redsoxgirl

Just returned from a week in Paris, where I ate at the still wonderful Rotisserie d'en Face on rue Christine. I ate lunch there twice, completely different menu choices, and all was wonderful. The staff is helpful if you need it.

Boots

I will second your choice of the R�tisserie. I go to Paris several times a year, and I eat there a couple of times each trip. Another favorite is the Ferme Saint-Simon at 6, rue Saint-Simon, not far from the Orsay. I am a fussy eater, and both of these are excellent, in my opinion.

JeanneB

We had our first Paris dinner at Rotisserie in October. A cold, miserable rainy night with two jet-lagged Americans trying to find their way. We slogged through unfamiliar streets, worried we'd lost our reservation.

Upon arrival, the staff was solicitous and nice as they could be. Food was all I'd been dreaming of during all those months of planning! A nice memory....thanks.

redsoxgirl

Thanks for the reinforcement! I sent two dear friends from New York to Rotisserie d'en Face for their anniversary dinner. Paris first timers, and I hoped everything would be great. It was, and more. I am now their favorite person in the world....

Barb

Sounds wonderful. What are the prices like? Do you need reservations for dinner. Can I walk from my hotel on Rue Ecoles in the 5th?

Boots

You can walk there from the rue des Ecoles. Go north on the Blvd St.-Michel to Blvd St.-Germain. Go west on St.-Germain to Ancienne Comedie, right on Ancienne Comedie to Carrefour de Buci, slight right on Dauphine to rue Christine on your right. It's at the end of the block at #2. The area of Buci is an interesting area to walk in. Prices are probably $50 each, cheaper at lunch. The Saint-Simon can be reached via the #63 bus which runs west down the rue des Ecoles. It may be a bit cheaper. Both are wonderful. Bon appetit. I know where the accent marks go, but sometimes I end up with squares instead. Boots

a_diner

I must disagree on LA ROTISSERIE D'EN FACE. My wife and I recently dined there for dinner and were quite disappointed. To begin with, the ambience is a bit generic and unbecoming at this price level. It appears the designers went for a more contemporary look than the typical French bistro but in doing so they created an atmosphere more appropriate to an American restaurant with $10-15 main dishes, not that of a French one with $25-45 ones.

The food was mostly good, particularly the delicious wild boar entree, but the deserts disappointed to the extent I can't even remember what they were less than a week later.

The worst part of dining here was simply the service. Unlike any other dining experience I've had in Paris, it was RUSHED by American standards, let alone in comparison to the unhurried French norm. This is simply unacceptable for a meal costing upwards of $160.00 (USD). We were also repeatedly asked the same questions by different servers.

In my opinion LA ROTISSERIE D'EN FACE is a waste of time, there is no value to be had here and there are far better alternatives to be had in Paris.

jody

We always make it one of our Paris stops...my husband, because it's one place he is sure there will be Guinea fowl on the menu, and me, because I love their Vacherin with caramel sauce and walnuts.

It isn't really described by Jacques Cagna as a French bistro, rather a "grill room", so it should be open and contemporary.

We spend over 2 hours on dinner every time we have gone there, as recently as a few months ago, and never felt rushed by the staff. Unless the service has changed abruptly since then , I've never had any complaints about it.

I guess I'll have to plan a Paris trip soon to check for myself!

Patrick

Very interesting. We went there because of the many comments here about the place. But I must admit that was about four or maybe even five years ago. I ordered the rottisierie chicken (one of my favorite things) because it was described as perhaps the best roasted chicken in all of Paris. Mine was bland, dry, and overcooked at at a cost easily double what I would normally pay at any good brasserie which has wonderful chicken! Our service was not great, yes rushed as well as what others have said. They had pushed us for an earlier seating than we wanted, and obviously needed to get us out for their already booked later seating. I don't remember much else about the meal, except that we both left trying to figure out what all they hype was about the place. It wasn't bad, just an average to good sort of meal (other than my chicken) at much higher prices than what it seemed worth to me. I will also say that the entire place seemed to be Americans, but I suspect that's because they pushed us Americans at that earlier seating so their locals could have the more appropriate later seatings.

I'd say my experience paralleled that of "a_diner".

Underhill

We too were disappointed in the Rotisserie. Part of the problem was that we were seated next to a family with two children who didn't like any of the food and complained loudly, but we didn't think the food anything special. I had expected terrific roast chicken, but what arrived wasn't as good as what I can get at our local gourmet supermarket. The young girl seated next to us had been offered macaroni and cheese because she didn't like anything on the menu, and it looked much more appetizing than the chicken. The staff, however, were nice, but we did feel rushed.

francophile03

The unfavorable reviews of Rotisserie d'en Face recall our recent dinners at a well-regarded St. Germain restaurant called Vagenende. We didn't see what all the guidebook fuss was all about. The prix fixe meal was not worth it.

However, our chance walk-ins to those unheard of brasseries along our walks yielded the simplest of meals yet they were some of the best we had. Just the typical poulet roti with frites tasted so good compared to what we had at Vagenende.

But I must say that our dinners at Le Bistrot de Paris were really good. This restaurant isn't written up as Vagenende but in my opinion it's a whole lot better.

So I guess that even if a restaurant's well-regarded in books it doesn't guarantee that the food (and service) will be that great.