Un Saumon à Paris

No fewer than nine types of salmon are available at Un Saumon à Paris, four of them wild: Scottish, Norwegian, Danish, Irish, from the Adour river in France or marinated in dill, whole or sliced. The fish are given a long smoking in the traditional style over alder wood, a method refined by the Maison Barthouil, giving them a melt-in-the-mouth texture.

Naturally it’s pretty pricey: expect to pay between €109 and €220 per kilo for hand-cut wild smoked salmon. For large parties you could go for a whole salmon, pre-cut and vacuum-packed for freshness (from €70 a kilo), or you can go for the off-cuts, more affordable and fine for cooking with.

Opened in 1986 by Barbara Karoglan, Un Saumon à Paris is also a good place for fans of caviar (Maison Prunier, €55 for 30g), taramasalata (6 different varieties), fish eggs and bottarga (dried mullet eggs in a pâté) from the Loire river. If you want to go the whole hog, you’ll also find more than 50 different types of vodka.

A victim of its own success, the boutique come under attack around Christmas and other celebrations, so come prepared to fight upstream for your fishy prizes.