Meals and wine pilgrims, significantly those that learn the New York Occasions or watch Anthony Bourdain, are prepared to climb the hill for this Belleville establishment. Raquel Carena tends the fireplace, providing her personal private model of bistro cooking – generally delicate, generally hearty, all the time heartfelt.
In stark distinction to the loving kitchen, the eating room is chilly as ice, due to the joyless management of Carena’s husband Philippe. After greater than a decade of hopeful visits, I haven’t but obtained a smile or any useful wine steering from the patron. His cellar is reputed to be among the best within the metropolis, with an emphasis on unbiased producers and pure wines. He’s, nonetheless, an unwilling ambassador for these wines and a major drag on the general expertise.
I like Carena’s cooking, however I received’t hurry again as a result of I concern that, as soon as once more, I’ll be handled with evident disinterest by Philippe and the eating room workers who mirror his angle. For individuals who actually wish to strive their luck, go at lunch. The eating room, which is harshly over-lit at night time, reveals itself superbly within the daylight, and the lunch menu for 19 euros stays an unimaginable deal.
3 rue Jouye-Rouve, 75020
Open Wednesday-Friday for lunch and dinner
Open Saturday for lunch solely; Open Tuesday for dinner solely
Closed Sunday & Monday
Reservations at +33 1 43 49 39 70
OUR PHOTOS OF LE BARATIN
IN OTHER WORDS
The Infatuation (2016) admits that “we’re not huge on the entire “go to this place simply because Anthony Bourdain did” factor, however it’s true that Anthony Bourdain visited Le Baratin throughout one in all his episodes of The Layover. However the extra vital level to be made is that Le Baratin is a spot the place Parisian cooks eat. Proprietor Raquel Corina [sic] is a little bit of a legend within the native restaurant neighborhood, and her meals is easy and homey and precisely what you wish to eat while you’re in Paris.”
Le Fooding observes that “for nearly thirty years, Raquel Carena has been welcoming star cooks, neighborhood intellectuals and well-informed vacationers into her gem of a bistro (a wooden and copper bar, opus incertum tiling, an eclectic library) within the North of Paris, with no extra chitchat however with metronomic consistency.
The New York Occasions (2011) “This two-room place appears as if it put itself along with a design payment of zero. But it’s engaging and hip, a minimum of within the model of an older era… There are elegant touches, nonetheless, like the stunning water carafes sitting on the bar, and the straightforward, reasonably priced and immediately likable wine checklist. Pintade — guinea hen — was cooked completely, the darkish meat braised and the white roasted, together with mushrooms and cabbage cooked in butter.”
Timeout (2012) “Star pastry chef Pierre Hermé visits this cheerful little bistro and wine bar excessive up in Belleville a minimum of each two weeks to refill on Raquel Carena’s homely cooking with the occasional unique twist… If the meals weren’t so incredible, it will nonetheless be value coming for the principally natural wines. Le Baratin attracts gourmands from throughout Paris – so make sure to ebook.”
John Talbott (2011) disagrees with François Simon’s declaration that that is the most effective restaurant in Paris, discovering his dish of hen livers “topped with tasteless chopped peanuts and salad” to be the most effective of three entrées tasted. He calls the bread “depressing” and makes use of the phrase “OK” to explain each the veal and the cheese.
Figaroscope (2011) contains this amongst their 15 favourite bistrots in Paris, praising the competitively priced lunch menu and saying that you simply received’t discover something epic or refined right here, simply precision and style. “A lot so {that a} easy uncooked salmon with lemongrass… is usually a nice second.”
Simon Says (2011) wonders “is that this the most effective restaurant in Paris?” and praises Raquel Carena for spending extra time within the kitchen than self-promoting within the media. He’s “delighted and contented” by the cavalcade dishes together with sea bass with smoked vinegar, veal mind, and sweetbreads.
Alexander Lobrano (2008) says that “each time I am going to this restaurant, I fall in love along with her meals over again… [Carena] cooks from her coronary heart and likewise cooks from a winsome creative sensibility that she’s most likely nonetheless unaware of. Assume a kind of gastronomic Grandma Moses, or a cook dinner who paints with broad strokes of sincerity, revolutionary, and wit.” Nevertheless, he warns that “Belleville, the place Le Baratin is positioned, is a pain-in-the-neck cab journey from anyplace most vacationer are more likely to be staying in Paris, the room is tiny and noisy and has little decor apart from just a few work by native artists, and for those who’re not sincerely eager about tasting a uncommon dose of la vie boheme in Paris at this time, this restaurant is just not for you.”
Le Baratin in video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qX3rshJ0Yw
Anthony Bourdain’s Paris episode for “The Layover.” The section on Le Baratin begins across the 37:40 mark.
