Les bons plans de Whathello
 

Restaurant Elmer, 30 rue Notre Dame de Nazareth.

It opened 7 months ago, 150 m from place de la République.
Probably my best restaurant of the year in Paris. We started with an entrée (tomates anciennes for me) with a glass of white wine (ask the sommelier). Sounds very usual, but very good .
Then a cochon du ventoux for 2 (pork, cooked on the barbecue, rosé, tender, superb).
With a Pineau d'Aunis (we asked the sommelier) an unusual cépage.
We should have stopped but wanted to check the desserts. Chocolat au poivre de Timut (pepper from somewhere like Nepal or Tibet or cloase by) and for me apricots on barbecue with xxxberries.
Excellent.
Welcoming staff, efficient.
Price ? We got away with about 90 € per person... not cheap but worth every penny.

Une vraie cuisine française, inventive et raffinée.
Enjoy.

No meal is worth that much to me.

Sacrilege - pas de foie gras?

hmmm. glad you liked it, nothing about the menu is appealing to me at all but I don't usually order pork in restaurants as it isn't my favorite.

LIberation said they didn't even have a "menu" not even at lunch, but it must have been the wine that cost a lot to get to 90 euro per person.

Does sound inventive and different, though, a lot of French cafes and restaurants serve the same thing they have for years. So I'm sure this will interest some foodies, good review.

Is this really what it looks like?
http://www.lexpress.fr/styles/saveur...z_1759817.html

I can't imagine paying 90 euro per person for that. Even some cafes where I stay look nicer and more comfortable than that.

I think it sounds good! I assume you were not drinking cheap wine....but no one should. Can you remember what the food cost without the wine?

Frankly, if some pressed 90 euros into my hand and told me to spend it on food in Paris, I might keep 40 euros for a more than adequate meal and give the remaining 50 euros to something like <i>Action contre la faim</i> or <i>MSF</i> to feed people in Darfur and other such places.

How much did you tip the waiter?

Seems like a lot for tomatoes and pork, but I'm guessing the wine was pricey. The link from Christina showed a menu of 50 euro.

A lot of modern restaurants are skimping on the decor and concentrating on food and wine. I'm not a sucker for "atmosphere", and would much rather spend my money for what goes into my mouth.
You can't eat "atmosphere", and it tastes terrible, if you do.

I'd enjoy going to Elmer, but would choose my own wine, and would probably end up with a less-expensive bill - which would leave me with some money left over to give to charities which feed the homeless.

Wine was about 52 euros + the glass I imagine 7 = 33 euros or one third of what I paid which is usual for me.
Dessert was 12 or something like it. We had 2 bottles of sparkling water. No coffee. No pousse cafe.

We left a grandiose 5 euros of top when they declined to charge one bottle of water after we told them.

The atmosphere was usual for Paris and I am like fuzz I preferred to eat atmosphere.

Next time however I will refrain from posting when I splurge. A good communist should not show off.
Lesson learned.

Yesterday I ate a hamburger at ? Close to the Dom in Koeln for 16 euros incl 3 Koelsch.
Makes a better average ?

My first post on Fodors! just had to support Whathello, surely food is a big part of enjoying travel, please don't refrain from posting because some of us just love to find new restaurants.

Interesting reactions..thanks for the review..many of us do seek out new spots and since you are in Paris often I value your opinion ...far prefer to get ideas this way!

****We left a grandiose 5 euros of top when they declined to charge one bottle of water after we told them.***
What did you "tell" them about the water?
A bottle of water at the most will be 4€ plus mark up.
The French law states that water must be served with every meal. Bottled water is OTT. Tipping is very American, refering to the French law, there is a 15% surcharge added to teh final bill for service. There is no need to tip in France.
16 Euros for a burger? LOL

I think it sounds great. Good quality ingredients well prepared beats any amount of poncing about with pea shoots and edible flowers imho. Decent wine is always worth paying for too.

What th ultimate insult "Tipping is very American" guys too much :-) LOL

Hamburger with mild mustard I hope to maintain my Belgian prejudice.

I am highly unlikely to ever eat there, having no desire to visit Paris, but it sounds good. I probably wouldn't have had bottled water or such expensive wine, but a splurge now and then does no harm.
I am glad you enjoyed it whathello, and that you took the time to review it for us.

It really helps to be on an expense account, doesn't it? ;-)

Next time however I will refrain from posting when I splurge. A good communist should not show off. >>

J'aime beaucoup un peu de "splurge" What, and welcome more accounts of your "profligacy". As I have occasionally been known to say about lawyers' children, top end chefs have to eat and they in turn employ a lot of other people.

In order to spare kerouac's feelings I won't mention the lunch we had at le cinq a few years ago - it was a once in a lifetime occurrence [unless we win the lottery] which I'm not even sure I would want to repeat even then but I'm glad we did it. How else would I know how delicious seaweed butter is?

16 EU for hamburger in France is about right. What's with the LOL?

You have to consider that this is decent meat with fries and sometimes a little salad - normally 170 grammes' worth of meat - and not some slab of fast-food mummified mystery meat.

McDonald's and BurgerKing charge about 6 EU for a hamburger.

-16 EU for hamburger in France is about right. What's with the LOL?-

I'd say that's about standard for a GOOD burger all over Europe. In Paris I have seen them for more than that!