Restaurant: Bistro V
Location: 56 Bd de Port-Royal, 75005 Paris, France. +33 1 45 35 35 31
Date: June 24, 2022
Cuisine: French Bistro
Rating: Meh French
On our first night in Paris I knew we were tired and was looking for a very casual “good food, authentically French” place for our large party with kids. Given that, I didn’t want to use the Michelin Guide or anything, so I thought I’d try one last time to use Trip Advisor. This place was EXTREMELY highly rated (on TA), like #20 out of almost 16,000 restaurants in Paris and above almost every 2 and 3 star etc.
Looks like a typical Bistro.
Inside had some atmosphere, but not as much as I would have liked. It was deserted — we were the only people — yet they basically ignored us.
Crisps from a bag. Not an auspicious beginning.
Bread with a butter packet. Oh boy.
Watermelon, honey, mint and feta salad.
Chicken spring rolls from Chef Alain Kassi, Thai herbs and hazelnut chips. These weren’t bad per se, but spring rolls?
Périgord duck foie gras, citrus chutney. This was solid, but you could buy a can in Paris and slice it.
Creamy risotto with coconut milk and ginger, grilled prawns, fresh herbs and parmesan.
Supreme of cod, roasted broccoli and basil pesto.
Beef tenderloin (High Quality Meat Breed) black pepper sauce, sautéed potatoes.
Duo Camembert with Tartufata and Comté cheese.
Semi-cooked chocolate with a runny heart, passion fruit juice and vanilla ice cream.
Cheesecake, Matcha tea cream and salted butter caramel.
Plain strawberries.
Strawberry salad, balsamic caramel and mascarpone ice cream.
Food was okay. Nothing inspired at all. Just fine. Not super authentically French. I’ve had better meals in totally random cafes. I just don’t get the rating.
Service was VERY slow with a single employee in the front and one in the kitchen. The waitress was a bit exasperated with our frustration at the pace and showed it. We were the only people for an hour but they really didn’t get going, probably because of the kitchen guy. Dessert took 45-60 minutes because the kitchen guy wanted to finished everyone elses savories. Basically miserable service and very irritating when we had been up for 40 hours (with kids).
This concludes any trust I have in Tripadvisors ratings as this is rated VERY high on their list, as I said #20 out of 16,000! I will NEVER trust a TA score or reviews ever again. I might have to use them when there is nothing else in English, but only as a last resort. Given how many great places are in Paris some tourist trap would have been better. I don’t even know who this restaurant is aimed at.