After a very disappointing first visit to Brasserie des Prés and a fine but ultimately ho-hum dinner experience at Brasserie Dubillot, I was initially ready to write off the neo-brasseries from the Nouvelle Garde group. But of late, I’ve had to eat my words again and again and again. For in a city positively teeming with bad bistros, Brasserie Bellanger (and, to a certain extent, Brasserie des Prés) have become go-tos, thanks to their reasonable prices, attention to sourcing, and the relative*** availability of tables at the last minute. (More on those little asterisks in a sec.)
The Nouvelle Garde group now has four bistros in Paris (and a few scattered throughout France in Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Bordeaux, and the Paris suburb of Neuilly). My go-tos have become Bellanger (the original) and Des Prés – the former because it’s not far from my house, and the latter because it’s incredibly centrally located steps from Saint-Germain, down a picturesque cobbled shopping arcade, and the dining room is home to a piece of the 12th-century confining wall of the city of Paris.
The menus at each of these brasseries change fairly frequently, and when I visited with my father in late September, I was sorry to see that Paris’ best French onion soup hadn’t yet returned to the menu. (To be fair, I could have checked online, where the offerings are regularly updated.) The gaspacho-esque cold tomato soup (8) that had taken its place didn’t scratch his itch (that, we found at Les Philosophes), but my girlfriend did order it – and it was indeed delicious. Not only was it richly flavored, the crispy croutons, fried capers, samphire, and oven-roasted tomatoes added loads of texture, bringing this summery soup up to the level of a meal. (Something only compounded by the plentiful sourdough from Thierry Breton.)
In the absence of the French onion he craved, my dad was game to try, instead, the croque madame (13). The sandwich is revisited here as almost a millefeuille of slices of Thierry Breton’s pain de mie stacked with no fewer than four layers of ham and Comté cheese. Devoid of the traditional béchamel, it’s at once a slightly lighter and more flavorsome play on the original, and the perfectly fried egg is the ideal topping. (The salad with grainy mustard vinaigrette is also a lovely touch.)
We also ordered a few appetizers for the table – and at this point, we know exactly which ones we like. Both are staples at all of the brasseries, and as far as I can tell, never come off the menus no matter the season. The egg-mayo (3) is always perfect, with four jammy-yolked egg halves topped with a generous swirl of house-made mayonnaise and a sprinkle of fresh chives. It’s cheap, cheerful, and delicious. No notes.
I also never tire of this leek vinaigrette (7), an omnipresent bistro classic that never quite hits as hard as this one anywhere else. The leeks are char-grilled for a lovely, smoky, caramelized sweetness, and they’re paired with a generous lashing of that same grainy mustard vinaigrette, deeply toasted croutons, loads of hazelnuts, and a pile of bitter greens on top. I could easily eat two of these and call it lunch.
Instead, on this visit, I branched out into tartare territory (15), sampling what was long my favorite bistro dish, but one I’ve been neglecting of late because, frankly, I usually find it boring. This one is very nice, with tender beef seasoned, as it should be, with shallot, egg yolk, and fresh herbs.
Nevertheless, I do have a few lingering qualms, mainly down to the bistros’ popularity. While it’s always easy to get a table outside, inside, it’s usually another story. Once you manage to get your table, you’re often crammed into quite close quarters (We were given a table for two, and I had to perch on a stool to eat my tartare.) Service, too, can be wanting; I feel like I’m forever trying to flag down a server for water, cutlery, bread, or even to order. But if you go in with these expectations, it’s worth it considering the low prices for good-quality bistro staples with a modern twist.
Brasserie Bellanger – 140, Rue du Faubourg Poissonnière, 75010