Going out for “Japanese food” in any of the major cities I’ve lived in has always meant one thing: sushi. And even now that ramen is increasing in popularity, Japanese restaurants abroad tend to focus on a rather small slice of what’s actually eaten in Japan.
This is what influenced Christophe Rotondo, founder of Papillon, to open a new type of Japanese restaurant the likes of which has yet to grace Parisian palates: focused on street food and sake bar culture, this little spot on the popular rue Mouffetard offers no ramen and no sushi. With those popular options out of the way, the diner is left to discover the veritable panoply of options that Papillon has to offer.
Papillon’s menu is divided into several categories, starting with tsmumamis: snacks to share in the vein of Spanish raciones. The assortment changes but may include seaweed salad, marinated cucumber, tempura mushrooms or – the winner in my book – tsukune.
These chicken meatballs are made with free-range chicken and were perfectly seasoned. Served with the house specialty sauce – the perfect blend of sweet and savory – they were moreish and tasty. I could easily just eat a few servings of these as a meal.
There are, however, more substantial dishes on the menu that will please diners like my husband, who is profoundly opposed to sharing. Don (rice bowls) are topped with a variety of different options including the marinated salmon and nori combo up top or the Japanese veal curry shown here. I felt unfortunately that these were a touch under-seasoned (an issue I encountered across the board at Papillon), but to be fair, this might be because people have a tendency to drizzle soy sauce on pretty much everything with a Japanese consonance.
The restaurant also serves up house burgers (it’s hard to find a restaurant in Paris that doesn’t, these days!) The burgers at Papillon tend to have a Japanese twist, like a salmon burger with sesame and avocado or a chicken burger with teriyaki sauce, but there’s also a fairly classic cheeseburger (with French cheese, bien sûr) to cater to less adventurous palates.
If you somehow have room for dessert after all that, a few tantalizing options like the mango or green tea parfaits are the perfect way to finish things off. The black sesame roll cake, while beautiful, was served a bit too cold to let the nuances of what is usually my favorite sweet flavor in Japanese desserts shine through.
Whiskey fans will be happy with the selection of Nikka – perhaps not at lunchtime, but when the restaurant reopens for its dinner service at 7pm.
I meanwhile opted for (unsweetened) iced tea (an anomaly in Paris).
Overall, this restaurant is a great lunch option for those tired of the same old sushi and burger spots that so many Parisians rely on for a quick and easy bite. Not every dish on the menu is a home run, but the ones that are are certainly worth coming back for.
Papillon – 129 Rue Mouffetard, 75005