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Where to Eat in Paris' Saint-Germain-des-Prés: 5 New Foodie Hotspots Shake Things Up

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Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris's Left Bank neighbourhood of art galleries and antiques stores, age-old restaurants and high fashion boutiques, needs no introduction. The philosophers’ quarter, where Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre would wile away sunny afternoons over a noisette coffee or carafe of house red at Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots, it was also the stomping ground for artists like Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet who shared a studio at 20 rue Visconti. Change comes slowly to the quintessential Parisian area, but in the last year, there’s been a sprinkling of new eateries serving top-of-the-range fare for all tastes and moods.

Boutary, where caviar sheds its stuffy image

Not your usual haughty caviar restaurant, the ambience at Boutary restaurant is refreshingly laid-back. “The idea was also to give caviar a younger and more relaxed image,” says owner Charles de Saint VincentWith a deconstructed chateau style by artist Ann Grim, the restaurant has fragmented gold walls with rays of light piercing through the breaks downstairs, while upstairs, the fractured walls recall an Alice in Wonderland-esque fantasy.

The restaurant opened in January but Charles actually relaunched Boutary as a caviar brand two  years ago, thus reviving his family’s faded centuries-old roots in French luxury savoir-faire.

The restaurant gets its name from the family Château de Boutary in Escatalens on the banks of the Garonne River in Southwest France. Established as a vineyard by the Baroness Marie-Elizabeth de Saint Vincent in 1888, her great-grandson Baron Roland de Saint Vincent, co-founder of Sisley cosmetics, expanded the family business, which started supplying the world’s luxury delicatessens, hotels, and restaurants with gourmet produce from the family estate.

Boutary's four caviars - Baerii ‘gold’ a young and light slightly golden caviar, Baerii from the French region of Aquitaine, the classic Oscietre, and the creamy Sterlet - come from sturgeon raised on family farms in the Aquitaine region and in Bulgaria. At the restaurant, aficionados can opt to try them in the handful of dishes on the menu, including stand-out unctuous Boutary caviar laid on a bed of creamy potato rustled up by the talented Kelly Rangama.

The other option is to go for the tasting menu, using an oversized gold ring specially designed for sampling the gleaming back pearls ‘à la royale’ just like in the days of the Tsars. And to go with the imperial delicacy, Charles, a keen wine and champagne connoisseur, always picks out the perfect tipple to complete the experience.

Boutary, 25 Rue Mazarine, 75006 Paris (www.boutary.com) Open for lunch and dinner everyday except Sundays and Mondays.

KGB, off the beaten track from France to Asia and back

Eight months after opening his first restaurant Ze Kitchen Galerie in 2001, Michelin starred chef William Ledeuil left on a culinary journey across Asia. Fascinated by the continent's various broths, which has become his signature seasoning and the inspiration for his latest book Bouillon, they are the foundation for his unique Asian fusion cuisine. And while Asian fusion still gets a bad name, Ledeuil’s cooking goes beyond the vague Asian ‘twist’ - the cooking styles are so intertwined that they become indistinguishable from one another.

Eight years on, Ledeuil opened Kitchen Galerie Bis (KGB) just across the street from his first restaurant, which has a 'Zors d'oeuvres' small plates concept. And while the restaurant isn't a new addition to the neighbourhood, it does have a fresh face at its helm. A few months ago, he handed the reigns over to talented 22-year-old chef Martin Maumet.

Like at Ze Kitchen Galerie, KGB showcases an innovative and refined Asian-meets-French cuisine. For Martin, who is in charge of pushing the kitchen’s creative boudaries as far as possible, “The possibilities in Asian cuisine are endless – there are so many ingredients, condiments, and combinations that you never really finish exploring, and mixed with French cuisine, well it’s just never-ending.”

The dishes here are different everyday and Ledeuil is proud of that. “You’ve got to learn to really catch the best of nature and you can’t do that if you restrict yourself to ingredients you can obtain in the right numbers for your menu – we put the menu together each morning according to what produce comes in. I guess it’s the real meaning of spontaneous cuisine!” he says.

Everything we sampled was flavorsome, light and delicate like the Thai Tom Kah Khai brothy coconut soup, followed by chicken and aniseedal dente tagliatelle washed down with a clean, fresh mineral white wine. The second main of seared cod was doused in warm velvety bouillabaisse with crunchy Chinese cabbage and mango chutney. And while Asian restaurants are not usually renowned for their desserts, here they're worth the extra calories. Don’t miss out on the delectable chestnut ice cream splashed with melted milk chocolate and sprinkled with crumbly hazelnuts.

 KGB, 25 rue des Grands Augustins, 75006 Paris, www.zekitchengalerie.fr/kgb. Open for lunch and dinner everyday except Sundays and Mondays.

Evi Evane Mézès, gourmet Greek food that will leave you craving for more

For a break from steak frites and canard confit, Evi Evane Mézès' succulent healthy home cooking is just what you need. After Evi Evane restaurant opened in 2005 on rue Guisarde a few streets away, sisters Maria and celebrity Greek TV chef Dina Nikolaou, decided the area needed a more casual eatery that serves simple hearty food.

Fresh and lovingly prepared by Dina, while her sister Maria tends to diners, the full-flavored fare here is just as you would find it in a small Greek village. “Absolutely everything here is imported from Greece and from local producers, which is one of the reasons why every dish tastes so authentic,” beams Maria.

From the mountainous region of Kyrtoni, north of Athens, the sisters show unmatched passion and dedication for sharing their traditional family recipes. What’s more, is that their good-natured disposition is infectious and their kind and friendly team knows how to make you feel right at home.

Contemporary and light-filled, the restaurant is the perfect sightseeing pit-stop. Don't miss out on the tender Souvlakis chicken and vegetable skewers and lip-smacking Keftedakias beef meatballs. The Moussaka is also to die for – and don’t even get us started on the homemade taramasalata, the signature hors d’oeuvre also at their flagship restaurant. Leave some room for the sticky sweet Baklava, which you can wash down with Tsipouro, a Greek pomace brandy.

If you don’t want to eat in, you can take away, and there are also various Greek products and wines that fans can stock up on for adding a little Mediterranean sunshine to their dinner parties.

Evi Evane Mézès, 66 rue Mazarine, 75006 Paris, www.evievane.com/meze. Open for lunch and dinner everyday except Sundays.

It's all change at Parisian nightlife landmark Alcazar

The place to come for a fix of nature among the urban bustle, the entirely refitted Alcazar is perfect to lift any mood. A fading Parisian institution in dire need of a makeover, it finally got a total revamp at the end of last year. Now a scintillating restaurant with a mellow tropical greenhouse feel and a warm golden glow that will make you want to curl up on one of the velvet banquettes with a good book, it’s one of the most pleasant places to stop for a drink, lunch, or dinner in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

When designer and restaurateur extraordinaire Terence Conran snapped up Alcazar in 1998 to turn it into a contemporary brasserie, it already had a rich, colorful history. First a venue for the sport, jeu de paume in the seventeenth century, followed by a printer’s a century later, it then became a burlesque cabaret notorious for its transvestite shows in the seventies.

Adjoining the Rock’n’Roll Circus nightclub, where The Doors lead-singer Jim Morrison died of an overdose, Alcazar became known as a club with DJ nights that drew crowds of celebrities from across the world. However, at the turn of the century, its glory days were over and the venue desperately held onto its reputation by the skin of its teeth. At the end of 2015, director Michel Besmond had the entire venue shelled and given a whole new leafy look by Laura Gonzales (also behind new Peruvian restaurant and cabaret Manko).

Today, although Alcazar has a bar with a DJ every night from 10pm, it’s a lot less rowdy than its former self. A relaxed venue to stop for a drink or a meal of succulent steak sourced from star French butcher Hugo Desnoyez or a moorish ginger and honey challans duck, the former club is well and truly back in the Parisian brasserie game.

Alcazar, 62 Rue Mazarine, 75006 Paris, www.alcazar.fr/en. Open everyday for lunch and dinner. 

Goût de Brioche, reinventing the humble French breakfast staple

Most people like brioche well enough, but it’s rare to make a detour just to buy a loaf of the soft sweet bread. However,this isn’t any ordinary brioche, and once you’ve tasted Christian Boudard’s feuilleté brioche you'll be prepared to travel right across town just for a single bite.

Head patissier at Guy Savoy’s three Michelin star restaurant, Boudard has completely reinvented the humble French staple, which has become the restaurant's trademark. And now, his little golden fondant brioches have their very own space at Goût de Brioche in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

Opened by Guy Savoy last year, the shop has more types of brioches than you could ever imagine. From savory mushroom, parmesan and even saucission brioche, to sweet strawberry confit or cranberry-chocolate, there’s something for every occasion, whether it's to have right out of the oven from 8am for breakfast, to treat yourself as you explore the neighborhood, or to serve with a meal.

Goût de Brioche, 54, rue Mazarine, 75006 Paris, www.goutdebrioche.com. Closed Sundays.

Also new in the area:

Freddy's tapas bar from the duo at Fish and Semilla - 54, rue de Seine, 75006 Paris (no website, open everyday).

Teppanyaki Ginza Onodera for gourmet Japanese - 6, rue des Ciseaux, 75006 Paris (no website, closed Sundays and Mondays at lunchtime).

Petit Capri Bazar for well-filled sandwiches - 6, rue Mabillon, 75006 Paris (no website, closed Sundays and Mondays).

Desi Road sister restaurant of MG Road for Indian fare with a European twist - 14, rue Dauphine, 75006 Paris, www.desiroadrestaurant.com (closed Sundays and Mondays).

Aux Amis for chef Vigato's neo-bistro fare - 9, rue de l'École-de-Médecine, 75006 Paris www.jeanpierrevigato.com (closed Saturdays at lunchtime and Sundays).

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