Going to Paris and not indulging in good food is hard. In May my sister, aunt and I ate our way though the sweets which are offered there, giving me a good idea of where I'd be returning to. This time I wanted to focus on the savory side. Don't get me wrong, I did stop at Pierre Hermé for a macaron (the new fall flavor "praliné", which tastes like caramelized hazelnuts and melts on your tongue is divine) and at Jean-Paul Hévin for 5 delicious chocolate truffles.

So when looking for a place for dinner, I didn't want to stop at the usual tourist places and pulled up David Lebovitz's Paris restaurant guide to see what he suggested. I copied a few addresses, one of them being the Cuisine de Bar next door to the Poilâne bakery. But Le Timbre is where I wanted to go to for dinner. The reviews on google were promising, but I don't like to take them for granted as tastes can vary. They all mentioned the restaurant was small and the food good. We made reservations for the following night as that night was already booked. Yes, the restaurant was small, but we didn't understand the word small until we sat down for dinner the next night.

There are two possible times for dinner: 7.30 pm and 9.30 pm and each sitting can accommodate 22 diners. We were the 3rd and 4th guests to arrive. A table was pulled out, I sat down on the bench and the table was pushed back in front of me before my husband sat down at his chair. When the restaurant was full, it was like we were sardines in a can. But I was not at all uncomfortable. There was still room for my elbows! To my right sat a group of 4 British people, probably in Paris for a conference, and to my left a Icelandic couple who was visiting Paris for the first time. She said the flight was only 3.5 hours, something that amazed me since I always think of Iceland being to far away.

Our waitress spoke very good English as most of the guests were not native Parisians. Only the single man sitting next to the bar, which is pretty much in the kitchen, which is open so I was able to view part of the cooking process, something I love to do.  Although I'm sure the chef wasn't too happy with me watching him to whole time! So I was stuck in a restaurant that wasn't "authentic". But that isn't right. The food does have a touch of "britishness" to it, but only because the chef himself is British. For all of you who think British food is bad, that is definitely a thing of the past and has been ever since I went to England the first time back in 1996. And as for
"britishness", I mean the choice of ingredients. The menu was filled with meats, especially duck. It is important to mention that the menu is based on what is seasonally available at the market.

The menu is at a fixed price of 30€ which includes an entrée, a main and a dessert. Handwritten on a blackboard in French, the waitress rushes from table to table, with the menu reciting it in English to those who need help, takes their order, right down to dessert and is then off to the next group of diners. Everything is in perfect order and one the first order is taken, the chef starts cooking. From then on it's non stop until about 9 when the first guests start to leave. He then has a short breather before the next group comes in at 9.30.

So what did we have? It was fairly easy for me since I don't eat meat and was stuck with the one fish dish for my main. But should I really go for fish again as my entrée? I decided to start with the turnip soup, while my husband decided on the smoked makerel on mashed beets. I don't like beets, but that dish was delicious and didn't taste like beets at all. I also enjoyed my silky turnip soup, something I'd never had before. Shortly after we finished our starters, our mains came. I was very happy with my cod on julienned vegetables. The fish was perfectly cooked, not to dry and definitely not undercooked! My husband enjoyed his beef cheeks with sautéed vegetables. And then dessert. I seriously though about having the chocolate mousse, but decided against it thinking I can have that anywhere and went for the spiced prunes. My husband had the poached pear with honey. His was warm, which was good, while my prunes were cold! That was the only disappointment. The flavor was fantastic, but I would have preferred them warm.

At 9 o'clock we payed our bill and the table was pulled out, I got up and the table was pushed back in. All in all a very good dinner, a wonderful experience and a place I'd return to. I don't have any pictures of the food, as we were all sitting too close to eachother and I didn't want to disturb anyone by pulling out my big camera and making a scene.

And why "Le Timbre" (the stamp)? Because the restaurant is as small as a stamp!