Our Favorite Parisian Veg Restaurant
Tomorrow we will be heading home from an action-packed week in Paris and Bruges. Foodwise, it’s hard to go wrong in Paris. Even a common cafe will offer an incredible salade vegetarienne. But we did focus on a few entirely vegetarian places, and our favorite is Le Potager du Marais. It’s unique in that you will get a more French experience than in other veg places, with terms like tarte, gratin, and pate on the menu—more often vegan than merely vegetarian. And everything is organic, too.
Tonight I had a curried celery puree for a first course and Wendy had a warm goat cheese tart (I’m the vegan, she’s the vegetarian). For entrees, we shared seitan with paprika “cream” and a vegetable gratin. And for dessert, poached pear with bittersweet chocolate sauce and toasted almonds, as well as an apple tarte tatin, featuring deeply caramelized apples in a soft tart crust. I think this may be the only place in town to get traditional French pastries in vegan versions!
If you happen to be in Paris, visit Le Potager du Marais at 22, Rue Rambuteau, 75003 (very near the Centre Georges Pompidou, my favorite Parisian museum). Call 01 42 74 24 66 if you plan to be there after 7:30 pm.
jess said,
March 24, 2006 @ 1:27 am
Wow, vegan..even veg.. in Paris..I’m hanging on to every word here. Thank you for the fabulous tips.
When I was in Paris I was a vegetarian living on bread and jam, not having discovered the international love of veg. restaurants or vegdining.com/happycow.net.
Nava said,
March 27, 2006 @ 9:26 am
I wonder how long ago you were in Paris. Paris has become, like all major cities, quite international. Pizza and pasta are very popular, as are Asian restaurants, even “Tex-Mex.” Right across from our little hotel there was a place that serves only fajitas! Any of these kinds of global eateries has several choices that are vegetarian, if not vegan. Even in Bruges, a small medieval city, we ate at a beautiful Chinese restaurant that had plenty of veg choices. On our walk back to the train station, we spotted a vegetarian restaurant, which I’m really sorry to have missed! It wasn’t on Happy Cow or VegDining, so it must be new.
Kelly said,
March 29, 2006 @ 4:41 pm
I agree “Le potager du Marais” is a good “average” restaurant, but when I was there, it wasn’t vegetarian, but just organic. I remember my friend ate a “Brandade de Morue”, which is a kind of gratin of dried salted fish (typically ingredient of Portuguese food).
I’d been living in Paris for 4 years and I have to confess that I don’t like the “Assiettes” at all. They’re always a mess, lots of things without any sense, and especially they are a very bad look. I don’t believe vegetarian cook has to be disgraceful to be serious, but in Paris, vegetarian is sometimes synonymous of awful presentation, with lots of crème fraîche over the vegetables. You can get better proposal in other European cities like London or Munich.
The only vegetarian restaurant in Paris I can phrase is “La Victoire supreme du Coeur” (41 rue des Bourdonnais 75001), because they really know how to feed a vegetarian. They offer also that famous platters, but the only “minus” for me could be the presence of some “fake meat courses” on the menu, but I know non-vegetarians love that. Another good option is “Grand appétit” (9 rue de la Cérisaie, 75004), at least is a healthy macrobiotic option.
It’s important to know that not all “vegetable dishes” in Paris are vegetarians or vegans. You’ve to be aware of that because they can put bacon, eggs, meat stock or cheese almost everywhere. Sorry!
Anyway, I love your site and blog. I find them very useful and well done. Enjoy your trip!
Donna Lenhart said,
April 4, 2006 @ 8:39 am
Hello -
Thanks for the trip down memory lane! Last March I went to Paris with three friends and stayed in a flat in the Marais. I was quite ill with a bad cold and couldn’t really do much eating - lost about 10 pounds! But, as you and others say, the outdoor produce stands were incredible. Absolutely gorgeous fruits and vegetables.
I have many wonderful memories of that beautiful city and will return probably in 2009, when France is scheduled to join the EU in become ‘smoke-free’. That was the one downside for me - cigarette smoking everywhere! Here in NY (I’m in the Hudson Valley, too), we are lucky to have it banned in most public places.
Love your newsletter and recipes and cookbooks!
terrence turner said,
June 22, 2006 @ 12:43 pm
omg, i ate at this resto all the time when i lived in paris from 01’-03’. every good word about this place is true. i saved my standard of living while there. everything was delicious. i would know cause i went there so much i had everything vegan on the menu. they used to do daily specials. it is the most centrally located veggie place along the river. very lovely, very darlin’. the only draw-back is that they open at really weird hours for lunch, close down, and open up again for dinner. all that openning and closing made me dizzy! anywho if you can get over eating when they want you too, you are in for a damn guuud treat!
ps. and the people that work there are kool too, they just know………..
cooks de la rue charonne………………………