Chez Clément - 9 excellent restaurants in Paris
Written: Apr 18 '02 (Updated Apr 18 '02)
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Pros: Excellent fare and service, at very reasonable prices
Cons: Don't overdo it or you'll be very, very sorry...To leave it there...
The Bottom Line: Go to Paris. Get yourself a Plateau Royale and grab a bottle of Chablis. And enjoy life!
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| elsa70's Full Review: Paris |
On my latest free-lance commissioned reportage I had to stop over in Paris for a briefing before heading to Tanzania. Luckily, I was able to work things out so that I spent a long weekend in Paris with my significant other, who conveniently owns an apartment in the business district (Porte de Versailles), at the worst time of year to visit Paris La Lumière - EASTER. Overcrowded. Overpriced. Terrible service, everywhere. However, since both of us have been to Paris countless times, we knew exactly where and what to avoid during those days and decided we would spend five days just strolling around, doing a little shopping and primarily GOING ON A CONTINUOUS BINGE. We both love French food and we really wanted to indulge in Foie Gras (duck liver paté) and oysters. OYSTERS.OYSTERS!
I personally know and often recommend an array of great, reliable restaurants in Paris. However, I am also fully aware of the importance of making reservations well in advance in such peak-season moments. Needless to say, no matter what, due to my last-minute plans and the impossibility of booking tables until a couple of days before our departure, I was unable to find a free table in any of the restaurants I'm acquainted with. Forseeing disastrous experiences in tourist traps, we arrived in Paris on a Friday evening at 9 p.m. and decided we would chance it and eat our dinner at the new restaurant located across the street from the apartment - right in front of Porte de Versailles Exposition main entrance.
Chez Clément. Never, ever heard of THIS place before. Let's peek through the windows.
First thing we noticed, they did have oysters. Cleverly displayed outside in a steel and glass cover case as most Parisian restaurants usually feature was a very wide and inviting selection of all qualities of raw fish and shellfish - lobster, crab, shrimp, snails, an array of seafood on crushed ice. From the outside, since the building was under construction and dimly lit, we couldn't decipher whether the restaurant was packed or not, but I caught a glimpse of smiling, satisfied customers with a very appealing dessert in front of them, and beginning to feel pangs of near-starvation hunger, I just walked in.
Pleasant surprise in the Paris Banlieue:
A warmly lit stepdoor opened to an airy room in Provençal style, with dried flowers placed in wicker baskets and traditional sitting tables hosting lit candles and potpourris. Upon our entrance a waiter immediately addressed us and simply greeted us with a smile and a bow: - "good evening - yes we do have a table, smoking or non smoking? ". We were ushered to a small room, passing through two other rooms were locals were quietly dining on seafare or hearty meat entrées. The first thing that caught my attention was the incredibly particular décor and setting of the restaurant - it appeared as though they had just transformed someone's private apartment into a restaurant, without touching any of the furniture or remodeling the apartment itself. There were five different rooms, ranging from large to tiny, all decorated in different shades and displaying paraphernalia and antiques in showcases and odds and ends hanging from the walls and ceilings - lampshades made of old pots and pans, coat hangers which were clusters of spoons and forks. We were seated in a room named "la Salle aux Papillons", namely the Butterfly room, where real butterfly collections, both real and in sketches and paintings were featured on all walls, along with chintz-decorated pillows and table mats with embroidered needle-point butterflies. We were then offered a complimentary drink along with the menus - I chose a Kir Royale, while Simone opted for a Pernod.
The menu selection was actually quite varied, with a number of traditional French hors d'oeuvres (appetizers):a classic shrimp and avocado cocktail, garnished paté, cheese and herb soufflé, warm goat cheese and salad, raw salmon with fennel sauce, and four different mixed salads. What caught my eye immediately, however, were the Ravioli I saw the waiter bring to another table, and I chose those as an appetizer, while Simone decided to try the paté. As expected, there was a wide choice of oysters, from the Fines de Claires (the most common) in both small and large sizes, to my favorites, the St Vaast, the blue oysters from Normandy. Having seen the raw crabs in the déhors, I was tempted by one of the mixed plateau, so we chose a Plateau Royale (royal platter) for two, with a grand total of 24 oysters, 6 large mussels, 6 large clams, 14 jumbo shrimp, and a large crab.I then selected a half bottle of Chablis white wine and while waiting for our appetizers we decided to look around as our curiosity was really piqued and wanted to explore the rest of the restaurant.
We happened to find out that actually my first impressions were correct: the restaurant was decorated to resemble the house of someone (Mr. Clement's place, I guess). One of the rooms was called the dressing room and featured an impressive, antique wardrobe with real past-century clothes, hats and other clothing items, another one, named the sewing room, had needles and sewing machines, bits and pieces of cloth and thread spools; the main room facing the street was called the terrace and displayed paintings, plants, bird cages and old magazines; yet another room featured old cameras and ancient snapshots, flashbulbs and thresholds, and was appropriately called... You guess it... Yes: M. Clement's salle de photographie. Everything was permeated by a homey, casual yet refined appearance, tastefully arranged and very well balanced. Our waiter then had to summon us to our table, since our appetizers had arrived.
The food was beyond our expectations.
My ravioli were actually small portions of lobster bits tucked into tiny sachets made of pasta and laced with a very delicate tomato and seafood red sauce, with a sprinkle of fresh herbs. Simone's paté was a generous slice of goose liver paté flavored with Armagnac and Porto wine, with a hint of truffle and a very flavorful green mixed salad, melba toast and soft butter, and a daring mango and string-beans garnish which happened to be excellent combined with the foie gras. I didn't touch my wine yet, since I never drink white wine with tomato, but although I had only ordered a half bottle, I had my ice bucket standing right next to me.
After our hearty appetizer, we began to fear we wouldn't be able to make it through our main course.
Once it arrived, our fear became a certainty. Our Plateau was enormous. It was the largest display of raw seafood I had ever had. Along with the massive amount of oysters, shrimp and crab we knew we had ordered, came a number of small gray shrimp and sea snails in two bowls, four different baskets of bread - whole-wheat, rye, white and four-cereal -, mayonnaise, toasts, butter, and shallot and raspberry vinegar. We figured, we had all night ahead of us - it was 10 P.M. and we weren't planning an evening outing - we'd take it nice and slow and make it a mission.
at 11,30 P.M., I gave up. I had eaten less than half of what our platter featured, although Simone had almost finished his share. My Chablis was long gone, along with the best, the best oysters I had ever had, not to mention the crab! The freshest fare I had ever sampled in my life. And I've had plenty of it, in some of the most celebrated restaurants not only in Paris (just a couple of names? Does La Tour d'Argent ring a bell? Le Roi des Coquillages? Or perhaps, Voltaire?). Our waiter then, after noticing we were rinsing our hands in the water bowl and opening the tissue pouches that came with the platter, chided us for not finishing our platter and asked us if we wanted him to wrap it for us. Now, if you've ever been anywhere in Europe, you might know that it is not customary to have your food wrapped for you; it is downright impossible in Paris, and although the two of us speak very good French, we certainly don't sound Parisian. When we told our waiter we were Italian, at first he was taken aback, then he replied that if we ate it by the next day's lunch hour, it might fit in our hotel room's refrigerator. Amazing. Since Simone's apartment doesn't have a refrigerator, we declined his offer.
We took our time over coffee and a glass of Cognac, then, after seeing the dessert I had ogled at upon my arrival, seizing its size and knowing full well I was really going overboard, I nevertheless suggested we share one of those tiny desserts....Just to end a sumptuous meal by sweetening our taste buds.
We ended up having to share it - twice.. The small bundt that was promptly delivered to our table was a delectable dark chocolate truffle-like individual moist cake, with a smooth, soft and creamy semi-sweet chocolate core in a warm, flaky chocolate crust, topped with a great, fresh and palate-cleansing marjoram and mint sauce and a tiny scoop of (yes!) marjoram sorbet. Simone is not a dessert man, but he couldn't resist and asked for seconds!
By then it was way past midnight and we were the only customers left. We noticed the waiters were joking among themselves, but no one rushed us, even at the late hour and considering it was a Friday night and they probably wanted to close. We mingled for a few minutes, then at about 1.30 A.M. we tentatively asked for the check, vaguely bracing ourselves for the expected whopper.
a round 90-euro figure.Uh-oh. There must be a mistake.
We called our waiter and told him we believed they had forgotten something in our check. He glanced at it, then smiled and said, well, the coffees and cognac were offered by us, after all, you ate for four... And even provided us with leftovers for the cats...
Smiled again, then took our credit card.
We couldn't believe it. We ate like ogres, and all we're spending is 40 DOLLARS APIECE???
We were stunned. How come we had never heard of this place before?
On our way out, we glanced at the menu again, and actually saw that our platter was priced around 46 euro for two persons. It probably would have cost me more had I bought it at my local fish market. We grabbed a brochure, and finally realized that Chez Clément is a chain of restaurants, that are scattered throughout Paris and its surroundings, all decorated with the same flair and clever ideas that were presented in the restaurant we enjoyed so thoroughly; although each restaurant is furnished differently, the main theme - that of representing Mr. Clement's home - is the same, and each room, in each restaurant, displays a certain room of Clement's virtual house. No restaurant has a room alike. The menu, however, is the same in every Chez Clément restaurant. And there are always pots and pans hanging in front of the main entrance, and spoons and forks nailed into the walls to hang coats onto.
During our long weekend in Paris we tried four different Chez Clément restaurants.
One in the Saint Germain quarter, right in front of the Metro stop, for dinner after an afternoon spent browsing the used books kiosques on the Left Bank, where I had goat cheese as an appetizer and duck breast, with my usual half bottle of wine - this time, a light, fruity 2000 Bourgogne. Sitting in what would be Monsieur Clement's library, with ancient maps, old mirrors, and an impressive display of old volumes surrounding us and five other tables. I don't recall what my partner ordered, but I do recall the check - this time, 65 euro. WOW.
Another one across in the Volier (the bird-house) terrace from the Opéra on Boulevard des Capucines, where we ended up for lunch because the Café de Paris is closed for renovations, for a gourmet salad and a filet mignon.
On Easter night, we wanted to try the one at Montparnasse, however all tables were reserved until 10 P.M. We had no intention to wait an hour, so we decided to check other restaurants in the area... Only to end up at ten minutes to ten back at Clement's place and being promptly sitted upstairs, in Clement's washroom, with a bathtub serving as a flower pot and and my first foie gras on the duck platter, and Simone exploiting oysters again -this time all on his own.
We obviously also returned to our first Chez Clément at Porte de Versailles, for yet another mega platter to share without having to wait during the hustle and bustle of the holidays...And crawled back to the apartment around the corner after finally being able to finish our platter clean.
Each and every time, we encountered the the same high-quality fare, great service, pleasant atmosphere that had amazed and surprised us on our first evening. Our check was never as high as the first night, which in my own opinion was already a bargain in Paris. I also noticed that they are very friendly with families - they also boast a menu for children, and offer toys and children's books, high chairs, and other necessities to families with kids - and they are also very attentive with the disabled and elderly. I was so impressed by these restaurants, I even requested a delivery of brochures to hand out to my customers whenever they book a trip to Paris. Needless to say, I have already received them and am already enclosing them along with airline and train tickets.
I have never been so pleased with a restaurant chain as I have been with the Chez Clement restaurants in Paris. I definitely, strongly urge everyone to try at least one of these spots while in Paris. You can read the full menu, view some of the lovely rooms, even make reservations or sample some of their wonderful recipes at the following URL:
www.chezclement.com
Chez Clement restaurants are located in Bastille, Opera, Saint Michel, Montparnasse, Elysées, Wagram, Porte de Maillot, Porte de Versailles, and Marbeuf. No matter what the purpose of your visit in Paris - whether it's for business, for pleasure or simply to PIG OUT the way I planned mine - you'll be certain to find a Chez Clément conveniently located nearby. Conveniently offering a great meal, in a beautiful setting, with truly impressive service. And - conveniently priced.
Honest to good!
Thanks for reading, and enjoy your next meal... (hopefully, it wont' be Lean Cuisine, which is what I'm about to face.)
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Sep - Nov
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Epinions.com ID:
elsa70
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Location: Ciao, baby.
Reviews written: 33
Trusted by: 24 members
About Me:
temporarily out of order. ZZZZZZZ.
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