5.5 Le Bistrot du Temple, 19, rue de Picardie in the 3rd (Metro: Republique I guess), closed Sundays and Mondays, 01.42.77.48.01 is a place that's mellowed a bit since it's been on my "list." It has an arresting red front, nice paintings, all by one painter and a couple that run the front room and second floor with great joy.
The specials on the blackboard resemble those on the evening carte at a 30% reduction we were told and that seemed very fair.
We started off with a quite nice camembert fermier heated in a pastry covering with mesclun, duck and baby tomatoes; a salmon-haddock tartare that had an interesting tart-soft salt-sweet yin-yang set of flavors; and bottle of Cote du Rhone.
For mains we had triangolini pasta envelopes stuffed with cepes and flavored with truffle oil and a tempura of merlu (a first for me) with green veggies and potatoes. We decided to share what was called a moelleux but explained and tasted like a prune pudding with sorbet - quite tasty.
With two coffees, the aforementioned wine, above average bread and no bottled water our bill came to 71.50 E.
Go? As my companion, a food critic/journalist who indeed does live in the neighborhood said on leaving ""Just a neighborhood resto, but a nice neighborhood one." I predict she'll be back. Decibel level with loud American jazz music = 76.9; with calmer music and more clients, much quieter.
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