Au Petit Riche in the 9th: Since 1854 and still going strong.

 

5.8 Au Petit Riche in the 9th, 01.47.70.68.68, open 7/7 taking orders until 12 midnight, has menus for lunch at 22 E for 2 and 28 E for 3 dishes as well as menus at dinner for 28 E for 3 dishes and 34 E with liquids and according to Michelin's Aug-Sept Etoile magazine, is one of the 80 places in Paris to go to and go back to. (I'm more ashamed than boasting when I note that it was one of the 4/80 places they listed that I'd never been to.)

There's a ecailler out front, double glass swing doors to get in and it looks tiny until you realize that after the bar room, there are six or seven dining rooms each seating 20-40 (the last and latter, the menu notes, was the stable of M. Rothschild (my partner and I guess Grandpa R.) converted into an eating room.)  Impressive.  And when you realize it was founded in 1854, while hardly approaching the 1582 of the Tour d'Argent or 1680 of La Petite Chaise, it's seriously old.

For whatever reason we both chose the 22 menu.

She had the pot au feu terrine which was fine when swallowed with a half cornichon to give it some backbone and I had 6 #3 Breton oysters which were the first of this season and hit the spot.

Then she had the filet of bass, with a perfectly crisped skin and wonderful artichaut hearts barigoule (and for the life of me I never saw their mushroom stuffing) while I tested their ability to do quenelles de brochet with divine tiny écrevisses, accompanied by mushroom duxelles, which again, offset the quenelles exactly.

We shared the tartelette of Normand apples - a very nice ending to a very nice meal.

Our bill with a bottle of red Chinon (75% of their wine list is Loire-ish and it is deep & comprehensive), passable bread, no bottled water and 2 coffees was 76.60 E.

Go?  Yes, but.... (Oui, mais....)  What do I mean, after all, I gave it a 5.8?  Well, comparing apples to apples, Au Petit Riche should be compared to other oldies and bistroties, say Flottes, Terminus Nord, Train Bleu and their ilk and it beats them all hands down.  On the other hand it is neith inventive nor haute, but it's more elegant and better priced than I expected and I'd declare it best of class (as I think the Westminster Kennel Club used to term it.)

As a head man, it always amuses me to find restaurants displaying this award but they're clearly proud enough of it.
 

Comments

[Lucy]

Those quenelles look heavenly. I never thought to serve them with mushrooms but I think that's what I might do tonight. Off to market!

[Sam Slott]

I'm very disappointed by your review of this flagrantly mediocre restaurant. See what David Lebovitz had to say about it--and I agree! It's a case study of everything that's going wrong with food in Paris