6 Paris Restaurants That Do Vegetables Right—But Aren't Vegetarian
On the publication of his latest book, Hungry for France: Adventures for the Cook & Food Lover, we asked longtime Paris resident (and frequent Bon Appétit contributor) Alexander Lobrano for his take on vegetable-centric cuisine in Paris.
Parisians aren’t going to break up with steak frites anytime soon, but a growing number of French chefs at non-vegetarian restaurants are finally giving vegetables some serious love on menus over town. This is a game changer, too, since by ditching the foie gras for avocados and asparagus, this new Gallic gastronomy not only tastes terrific but is good for you, too.
Damien Lafargue1/6Restaurant David Toutain
Chef David Toutain, 32, has worked in a full house of all-star kitchens, including Bernard Loiseau, Marc Veyrat, Arpege (Alain Passard) and Mugaritz (Andoni Luis Aduriz) and the now-closed Corton in New York City. What inspires him, though, is the way the vegetables tasted on his grandparent’s farm in his native Normandy. “There’s nothing more perfect than freshly picked peas or an apple just off the tree,” says Toutain, who gives vegetables equal billing with meat and fish on the tasting menus he serves at David Toutain (29 rue Surcouf, 7th Arrondissement; +33-1-45-50-11-10), his hit of a new restaurant on the Left Bank. The menu changes regularly, but a stunningly good dish like roasted salsify with white chocolate cream (pictured) shows off Toutain’s creativity and adoration of vegetables. Vegetarian tasting menus by advance request. ****
Matt Damien2/6Maceo
This gorgeous dining room with ox-blood red walls and wedding-cake moldings in the heart of Paris (*15 rue des Petits-Champs, 1st Arrondissement, +33-1-42-97-53-85, *maceorestaurant.com) has a cool-operator vibe, and has always put carnivores and herbivores on an equal footing with side-by-side menus. The spiced tofu steak with oyster mushrooms and lemongrass sauce is a house classic, and spring specials include watercress soup and risotto with morel mushrooms. English owner Mark Williamson also runs one of the best wine lists in Paris.
Damien Lafargue3/6Restaurant Le Meurice–Alain Ducasse
Alain Ducasse has been a vegetable-loving locavore ever since he won three stars at Monaco’s Louis XIV restaurant in 1990. All of his restaurants treat the vegetal world with major respect, and at his sumptuous restaurant at the Hotel Le Meurice (228 rue de Rivoli, 1st Arrondissement, +33-1-44-58-10-55), chef Christophe Saintagne serves a stunning dish of seasonal baby fruit and vegetables cooked in sea salt (pictured), along with other seasonal dishes. Full vegetarian menu by request.
Carin Olsson4/6Semilla
Miami-born Juan Sanchez and New Zealander Drew Harre have redefined what good food means in Saint-Germain-des-Près—creative, cosmopolitan, healthy—and their latest address is Semilla (54 Rue de Seine, 6th Arrondissement, +33-1-43-54-34-50). The menu at this loft-like space with an open kitchen is market-driven, but the regulars love house classics like grilled shiitake mushrooms with sherry vinegar and barbajuan, a Monégasque ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta. Fabulous desserts, too, including celery-and-pear confit with parsnip ice cream.
Damien Lafargue5/6Septime
“I’ve always loved vegetables,” says chef Bertrand Grébaut, who worked at Arpège, the three-star restaurant that’s the Mount Olympus of vegetarian dining in Paris (both for its cooking and for its prices), before he opened the impossibly popular Septime (80 rue de Charonne, 11th Arrondissement, +33-1-43-67-38-29) three years ago. Grébaut’s menu includes dishes like white asparagus with an oyster sauce gribiche and corn gnocchi in fresh corn cream sauce with shavings of two-year-old Gouda, and the kitchen will do an all-vegetarian menu by request. **
Damien Lafargue6/6Verjus
Since he opened Verjus next to the Palais Royal (52 rue de Richelieu, 1st Arrondissement, +33-1-42-97-54-40) two years ago, New Orleans–born, Boston-bred chef Braden Perkins has been tearing down the tired French stereotype that Americans eat nothing but hot dogs and burgers with his brilliant, vibrant, contemporary American cooking. Perkins, who cooked with Tom Douglas in Seattle before moving to Paris to open the hit Hidden Kitchen Supper Club private dinner series (now closed), includes on his tasting menus dishes like poached egg with grilled mushrooms (shiitakes, button mushrooms, and tiny wild Japanese ones) on a bed of wild rice or potato gnocchi with cremini mushrooms and Parmesan, and he'll do all-vegetarian on request.**
