A Paris Hidden Treasure

Where to eat in Paris? I’m constantly asked this question and more and more often I recommend small owner-run restaurants. Many of my favourites are within walking distance of our apartment, which is practical. We can drink an aperitif, have a bottle of wine with dinner, then walk off the calories on the way home!

My Parisian friends always want to know how I find these restaurants astonished that they’ve never heard of them. Well sometimes I just stumble across them, like La Cerisaie. I was shopping at the Edgar Quinet market when I noticed a newly painted storefront with a chalkboard menu hanging outside. I stopped, read it, and immediately went in and reserved a table. That was five years ago and the restaurant is still “worth the detour” as the Michelin guide says.

La Cerisaie, French for the cherry orchard, lies in the shadow of La Tour Montparnasse, and is not a place for a romantic tête à tête, it is tiny, a mere 20 seats with barely enough space to squeeze between the tables. However, there is a plus to sitting cheek by jowl with your fellow diner, on my first visit I met a nuclear physicist who not only shared his wine with but the addresses of his preferred restaurants.

Sparingly decorated with several drawings of cherries this restaurant is first and foremost about the food and it succeeds brilliantly. Owned and run by a charming couple, Cyril and Maryse Lalanne, he’s in the kitchen and Maryse does everything else aided by the attractive blonde Cécile. And if your French a little rusty don’t worry, both Maryse and Cécile speak English

While there is always a terrine of duck foie gras, and goose breast, a change from the more familiar duck breast, the menu follows the seasons. Now as the days shorten and the temperature drops there is a soup topped with foie gras and more game; a pie made with grouse, wild duck paired with quince, wood pigeon atop ravioli filled with foie gras, and a stew of wild boar under a blanket of pureed potatoes. There is always a fish but I prefer the la cassolette de chipirons et riz à l’encre, tiny cuttlefish served with ink flavoured rice.

Maryse is not only a charming hostess, she is also a sommelier and the wine list reflects her expertise. There is a smattering of whites but the emphasis in on red wines, which match Cyril’s cooking. Instead of being listed by region, the reds are characterized by descriptive adjectives; so they are either soyeux et gourmand, silky and gourmand, charnu et intense, full bodied and strong, or leger et fruité, light and fruity.

If you have any wine left at the end of your meal you could finish it with the Berthmale, a tasty cow’s milk cheese served with quince jelly but save room for dessert. Cyril makes seasonal sorbets and ice creams, and the croustade aux pommes comes with vanilla ice cream, while the sautéed seasonal fruit is topped with nougat glacé. Although I am not a big fan of chocolate, the chocolate tart with coffee ice cream is not to be missed and the rum baba bathed in armagnac, accompanied by vanilla whipped cream is hard to resist. Coffee arrives with caramelized cannelés, a specialty of Bordeaux, and if you’re in the second sitting, you’ll be able to linger over a glass of Armagnac.

Don’t go without a reservation, you might be lucky at lunch, but in the evenings you’ll be turned away albeit with a friendly smile. At La Cerisaie you’ll discover a delicious, honest French cuisine, served with genuine warmth.

La Cerisaie, 70, boulevard Edgar Quinet
+33 1 43 20 98 98