Mon Oncle

Mon Oncle could be listed under “Places I was initially suspicious of”. A friend who lives in Montmartre tipped me off to this innocuous-looking but furiously trendy new bistrot after a neighbor of hers reported, correctly, that American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino had been spotted there several times. An interesting detail, perhaps, but what about the food? Off I went to investigate. Suffice it to say that it’s pretty good, especially if you’re staying in Montmartre or doing a shoe-leather tour of the neighborhood during the day. Think tasty old-fashioned French comfort food: leek-and-potato soup; an amusing and appetizing tempura of red onions, eggplant and sage leaves; braised shoulder of lamb; faux filet beefsteak in a sauce au poivre with good homemade frites; and amandine aux poires for dessert. Add a jazzed up contemporary decor with good wines and a slightly self-satisfied service style perhaps born of a brush with celebrity. It’s all pretty good, and the prices are right too.

3 rue Durantin, 18th, 01.42.51.21.48, Métro: Abbesses. Menus: lunch €14 and €17, dinner €22 and €26. Prices are per person without wine.

Originally published in the April 2009 issue of France Today

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