The best romantic restaurants in the Marais

Mancora Cebicheria (left) – Ogata (right)

Dishes from Anne's

Opened in 2018, Anne, the restaurant of the hotel Le Pavillon de la Reine won its first Michelin star just a few months later. And during a tête-à-tête dinner, it's easy to understand why.

The restaurant, with its hushed library decor, has eight tables and about twenty covers. Simple and warm, the welcome – as well as the service – is generous. Which, as we know, is the hallmark of true luxury.

As for the meal, it is the work of chef Mathieu Pacaud. As a starter: a tartare of scallops, Granny Smith apples and celery, liquorice emulsion and golden caviar or this foie gras accompanying a preserved artichoke in barigoule with a contemporary soufflé.

Then comes, for one, a sole amandine, soy-glazed daikon, clam and lemon cream (80 euros) and, for the other, a saddle of lamb, marjoram, potato mille-feuille and scamorza (65 euros). And for dessert: a wonderful frosted orange, Breton shortbread and orange blossom diplomat cream (18 euros). Rarely original!

All this, washed down with a beautiful succession of perfectly matched wines: Bollinger brut rosé champagne, with its beautiful length on the palate and its fine bubbles with the scent of wild red fruits, the exquisite red Crozes Hermitage from Yann Chave, soft Vouvray Clos du Bourg, a Chateau Estanilles inverso 2015 white wine with fresh notes, vintages with personality. 

▼ Anne at the Queen's Pavilion
28 place des Vosges, 75003 Paris
Wednesday to Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to 14 p.m. and from 19 p.m. to 22 p.m.
Sunday of 12h30 to 14h
Tel: +01 40 29 19 19 XNUMX 

Food Hall

For Valentine's Day, why not an Italian tête-à-tête? In this case, rendez-vous in one of the best Italian addresses in the Marais, which has many. L'Alimentari ("Food" in Italian) with its capricious opening hours and its unexpected location, in the Jewish quarter of Paris, rue des Ecouffes, surprises us with its generous and earthy dishes that invigorate.

In the pure spirit of the trattoria, with white tablecloths, "La Nourriture" immediately transports us to the other side of the Alps with a 100% Italian menu: breaded buffalo mozzarella, veal chop with herbs and white wine, pasta vongole or carbonara, gnocchi with pesto, Sardinian ravioli with potato, mint and pecorino, penne with bottarga, squid fricassee with artichokes, tiramisu. All executed according to the rules of the art.

The owner, Leonardo Pitzus, a Sardinian who, according to his own words, has always been a frog in the kitchens of the women of the "famiglia" (family), presents himself as an autodidact who loves to share his country's heritage in the shape of a boot. The restaurant includes a small grocery store: Setaro brand dried pasta, olive oil or tip-top tomato sauces. Grazie mille per tutto!

▼ The food
6 rue des Ecouffes, 75004 Paris
Tuesday to Friday from 19:30 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday from 12:30 p.m. to 15 p.m. and from 19:30 p.m.
Reservations recommended
Tel: +01 42 77 24 59

“The Derrière restaurant offers you a Sunday brunch for €39, with a buffet menu, eggs, hot drinks and fresh juice” – Derrière

If the name of this restaurant, in a bourgeois apartment on the ground floor of a private mansion, seems licentious – in reality, the “behind” refers to the location of the restaurant which does not overlook the street but the courtyard – its menu is bistronomic.

Each room, the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom, the smoking room, the bathroom or even the courtyard, houses one or more tables on which gourmet and traditional French cuisine is served, but never "first degree": supreme of poultry with French-style peas and its espuma; entrecôte with Béarnaise fries; moules marinière, fries; small stuffed vegetables from Provence with the flavors of Espelette pepper.

The dessert menu is also tempting: lemon meringue pie, lemon sorbet or chocolate pear sorbet pie; pudding, sticky toffee whipped cream, toffee, banana ice cream or even floating island.

You feel a little out of time in this trendy, chic and unusual address where the world of galleries, cinema or fashion feels at home. The decor is as neat as the dishes. Reason why a romantic meal is easily envisaged here. The success of Derrière never wanes, thanks to the know-how of the brothers Mourad and Hakim Mazouz, creators of the restaurant 404, the bar Andy Wahloo and three establishments in London.

Starter + main course or main course + dessert for €25 or starter + main course + dessert for €30.

▼ Behind
69 Rue des Gravilliers, 75003 Paris
Wednesday to Sunday from 12:30 p.m. and from 19:30 p.m. to 23 p.m.
Reservations recommended
Tel: +01 44 61 91 95

ORIBEN nori – Japanese omelette Tamagoyaki at Ogata

Japanese refinement is here! The place is exceptional, the moment is exceptional, and the menu is no less so. The famous Japanese designer and restaurateur Shinichiro Ogata has dedicated a temple that bears his name to his native country, that of the Rising Sun, where sophisticated cuisine is not an empty word.

On four levels, the visitor discovers a rich range of aesthetic experiences around the culinary arts, crafts, tea and beauty. On the first floor of this 18th century mansion, bathed in beautiful chiaroscuro light, is the restaurant which practices a contemporary reinterpretation of family cooking: a graphic and frugal bento, a cabbage roll with dashi and sansho sauce, a roast duck on a bed of watercress, Japanese pumpkin, purple carrot, a royal sea bream with butter sauce and crunchy soy. The desserts are to be nibbled: poached apple with its kōcha tea ice cream, the dorayaki (sponge cake) filled with chestnut, Benedictine and chestnut honey.

Those who have read In Praise of Shadows, a classic of Japanese literature by Tanizaki, will find here all the themes of the aesthetics of darkness, minimalism and detail, which is at the heart of the Japanese art of living (and those who have not read it would do well to get it!). In short, these Ogata are good, delicate and always accompanied by rare or surprising teas for a Japanese experience that has a price. Lunch menu €65, dinner €120 or €170. Other initiatory journeys can be experienced at the bar or at the sabō, a tea room

▼ Ogata
16 Rue Debelleyme, 75003 Paris
Wednesday to Sunday from 11 p.m. to 23 p.m.
Reservations recommended
Tel: +01 80 97 76 80

“For Valentine’s Day, Máncora will also offer you oysters with ponzu” – Máncora Cebicheria – © cookhour

In South America, Peru is considered the country with the best food. Mancora Cebicheria, rue Dupetit-Thouars, confirms that this reputation is not usurped. Here we enjoy “ceviche” (from €14; one of them is vegetarian) prepared fresh which seems to arrive directly from the port of Lima. The service is very friendly and the bill reasonable. We also love the balsamic octopus at €18.

▼ Mancora Cebicheria
14, rue Dupetit-Thouars, 75003 Paris
Sunday to Thursday from 12 p.m. to 14:30 p.m. and from 19 p.m. to 22:30 p.m.
Friday to Saturday from 12 p.m. to 14:30 p.m. and from 19 p.m. to 23:30 p.m.
Tel: 01 43 48 47 65

In the cobbled courtyard of the Marais dance center and the Café de la Gare (rue du Temple, 4th), Grand Cœur has already proven itself. But we happily return there for a business lunch or a romantic tête-à-tête in this listed courtyard.

If in the room there is a warm and designer atmosphere: exposed stone walls, marble tables, large mirrors, we also appreciate, on the terrace, the cuisine of chef Juan Fernando Barajas.

The menu, halfway between a bistro and a gourmet restaurant, with French and Latin inspirations, created with Mauro Calagreco, the chef of the three-star Mirazur in Menton, has many fans.

The demanding and vegan menu (abundance of vegetables) is based on seasonal products with a zero waste ambition. Pea soup 14€, sea bream ceviche 22€, small stuffed with Mediterranean vegetables 25€, half yellow cockerel 27€, line-caught fish 33€, strawberry and rhubarb tart 15€…
The address is appreciated but also for its calm and its coexistence with the world of artists, dancers or actors, who come and go to their rehearsal sessions. Only good vibes!

▼ Big heart
41 rue du Temple, 75004 Paris
Monday to Sunday from 12 p.m. to 14:30 p.m. and from 19:15 p.m. to 22:30 p.m.
Tel: +01 58 28 18 90

Text: Katia Barillot

12.02.22
Update: 10.02.23