Ultimate Paris Dining Guide by Restaurant Critic Terry Durack, Part 1 - The Brasseries

In this 6 part series we will follow restaurant critic Terry Durack, as he has had more than his fair share of feasts de resistance in the City of Lights, a place he has come to know intimately in years of dining out. Here, he presents "The Brasseries" is part 1 of his definitive guide to dining like a parisian.


I first met Paris when I was 21, and we didn’t get on. I was, perhaps, too young and in too much of a hurry. I rushed from place to place. I went to the famous Brasserie Lipp and was sent to the upstairs room, otherwise known as Siberia. I took a terrace table at Les Deux Magots and sat there in shock at the cost of a gin and tonic.

I stayed in a hotel room so small I had to step out of the bathroom in order to towel myself dry. Then I was apprehended by security at the Printemps store who accused me of stealing a pair of trousers I had just purchased, and a taxi driver threw me out of his car for wanting to take a short trip to Gare de Lyon instead of a long trip to the airport. I was not impressed, and neither was Paris.

Since then, we have forgiven each other and moved on. I changed, Paris changed, the world changed. I’m not entirely sure I love Paris even now, but I can’t live without her. Is that the same thing?

One of the reasons I moved to London was to be closer to Paris – something that has since been made an absolute pleasure with the opening of the reborn St. Pancras station and the newer, faster Eurostar. J’adore l’Eurostar.

Now I go back four or five times a year. I could spend an entire week doing nothing but admiring the bridges that arch across the Seine, a bag of plump cherries in hand. I get a thrill out of taking the metro to dinner, emerging from the utilitarian tiled tube into some frothy baroque fantasy of velvet and champagne. I revel in the purchase of a small tart, the saltiness of the butter, the tickle of Badoit. I can even cope with the poor coffee; a small price to pay for the privilege of sitting at a café on one of the grand boulevards.

Above all, I like eating in Paris: the simple exchanges between waiter and diner; the negotiations over which wine, which vintage; the stout matrons with little dogs curled at their feet; the time and respect paid to the art – for it is very much an art – of dining.

Everyone has their own Paris, whether it is forged by a fantasy they have yet to visit, a reality constructed from memory, or a long-term relationship with all its ups and downs. This is mine.



THE BRASSERIES


Bistros may be more “neighbourhood”, but brasseries, with their art nouveau interiors, are instant party time. brasseries began life in the 19th century as beer taverns for the refugees who had fled Alsace after it was ceded to Germany. While several famous ones have been taken over by the Flo restaurant group, they have retained their boisterous appeal.

Terminus Nord One of the best things about arriving in Paris by Eurostar is that you can trundle your case into this hustly, bustly brasserie directly across the road from the Gare du Nord for a platter of wonderful oysters, or steak tartare and frites with a bottle of Burgundy. You’re back. Terminus Nord, 23 rue de Dunkerque, 10th; +33 1 42 85 05 15; terminusnord.com; dinner for two $140.

Bofinger This Bastille landmark is the brasserie dreams are made of. Bofinger (pronounced boh-fan-jay) has been serving onion soup, huge shellfish platters, and steaming bowls of choucroute and saucissons under its beautiful glass dome since 1864. Long may it last. 5-7 rue de la Bastille, 4th; +33 1 42 72 87 82; bofingerparis.com; dinner for two $160.

Balzar When word leaked that the Flo group was taking over what was Jean-Paul Sartre’s favourite brasserie, the regulars formed a “committee of defence” to force the new owners to preserve its character. It worked. Nothing has changed – not the feel, nor the battle-weary waiters, and certainly not the pot au feu, cassoulet, pig snout salad and baba au rhum. 49 rue des Ecoles, 5th; +33 1 43 54 13 67; brasseriebalzar.com; dinner for two $150.