La Famille

Time Out says

Fri Jun 1 2012

This is one of Time Out's 100 best bars in Paris. Click here to see the full list.

This little Montmartre restaurant-bar is a well-concealed gem at the head of Rue Trois Frères. With not more than a dozen tables, a relaxed and friendly team and quality background music and a bar always ready to burst, La Famille also offers top-notch fusion cuisine, with innovative flavours and presentation at reasonable prices. Try the marinated salmon rolled in sunflower and poppy seeds with a piperade ice cream on the side, followed by an exceptional sweet and sour boeuf bourguignon with After Eights, and a lemon tart in three savoury segments. The wine list is good quality, but the bottles are pretty pricey.

As you wait (which can take a while), try out a molecular cocktail as run through the shaker of Houcine, the barmaid. Your drink, built on a base of Caipirinha or Caipiroska and infused with strawberry and Espelette pepper, basil and mango or pear and tarragon, arrives at the table iced and smoking, garnished with wacky decorations like a boiled sweet eyeball or a syringe of peach liqueur. At the weekend, the tiny room is packed (reservation is essential) and noisy, so come in the week if you want to be able to hear yourself think. For those on a budget, a 10 Euro menu is available on the first Sunday of the month.

By Camille Griffoulières/EH