Au Cochon de Lait – Paris (75019) en

Quick story. The last bistrot from the Halles de la Villette era. End of story. Good spot in the middle of many shitty ones.

Old-fashioned bistrot, but with a good amount of room, since there’s a patio lunches are full.

I called to reserve and asked for a quiet table, not bad, we had two neighbours beside us, but to our left there was a table of men of which one out of two words was about the female gender, but hey,that wasn’t the restaurant’s fault, and anyways if we go to a bistrot “à la Villette” it’s to hear some gossip.

Sympa, authentique, capable de parler à un public très divers. L’avenue Corentin Cariou c’est encore une des rares zones à restos absolument touchée par la bobo mania (on se comprend je fais rapide).

Nice, authentic, able to speak to a very diverse clientele. The Corentin Cariou avenue is still one the rare restaurant areas where that’s avoided the so-called trendy frenzy.

The dried sausage offered by the house.

Appetizers

The charcuterie plate is a welcomed surprise. The smoked ham is very good and the paté that I had reservations changed my mind.

Excellent eggs and mayonnaise 3.90, good price!

Mains

Perfectly cooked poultry liver ( meat origin: Aubrac, Quercy, Normand, Bavaria, Ireland, Salers) served with endives and creamy carrots, authentic. 16.90 euros

Artisan sausage straight from Aveyron 11, 20

Desert

Chocolate mousse, too sweet for me but I don’t like deserts that are too sweet. The person with me finished it for me quite happily, but regretted as they only meant to take one spoonful.

15 years that I’ve been hanging out in this neighbourhood, a few months that I’ve had this address in my notes, and I discover it only now: never too late to find a good spot. Honestly you can’t find it unless you know it, at least very hard to because it’s lost in the middle of other restaurants that have nothing to do with it and are far from being as good.