A wind of change is blowing through the restaurants of Paris and its environs. But it is not the same wind in Paris than in its suburbs. According to a study carried out by the City of Paris, the Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie Paris Ile-de-France and the Atelier Parisien d'Urbanisme, which looked at the period 2020-2023, the number of restaurants in the capital is up just slightly (+ 1.2% over three years) and only in the fast-food sector. In this difficult environment, up-and-coming restaurants are looking to make their mark with unique menus. Hence the emergence of restaurants that focus on a specific destination (Greece, Mexico, Great Britain...), a particular diet (vegan or vegetarian) or a singular concept (such as combining brasserie and gambling).
Previously saturated with fast-food outlets, the suburbs are enjoying the development of a more traditional, high-quality offering. Capable chefs have already made their mark, such as Charles Boixel (Café César, in Clichy) and Emile Cotte (Baca'v, in Boulogne-Billancourt). Thierry Marx has set up his popular restaurant, Le Bouillon du Coq, in Saint-Ouen, after an almost five-year wait. While a Parisian institution of African cuisine (Chez Sabine) has moved to Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, and a new team is re-energizing La Mare aux Canards in Meudon. Here's our selection of good restaurants in the Paris region that offer lunchtime set menus at around €20.
The beautiful Baca'v inn sits on the gray Avenue du Général-Leclerc, but chef and owner Emile Cotte decided to create the entrance on the adjacent Rue de la Ferme. That says it all. Cotte, who grew up in southcentral France's Limousin region, in the large market town of Saint-Junien, has not forgotten his rural origins (his grandparents were farmers and innkeepers). A lover of rough sports (he played rugby for a long time) and smooth sauces, the big guy honed his love of the craft in fine restaurants such as Le Pré Catelan and Taillevent, before setting up his own establishment in 2021: his first Baca'v, in Paris's 5th arrondissement, bringing a rare generosity to bourgeois cuisine. In 2023, he got back at it again with this luxury bistro in Boulogne-Billancourt. Lunchtime specials start at €29 (starter and main course), but in a much larger location, housing a large main dining room, another upstairs, and a private alcove with a long chestnut wood table. There is enough space to treat 100 guests.
With attentive service, meticulously prepared classic dishes and a fine wine list (entire walls are given over to displaying bottles), you immediately feel at ease and well taken care of in this urban tavern. The menu includes a competition-worthy pâté en croûte, stuffed with pistachios, duck and green pepper; an impeccable hare à la royale, topped with a silky wine sauce; a formidable game parmentier (wild boar, hare). Even the pear crumble, made with roasted hazelnuts, leaves you speechless. And along with it, products of exceptional quality, like the poultry raised by his cousin Didier Cotte in the village of Blond, north of Limoges. Limousin has never tasted so close to the capital.
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