My Paris Bites: Bistrot Paul Bert

Our train from London pulled into Gare du Nord just a little before 9PM which meant that we were actually going to have dinner like proper Parisians.  A quick Uber ride to the 11th Arrondissement and we arrived slightly bleary eyed for our late dinner at Bistrot Paul Bert.

Even though every dish on the menu sounded tempting, I had my eyes on the Côte de Boeuf and there was no talking me down.  Unfortunately, it takes a bit of patience before we were able to dive into the beefy meal so we passed our time with a delicious warm salad of veal tongue and potatoes.  The creamy potatoes were still warm and the tiny pieces of tongue that studded the salad was unbelievably tender.  The bright lemony vinaigrette partnered with the sharp red onions to stand up to the rich salad.  This was so delectable that we almost forgot about our main course.

The Côte de Boeuf at Bistrot Paul Bert was not for the faint of heart.  A hefty serving of the beef was cooked to a perfectly rare at our request with a crunchy crispy crust.  I can’t resist steak with mustard, especially not when we are in Paris, so a side of the pungent condiment was a must.

Oh and the fries, did I mention the giant pile of golden brown crispy frites?  Steak’s best companion.

Of course, we saved room for dessert because the Paris Brest here is not to be passed up.   Touted as one of the best desserts in Paris, we were not disappointed.  The crispy light choux pastry was filled with a generous portion of lightly sweet praline cream.  Unbelievably delicate, we were both a little sad when we realized that the pastry had all of a sudden disappeared.

Full to the brim from the enormous meal, we meandered into the quiet neighborhood towards our AirBnb.  Thank you Bistrot Paul Bert, for the approachable environment to our perfectly surly waitress to the amazing first meal in the city.  Can’t wait for the rest of deliciousness to come.

Bistrot Paul Bert | 22 Rue Paul Bert, 75011 Paris, France