Restaurant de La Cordonnerie — Restaurant in Paris

Don’t even think of trying to step foot in this place without a confirmed reservation made by phone. This is a block away from our friend’s apartment, so based on the great reviews we decided to swing by on our first night in town. The waiter practically laughed in our faces when we said we didn’t have a reservation and said they were completely full. Okay, no problem, we popped around the corner and had an amazing dinner elsewhere. Next night we think, maybe there’s a last minute table available, let’s give that place another chance. Pull up the website to get the phone number to call and see they have an online reservation system. Open up tonight and perfect! Tables available at both 8:30 and 9:00. Reservations gratuit and confirmations immédiate it boasts. We reserve for 8:30, change and head over. New waiter tonight, even more shocked than last night’s that we would dare try to dine there without reserving who knows how far in advance. I tell him our name and reservation time, he looks at the book and says simply no, and stares at us blankly. I explain we booked recently on his website so perhaps it wasn’t transferred to the paper book. He says he rejected that reservation and is annoyed with us for still trying to come, like we’re idiots. We check our phones and email for a rejection, see only the confirmation. I ask him why the website shows tables available for tonight if he is fully booked, he becomes more agitated so we just leave. A humble suggestion, if you’re full, please don’t offer online bookings for tables that don’t exist and perhaps put a sign outside saying you’re booked to save passers by and yourself the frustration. For Guy Savoy, I expect to make plans well in advance, not for a small bistro. But this is the exception so I wanted to warn others to hopefully save them from similar...

We found this restaurant based on a search of restaurants near the Hotel Duminy Vendôme. We actually walked right past it the first time because it’s quite a small and unassuming place. When we went it, we saw that you could side literally right outside of the kitchen and watch them prepare your meal which is something we like to do when possible. It is quite a small restaurant, and the chef is Hugo, the owner who lives in a flat right above the restaurant. We were able to engage him in conversation about the types of seasonings he uses, how he prepares his fish and beef for cooking (swordfish gets salted 24 hours in advance, and then seasoned with a mixture of Cumin, Cardemon and Cinnamon the morning before he cooks and then keeps it in the refrigerator right before he pan sautés it). He told us about the region in France that makes the Comte cheese he prefers, and even how he prepares the broth for his Bouef Bourguignon (after cooking the vegetables with the broth, he purées them into the broth rather than adding a thickener like flour which makes the gravy too heavy for his tastes). We learned that the restaurant was opened in 1964 by his father, and that after serving in the French Army, Hugo began to run the restaurant in 1997. We ate at many wonderful restaurants during our stay in Paris, but this was the most memorable, and in my opinion, the best restaurant experience of all. If you like a small, intimate restaurant experience with incredible food, prepared from the heart, I can recommend this place with no reservations. Bon...

Wow, we had an amazing experience here and will definitely be back in the future! It's a very small and intimate restaurant. The only reason we even knew about the place was because a friend had recommended it to me. You definitely need to make reservations ahead of time. We were lucky to get a reservation for the last night of our stay in Paris. The restaurant opens for dinner at 7:30, which was when our reservation was. When you walk in the door, the open kitchen is immediately to the left. We were greeted by the chef and he gave us the option of sitting at one of the few tables by the kitchen or in the little dining room next door. After we got settled and received the menus, the chef himself came by and carefully explained each of the specials of the day to us. It was obvious to see that he is very passionate about his cooking and the dishes certainly reflected that! Overall, the price was pretty cheap considering the service and quality was on par with a much fancier restaurant. We'll definitely be back when we're in Paris in the future and plan to eat here a few times. With the changing daily specials, you wouldn't get tired of the food even if you...