The Guide: Dining

French Fare, Contemporary, Seafood, Dinner with a View, Brasseries

A New Table on the Left

The Left Bank has recently welcomed the new branch of Le Bel Ordinaire, the popular bistro-wine bar that first gained success on the Right Bank. The low-key establishment has not strayed from its successful recipe, offering up a menu that changes with the seasons, ensuring freshness in every dish. The contemporary French cuisine here is simple and delicious, with the chef staying away from saturating each dish with too many ingredients. While the menu here changes very often it could include hard-boiled eggs drizzled with chive-flavoured mayonnaise or spaghetti tossed in a creamy herb sauce with Kalamata olives. The only downside to this otherwise great table is that the menu only offers 3 starters, 3 main dishes and 3 desserts to choose from, which at times could prove diffiult for diners with certain dietary restrictions. - S.I.

Le Bel Ordinaire

5 rue de Bazeilles (5th), 09 81 11 72 78

Stylish Seafood Brasserie

Jacques Maxim, the most distinguished seafood chef in France, has designed a superb new menu for restauranteur Alain Ducasse’s stylish seafood-oriented brasserie, Rech. It’s executed by the talented young Japanese chef Hiroyuki Kanazawa, whose dishes are served in a stylish dining room with precise but very warm service. Start with oysters, or maybe the macaronade (macaroni) garnished with mussels from the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel or fish tartare with an oyster coulis, and then try the John Dory with baby artichokes, cod with potato purée seasoned with sea urchins, or lobster with foie gras pasta. They also serve a sole sautéed in butter and a Niçoise-style John Dory for two. Rech is famous for its perfectly aged Norman camembert for those who’d like to follow with cheese, or finish up with a giant chocolate, coffee or vanilla éclair or the iced Black Forest cake. Excellent wine list, too.