Not wowed by this Parisian favourite

LOCATION

Septime is located on rue Charonne, literally a minutes walk from its sister restaurant Clamato, which I went to a few years back. 

THE SPACE

I really loved the relaxed look of this place -had a bit of a modern rustic vibe about it with wooden tables and fresh wild flowers, yet it didn’t feel out of place in the city. More than anything it just felt like a cosy welcoming space that I could have happily spent a few hours in.

FOOD & SERVICE

I’ve been excited to pay a visit to 1 Michelin star Septime ever since reading glowing reviews of it years ago. So, I made a lunch reservation a few weeks before my friend and I made our trip to Paris.

We had a simple leaf salad to start that was on the house.

I perhaps foolishly opted for the fresh Bonito fish with green herbs similar I think to sage and savory; a beautiful dish to look at but not for me. The fish was lost in here as the herbs fully dominated the plate; sadly it was all too overpowering for my weedy tongue.

My friend ordered the fillet of pollock with a minty butter sauce which I had a bite of – luckily the herbs weren’t too pronounced here and I found this to be a much more enjoyable dish.

Then a cheese plate from La Maison Quatrehomme.

and finally a rhubarb mousse with crumble and honey ice cream  which was probably my favourite thing in the entire meal.

The truth is nothing wowed me. Everything was cooked to perfection but nothing thrilled me and the strong herbs in the bonito dish was just too much for me. Perhaps I went in with too much expectation, who knows. I would like to go back though and give it a second shot because I really liked the look and general ambience.

VIBE

We went on a Thur lunchtime and it was full, sounded like a mix of locals and tourists – super relax, cool vibe.

MOOLAH

It was 32 euro for x3 courses, factor in some vino and you are looking to drop c.42 euro. Our bill came in higher (62 euro) because we had a glass of champagne, wine and some bottled water.

RATING

7.5 / 10

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Cuisine: French

Avg cost Inc. an alcoholic bevvy: £36-45 [£££] 

Address: 80 Rue de Charonne, 75011 Paris

Reservations: Yes 

Hours: Lunch: Tue-Thur 12:15 – 14:00  | Dinner: Mon-Fri 19:30 – 22:00  

Phone: +33 (0) 1 43 67 38 29

www.septime-charonne.fr

LAST VISITED JUN 2016

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