Paris would be nothing without its many cafés, which you’ll find on nearly every street corner in the capital. Unfortunately, their quality often pales in comparison to their ubiquity and efficiency. Many cafés in Paris unabashedly serve reheated industrial dishes purchased frozen from wholesalers, and I’ve eaten more than my fair share of microwaved beef bourguignon and croque monsieur.
Le Bûcheron is different, endeavoring for a more quality-driven approach. In a space dominated by a traditional wooden bar and mosaic tiled floor, Le Bûcheron doesn’t just improve upon the classic café with smiling, suspender-wearing, flat-capped servers. It resurfaces a few well-trod favorites that have recently faded from prominence, like copious meal salads and the traditional discounted bar menu (including a 1-euro coffee at the comptoir). And yet it also relies on top-notch products, like organic eggs and a full selection of organic and biodynamic wines available all day long. In so doing, it purports to do what I’ve long hoped someone would: take a bastion of Frenchness and tweak it just enough to become a destination for sourcing-focused hipsters without the price hikes, unparsable menus, or lines out the door that could have locals of past generations writing it off.
It’s successful to a degree. Located in the heart of the Marais just steps from Saint-Paul métro, Le Bûcheron pleasantly ticks a few tropey boxes, including boasting a lovely sidewalk area where you can sit in the sun and dine or sip a drink at all hours. The menu offers a mix of omnipresent classics like French onion soup (12), escargots (16 for 6), and steak-frites (20) and once-ubiquitous omelettes (12) and homemade crêpes (6).
I started things off with leek-vinaigrette (9), one of a handful of dishes you’ll find at any café or bistro and, generally speaking, a favorite of mine. Typically, leek-vinaigrette is fairly simple, though I have encountered a few maximalist versions I’ve loved, especially recently, at Le Cornichon, for example, or at Brasserie Bellanger. At le Bûcheron, however, the dish departed a bit too much from tradition for my liking, especially considering that it wasn’t done particularly well.
Rather than being served whole, the leeks here were pre-sliced and arranged in a ring mold. I’m not opposed to this in theory, especially seeing as leeks are rather fibrous and can be difficult to slice well, an issue that other spots have managed by either cooking them until they are almost too soft, like Brasserie Lipp, or giving you a razor-sharp knife with which to cut them, like Le Cornichon. At the latter, the benefit of undercooking them slightly was a bigger burst of flavor, but at le Bûcheron, this wasn’t the case. Hidden beneath a generous but fairly sweet vinaigrette, a smattering of herbs, and too-toasted hazelnuts, the leeks paled in comparison to the bits of pickled onion, which proved my favorite part of the dish.
In a country where brunch is typically a massive prix-fixe or an unlimited buffet, it’s nice to know that at le Bûcheron, the all-day brunch menu features an à la carte offering of choices like a ham-and-cheese croissant (10), a granola bowl (12), or avocado toast (15) without all of the accoutrements you might not want or need. My dining companion opted for a salmon benedict (17), with avocado purée, poached eggs, house-made salmon gravlax, and hollandaise sauce all piled on what was ostensibly an English muffin but ate a bit more like muffin-shaped bread. It was generous and tasty, and while I’m not convinced salmon needs both avocado and hollandaise, the dish on the whole seemed kind of like the perfect thing to have after a night out.
Since it didn’t come with a side, she also ordered some pommes grenailles (5), which were perfectly cooked and wonderfully garlicky, if wanting a bit for salt.
I, meanwhile, jumped at the chance to order a café favorite of mine that I haven’t yet seen receive the same quality-driven attention as many others: a meal salad. You’ll find massive salads at most corner cafés, from niçoise to caesar to norvégienne, which typically pairs salmon, shrimp, avocado, and sometimes grapefruit. My favorite is the chèvre chaud (18), here made with a bed of greens, perfectly cooked green beans, and halved cherry tomatoes. Three slices of just-ok bread were topped with generously with rounds of deliciou goat cheese and loads of pomegranate seeds. The pickled onions made a pleasant repeat appearance, but I wasn’t super convinced by the slightly sweet vinaigrette, and the portion, while sufficient, was far from as generous as the pricetag seemed to warrant.
Ultimately, I like le Bûcheron without loving it. The location is great, and the all-day service is friendly and convenient. But ultimately, it’s more successful in creating a vibe than a culinary destination. I’d lean into it more for the gorgeous sidewalk terrace positively soaked in afternoon sunshine or for the discounted counter service of 1-euro espresso, baguette sandwiches, and a handful of quick-and-easy dishes like croque or organic omelet, all accompanied by a 2-euro baby pour (read: 10cl) of house wine.
Le Bûcheron – 14, rue de Rivoli, 75004