5.5 Bakkus*, 97, rue du Cherche-Midi in the 6th (Metro: Vaneau), 01.42.22.19.18, closed Sundays is a place that's gotten kind of funny reviews since it opened recently. Not bad, just not straight. It advertises itself as providing "cuisine, vins & plus encore" non-stop from noon to 23h00 and its fascade is another grey minimalist one, with an interior that's half wine bins and half tall tables and stools.
The ardoise features the food items available (and there are a lot) and an iPad has the wines by the glass from 2-48 E, no bottles, sorry.
The amuse gueules were a cup of cucumber slices and terrific bread sticks with an anchovy cream and very nice tart black olives.
My two friends who have helped me with professional conferences for a few decades both ordered the oeuf mollet with salmon fume and asparagus and I had the swordfish carpaccio with shaved vanilla and beet strips - both terribly interesting combos that showed the chef's talents off very well.
Then they both had the lamb shoulder with cumin and harissa sauce, which she of Brit-origin, albeit long ago, said was the best lamb of her life - whoa - and I had the rascasse which was nice product, nicely cooked but without the spicy tomato garniture would have been disappointing.
We three sort of all shared the finales: a portion of strawberries , basil and Granny Smith ice cream and chocolate sorbet with what they called "brownies" but I'd call chocolate cake and an almost confiture of raspberries.
With the equivalent of a bottle of wine (not pictured, recall, it was all out of one of those fancy wine bar dispenser machines), paid for by the glass, no bottled water and two coffees, our bill amounted to about 107 E a couple.
Go? Were it not for the stools and high tables that prevented Madame from touching the ground or cross-bar and the wines by the glass - this would have constituted the rather than a "perfect Saturday lunch."
*Oh the name = Bacchus, God of Wine, except modernized, they said.
In preparation for a just-concluded trip to Paris, found several of your posts on Chowhound as well as this blog and appreciate your efforts; however, my wife and I just happened upon Bakkus completely on our own, as it was one block from where we were staying. Anyway, they must have changed things a bit since your visit because all of the wines are now available by the bottle, as well as in the different by-the-glass sizes.
Posted by: Matthew | November 22, 2012 at 07:34 AM
I'm delighted with the update; indeed I ate there soon after it had opened.
Posted by: John Talbott | November 22, 2012 at 10:54 AM