5/3 dinner help in paris
 

ah, the best laid plans of mice and men...
seems alot of my choices are closed for 5/3 due to the 5/1 holiday-au gourmand, le pamphlet, le troquet, ami jean...i am now in need of a sat dinner reservation. paul bert, temps au temps, clos des gourmets, carte blanche are possibilities. any comments on these or any other favorites that i am missing? our dinners for the week are fables de la fontaine, le comptoir, spring, il vino, le troquet and afaria.
thanks as always...

anyone? thanks as this will be our first dinner in paris for this trip and i want to start it off right.

Clos des Gourmets is good. Are you arriving that day=first dinner? If so, I wouldn't do it. Have a nice cafe dinner and go to bed.

I vote for Carte Blanche. It's modern, each dish has a bit of an artsy twist, and excellent!

I would have said Le Temps au Temps without question, but it's under new management with a new chef, and apparently not as good as it was. Maybe Paul Bert would be the next choice.

I'd agree that Carte Blanche is also a good choice. And although I liked Clos des Gourmets and went there often, our last meal, several years ago, was disappointing.

What about Les Papilles?

Shellio, thanks for the update on Temps au temps. Did now know that. All I keep reading is what a gastro street that is w/ Paul Bert and other highly regarded restaurants. I will look into Les Papilles, but my gut is telling me Carte Blanche.
However, I just called them and they are closed also!!

Just spoke to a lovely woman at Afaria (also closed) and she explained when Labor Day, 5/1, falls later in the week, most folks take a long weekend off and most shops and restaurants will be closed. Paul Bert is open but won't take reservations until April.

Les Papilles is a wine bar/restaurant, which serves a set menu. It's fine, but not up to par with your other choices. It's also less expensive so that might draw you with the weak dollar!

Have you ever been to Willi's Wine Bar? It's excellent and we enjoy the atmosphere also.

I'll be in France next week for a few days and will be eating at Fish. I haven't been before and will report back on what we think of it.

Les Magnolia's is really wonderful, but in the suburbs. It takes awhile to get there,(maybe 30-40 min.) but is perfectly safe on the train. You'd get an excellent meal and wine there! Take the R.E.R. E, from Gare du Nord or St.-Lazare, to Nogent-le-Perreux (about 20 minutes).
The restaurant is a 5 minute walk from the station.

http://www.lesmagnolias.com/

Images2, you must be reading my mind! I have never been to Willi's. Was planning to eat lunch at Juveniles. Is Willi's good? We like adventurous and flavorful food. We are both good cooks so enjoy a meal we can't make (or make better) ourselves. Is the focus as much on the food as the wine? Tell me what you can and then I will see if they are open.
Please do report on Fish. It was on my Sunday list but once we snagged a reservation at Fables, we dropped Fish.

Hi plambers,

I'm not to good with words. I'd say that the food is very flavorable, but not adventurous. Carte Blanche is adventurous! I was surprised how much I enjoyed the meal, because I also thought it was more a wine bar, but it's not. The food is very important there and it was totally booked each time I ate there. It's not a large place though. I just feel at home there, very good food, good wine, friendly service, a great place to return to.

Fables is great. We've also eaten there 3 times. Once, before they changed the interior. It seems more formal now, but we still love the food. We were there the evening they offically received their star and they brought us one wrong dish by mistake. Not a good thing to do that night:) We kept it, and they brought the correct dish when it was ready.

You have a great list already! I hope each one meets your expectations.

Well, if Willi's Wine Bar appeals to you, kick it up a notch and dine at Matéo. It's owned by the same people.