to take away? If I have to pay 60 euros at least I will eat my cheeses whenever and wherever I please. The waiter tells us that we can't eat cheeses outside, only here. There is no option to take away (?). What is this nonsense? Anyway, they accept to give us back the cheeses in take away (foil paper) but conveniently for them, the bigger pieces and the ones we did not touch were not in the take away "package". Absolutely ridicolous, what a joke of a restaurant. Anyway, they ended up removing from the bill half price for the cheeses and we left. Be careful, if you order cheeses, they probably come from someone else's table, where people breath, cough and spit on top. Health and safety rules probably don't apply to this restaurant. Maybe that is the reason why it was empty!...

Very pleasant surprise in this restaurant. Walked in after having a hard time finding any place to eat in the area without reservation and Le Repaire de Cartouche did not disappoint. Very french but very warm welcome by the hostess, staff and chefs. Some are more aggressive but you feel it’s part of the vibe of the place which makes you feel you left Paris to a more authentic French village. The complimentary fishy “rilette” is actually very nice. The starters are also very nice with a delicous foie gras made in-house and very peculiar dishes with even more peculiar ingredients: oysters tartare, terrine de lievre,… In mains, I had the parmentier de lievre which has the chef-d’œuvres of the lunch. Not a lot of fuss, just very good ingredients and taste and definitely not to miss. The way they serve the cheese plate for desert is also super nice with a huge tray of cheese that circulates between the tables. Overall a good experience to try, and maybe even to come back to for trying different dishes. Price wise, it is still quite expensive if you compare it to any other regular bistrot, but you are definitely getting very good ingredients and originality in your dishes that justify this price difference. Side note: it is very cute that they sell hundreds of jars of their different dishes that you can buy and take away. These jars are very pricey but also add to the “fait-maison” feeling of...

Nearly didn’t go into this restaurant because of some of the more recent reviews. What a mistake that would have been. It is very French so don’t expect an English menu. The food was formidable. My husband had the pigeon terrine. Terrines are their speciality. I had the most delicious spinach and Creme fraiche soup poured over a raw egg which lightly cooked whilst you ate. We then both had the coq au vin and foie gras du canard pie served with beautifully dressed cress. Scrumptious. Then I had quite the loveliest poached mango and biscuit crumb desert served with vanilla ice cream whilst my husband had the cheese board. This was a full cheese board left at your table with another bread basket so you could eat as much as you like. They have a wines of the month in addition to their normal selection. Our waiter was super helpful given we hadn’t reserved and he was rushed off his feet all night. We will definitely visit again on...