where jess ate

Wanting to take a break from traditional French fare in Paris, Mike and I dropped by the modern and imaginative Le 6 Paul Bert.

The restaurant is owned by Bertand Auboyneau who also owns the classic Bistrot Paul Bert down the street. Le 6 Paul Bert has a casual feel to it featuring a deli counter by the entrance and an open kitchen at the back of the restaurant.

There are some large communal tables in the space and if you’re not at a communal table, it’s not much better. Tables are inches apart and you’ll feel like you’re dining with your neighbors – normal by Paris standards.

Reservations are highly recommended. It’s not a large restaurant and they essentially have one seating. Our meal was incredibly long – we had an 8:30 reservation and left around midnight!

Their menu, which changes frequently, consists of small plates ranging in price from 12€ to 15€ (desserts are 9€). For 42€ you can order any 3 plates and plus 1 dessert from their menu. It may sound like a lot of food but I thought it was a good amount and we didn’t leave feeling (too) stuffed. Don’t come for dinner too late though…the couple next to us dropped by for dinner around 10pm and several dishes they wanted to order were already sold out.

My first dish was the Couteaux XL d’Ecosse – jus de crustacé, casserons et gnocchi . It consisted of perfectly cooked razor clams and squid sitting in a seafood broth which had a wonderfully deep flavour. I was really surprised by the hearty portion of this dish but I wasn’t complaining. It was a really great dish to start off the meal.

Mike’s first dish was the Carpaccio de Paleron Séché – fèves grilles et oignons de Trébons. A beef carpaccio may sound simple but when done well, nothing satisfies quite like it. The fresh slices of meat were nicely seasoned and I loved how they grilled the green onions. Grilling them really brings out their flavour. We enjoyed every part of this dish – beans, onions and all!

My second dish was the Longe d’agneau de Lozere – asperges, chou grillé et yaourt aux amandes. The dish consisted of two pieces of lamb, asparagus, cabbage and almond yogurt. Like all the proteins in our first courses, the lamb was cooked to perfection. It was a very good dish but I’ve eaten a lot of lamb dishes (it’s usually my protein of choice) and this wasn’t particularly memorable.

Mike’s second course was the Turbot Poché á l’orange – carottes et risotto de foie de lotte which consisted of a poached piece of turbot sitting on top of a carrot and monkfish liver risotto. This was the first time on our trip having turbot and I fell in love with it. It was so moist and had a delicate texture to it.

The risotto was also delicious. Unlike the risotto we had at La Mere Brazier, the texture and consistency of this dish was spot on – not too thick or watery.

My last savoury dish of the evening was the ½ Pigeonneau – mousserons des prés et salsifis sauvages aka half a pigeon with wild mushrooms and salsify. It came with an egg yolk which spilled onto the rest of the dish after being cut into. The pigeon (squab) was absolutely delicious. It had a nice crisp skin and the meat was packed full of flavour.

Mike’s last savoury dish was the Carré de Cochon Fermier – artichaut poivrade et moutardes aka pork with artichokes and mustard. The pork had a thick piece of fatty skin and the meat was nice and moist. Like the lamb, it was a solid dish but nothing memorable.

For dessert, I ordered the Financier au Thym – glace flouve, yaourt au chocolat blanc et noisettes aka a thyme financier with white chocolate yogurt and hazelnuts. I’m not usually a fan of deconstructed dishes but this really worked for me.

I enjoyed the moist chunks of light cake paired with the white chocolate frozen yogurt. The dessert was just the right size to satisfy my sweet tooth at the end of the meal.

Mike went for the Cannoli Citron – sorbet fromage blanc aka a lemon cannoli with white cheese sorbet. The thin cannoli had a crisp exterior with a rich pastry cream inside and while we enjoyed it, our favourite part of this dish was the tart sorbet. Very refreshing!

One downside about the restaurant is the pace of the meal. As I mentioned earlier, our meal was nearly 3 ½ hours long…so expect long waits between courses.

We wanted a change from the traditional French bistro fare and we certainly got it. The food here was fantastic and if you’re not in a rush, I’d highly recommend it.

At a glance:
• Serving up modern and imaginative French fare
• Small plates which change frequently – dishes are 12€ to 15€ (desserts – 9€) a la carte
• 42€ for 3 plates and a dessert
• Fantastic food; highly recommended
• Same owner as the classic Bistrot Paul Bert down the street
• Reservations are recommended (I called one week before for a Friday night reservation)
• Incredibly long dinner – long waits between courses

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 4 stars
• Service: 2 stars
• Atmosphere: 3 stars