**** Christian Constant, the original owner for Les Cocottes has retired. You can find an updated post on Les Cocottes here.
We usually have our trips planned in advance; by the time we return from one, we know where we're going two trips ahead. Thus, by the time we returned from Emilia-Romagna, we had our flights to Paris booked. From there it was just putting all the pieces together. In the end; we decided to enjoy France a bit more this time around....nothing overly fancy, just enjoy the vibe. And of course; it doesn't hurt that Paris is the Missus's favorite city by far.
The Missus still loves the 7th Arrondissement, so we decided to stay there when we arrived. We knew the area fairly well making things quite easy. Our flight didn't get in until nearly 8pm and by the time we arrived at the apartment it was almost 9. The place I picked out this time was much more spacious than on our last visit. It was farther from Avenue Bosquet and Avenue de la Bourdannaise, but we enjoy the location, it was quieter, closer to the metro, yet the Missus's favorite sight was just down the street.
Even though we had arrived late; the Missus just had to get out and take walk to across Pont Alexandre III and of course down Rue Saint-Dominique, then across the Seine for Her favorite view of the Eiffel Tower.
We hadn't expected to be hungry; we'd eaten on our flight and had a snack at the Galleries Lounge at Heathrow. But this walking had made us hungry. We did not want; however to have a huge meal. I mentioned Les Cocottes to the Missus. We'd enjoyed the nice, simple fair there before......it was, in fact, the first meal we ever had in Paris, for the same reasons.
Even though it was nearly 1030 pm, we were greeted with smiles and grabbed seats at the bar. We'd have to get our orders in quick before the kitchen closed. This was no problem as we already knew what we wanted.
I started with a Leffe and the Missus a nice glass of red.
We started with the simple country style pate. It was satisfying; not overly rich, but still substantial. A mild, pleasant liveriness, rustic in nature, just enough filler. A humble, but very pleasing dish; just what we needed.
The other dish we got was the Poached Egg with Bacon and Rocket Salad. This was even better than what we had here several years back.
The lardons had a perfect balsamic vinegar glaze; it was crunchy, yet toothsome at the same time. The egg was poached nicely, adding a rich, creaminess to the dish, and we do prefer simply dressed arugula as was the case here.
This was just what we needed; nothing too fussy or filling. The staff here was so friendly, smiling and asking us questions, and making sure we enjoyed our meal.
There was one more interesting difference from our meal here several years back; the place was filled with a mix of locals and regular tourists. The loads of Korean tourists weren't in sight. Perhaps they've moved on to their latest spot....which I think we might have run into later on.
Anyway, this was a nice; satisfying, low-keyed start to our time in France.
Les Cocottes de Christian Constant
135 rue Saint-Dominique
Paris, 75007
Thanks for reading!
Paris looks awesome at night!
Posted by: Soo | Sunday, 02 December 2018 at 08:08 AM
Yep...the "city of lights" Soo!
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 02 December 2018 at 11:07 AM
nice start to your adventure!
Posted by: kat | Monday, 03 December 2018 at 02:00 AM
It was Kat!
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 03 December 2018 at 07:01 AM
It's always a little more relaxing when returning to a city you've been to.
Posted by: Junichi | Monday, 03 December 2018 at 10:19 AM
It truly is Junichi!
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 03 December 2018 at 10:27 AM