Le Tonnelier de Breteuil – Paris (75007) en

A good unpretentious bistro that works hard. Yes it’s in the shade, but spots like these are scarce in the area.

I was talking to a bus driver from Normandy with whom I work with for some tours, and we were talking about restaurants. He was explaining that he liked this restaurant because the menu at 17 euros fit under his 20 euros meal limit, and because he could park his bus behind the Invalides.

I’d never noticed it before because the street Estrées is discreet. As I mentioned above, there is no patio. Inside, there is a long room.

There weren’t many people there that day, and so it was easy to find a seat to our liking, I don’t know if there are days when it’s full, in that case it might get a little loud, to be seen.

As for us, we were happy.

There’s the boss and a lady that work with him for service. They would argue at times, but nothing big. The lady smiles a lot and is welcoming, nice.

I appreciated the fact that the lady brought water right after we asked for it, and that she automatically changed the bread basket when needed.

Lucky for me the lunch menu at 17 euros ( appetizer-main-dessert) appealed to me, because I wasn’t feeling like having one of these brasserie dishes, like the sirloin steak with blue cheese on that fine spring day.

Appetizer

We start with a magret salad, it had been a long time since I had one, because I’m often skeptic of this dish in Paris.

This time it was simple, and very good, the way I like it, we can tell the product is good,  with no embellishments, a bit like at home. The vinaigrette had the texture of one that was bought, but the taste was homemade, I asked for confirmation and I was told that it was made in house.

Main

Green peppercorn pork filet mignon and house mashed potatoes.

Here we are!, finally a mashed potatoes that’s homemade instead of frozen fries; when it’s explained to me that there in no other way than using McCain, it makes me sad, make some goddamn mashed potatoes!, if it’s annoying to make fries, make some mashed potatoes, it’s so much better!

What surprised and moved me the most was the green peppercorn sauce, a nice texture: not too creamy like those already made ones that hold too well, and not too liquid like those failed made in house ones, here it was perfect, the taste stayed. The pork was also exquisite ( not pink, hallelujah!) and well served.

Look at that beautiful green peppercorn and that proud parsley.

Dessert

There were no more strawberries so the choice was between a chocolate mousse and a crème fraîche with a berry coulis. Option #2 please!

Either we enjoy typical bistro dishes, or we prefer taking the 17 euro deal and hoping that that day there’s something to our liking.

Either way, we ate very well, the afternoon after I felt good, and that’s what marks the good from the bad ( yes, yes).

I mentioned to the lady before leaving that the pork was really perfect, she told me that the chef was a good worker, and you could tell that she was happy to have someone she could trust in the kitchen.