Paris in winter is magic, yet cold! You absolutely need to nestle in a warm, welcoming, scented place where you can snuggle with your honey or relax with your friends. All the other bistros offer the usual Parisian fare of "steak frites" or "salmon a la unilaterale" (more about those in future posts) but today you need a good vegetarian meal in a charming place. Maybe your travel companion(s) need a good carnivore meal in a charming place? Think no further and go to "Le Marais" to eat at 404, the best Moroccan restaurant in Paris.
You will be welcomed by attentive and smiling waiters, they will take your coat and direct you to the very belly of this enveloping place. The floors are carpeted, but the feeling is that your whole world is carpeted and you feel pure comfort. You will get shoe-horned into your table, so if you need a lot of space with your meal don't come here! I generally do need space, but the style of this place was so perfect that I feel I did not mind the intimate closeness with the other (mostly Parisian) diners. If you need to be in control when you dine, don't come here. You will be served slowly and be in a very small space for a long time. On the other hand, if you enjoy to approach your meal and wine with abandon, you will be very happy. Sip your wine or mint tea (my best ever) and look around, beautiful people and gorgeous food and earth-ware will come by, you can catch up with the latest fashion and chat with your dining companions, or just get lost in the scent and color of the place.
Order red Moroccan wines: they are way cheaper than the French ones, and they are fully satisfactory. We are talking about top of the line French winery in Morocco here! I had a perfect appetizer of fried sardines, but fried veggies were also available. The sauce, tomato-y and simple, was pure bliss. The main course for me was a vegetable pastry-encased dome, a similar concoction but filled with seafood or meat was also available. The pastry was flaky and tasty, the filling delicious. When I asked if the pastry was butter-based, I was very kindly told that it was not, and that it was a vegan option. My companion had a dish of lamb and vegetables which was, in his opinion, perfect (and he is a man of taste!). The bill was quite steep in the end, but well worth the food, atmosphere, and decor. This is a perfect spot for a cold, elegant winter night. You will go back to your hotel or apartment quite happy, the mint tea flavor lingering, and you will long to be back there!
Restaurant Le 404
69 rue des Gravilliers
Paris 75003, France
open:Monday through Sunday
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