Les Papilles — Restaurant in Paris

Man oh man, I hate that I am writing this review because 2 years ago I would have killed someone to get a reservation here. It’s changed A LOT. This is not the Les Papilles we all know and love. The entire point of an experience like this is to have incredible wine and a home cooked meal. The wine is beyond meh and the home cooked meal is just good, not great (or even close to exceptional which was the norm at a point).

There’s a review here (about a week before mine will post) about the wine and how it isn’t stored properly - I couldn’t agree more. The temp inside the shop is just too volatile to keep wine on book shelves stable and unfortunately, we got a corked bottle tonight. In my 20 years in the industry, I have never had this happen. Separately, our server (generally) tonight needs a long lesson in wine! If you are asked to go here with a friend, please make sure you do your research on things you like and make VERY specific requests based on what you like. Do NOT take recommendations from your server.

Specifically, we asked for wine that full body with spicy notes. What we were given was so foul we couldn’t even drink the bottle. I even made our server try the wine (and he poured himself quite a taste!). It was 100% kicked, but he continued to tell us “it needs to open and this is the wine”. Why serve us something that was even remotely a “risk”? I was so clear with what I wanted. Just give us what we asked for or a decent range of options. We were forced to pay for this and the second bottle we ordered as a replacement for this bottle. You can’t be a shoppe and restaurant and not try to at least make people happy. Shame shame.

The food was just OK - nothing special tonight. It’s interesting how much social media has changed the quality of specific places. This little shoppe has lost is luster in every way to me. What was once this super amazing experience of tasting unique wines and dinning in a unique ambiance has become forced and very assuming. We were the only table where the server didn’t ask us how our meal was or if we wanted anything else (coffee, post dinner drink etc).

There are SO many wonderful places you can go in Paris - while Chez Flottes isn’t the “carte” service, you will have an insanely beautiful & authentic meal surrounded by a melting pot of amazing people and servers. I wouldn’t waste a dollar (especially an evening) here based on my most recent experience and I highly suggest you avoid if you want a...

Overall a great experience with some minor issues. First and foremost, there is no menu choice at this restaurant. You eat what they have prepared that day. Expect to pay 38 Euros for the full meal plus what ever you order in wine (more on this later). Decor is really fantastic and well done. Tile floors are full of color and really add to bistro ambiance. Reservations are required and timed to work w/ the kitchen. Service was very friendly and prompt. Platting was great and carefully done. One table in the basement for larger groups, and glad we didn't end up there. The appetizer was really a fantastic bean gazpacho. Truly enjoyed it. The magret de canard had a great sauce but was a little dry. I know this because I had duck for lunch that day at a different restaurant, and my wife had a great magret the night before. So we had a lot of duck in two days, a chance you take eating here. There is no option not to have what they are serving, which I was okay with, other than compared to the other duck I had had, it was not quite a succulent. That was too bad too as again the sauce was really great. Desert was a chocolate pudding which was good as well. So for the 38 Euro menu, all in all it was good and I would recommend it. However, there is one major issue: the wine. There is no wine list and owner offers you to look around at what they are selling "over the counter" and warns you of a 7 euro up-charge uncorking fee (reasonable in it self). This initially seems quaint, but then you realize you have to get up off your seat and hover over other dinners to look at the wine wall which quickly becomes uncomfortable. To minimize this, you of course ask the owner what he recommends. We watched as everyone eating there ended up in the exact predicament and most tables ending w/ the exact same wine, the Domaine de Montcalmes. A good wine, but sold over the counter here at 38 euros w/ a 7 up-charge. In the age of google, it's pretty easy to find that the 2015 vintage is usually sold at 25 Euros over the counter. There is no reason not to have a wine menu, since this is the only choice you have here, and I would have liked to be able to spend time looking at wine list from my seat and take my time with it. I am okay w/ paying w/ an uncorking fee or paying more for a wine at a restaurant, but not the combination of both. In hind sight this feel like it was a little bit of a set up and that feels like a blight on an otherwise...

We had a very good visit here. We were able to snag a last minute reservation but apparently failed to double confirm through email as requested, so they didn't have a table ready. No problem. They accommodated us with a table within 10 minutes in a VERY busy restaurant.

For the money, the food was excellent. There's a prefix menu so just show up and say yes to dinner. There's always a starter, a family style main, a cheese course, and dessert. We loved everything though we felt they sort of mailed in the dessert. It was a sort of chocolate pudding. Still, for 35 euro a head, we weren't complaining.

The wine selection is most excellent with both iconic and thoughtful wines. You choose a bottle off the shelf, which is more or less priced at retail rates, and they give you bottle service for a small fee, I believe 7 euro. We splurged on a beautiful burgundy but the bottle service is more geared toward more modest wines. The glasses were fine for perhaps a 40 euro Gigondas, but a 90 euro Chambolle Musigny Les Cras deserves burgundy glasses, a proper temperature etc. That's my fault though. I ordered wine that was above the atmosphere and food, which is definitely casual. Keep it simple.

This restaurant is VERY friendly to English speakers. There were some locals coming in, jokingly calling it "Cafe Anglais". But in the end it was what they had chosen for dinner so I wouldn't call it unauthentic.

In the end it is a very solid choice for dinner that is perfect for an English speaker's first night in Paris. You won't struggle to fit in and you will get a lot of value for your money. Great, comforting food with lovely wine offerings that can be exceptional values if well considered. Highly recommended. But call well ahead for reservations. And pay attention to the multiple layers of...