Warm colors, large benches, chandeliers, impressive mirrors, white tablecloths, weathered walls, Belle Epoque frescoes, waiters all spruced up, listed original floor with tiles and mosaics… There’s no doubt, we’re in a Parisian brasserie of yesteryear. The Petit Marguery Rive Gauche is a genuine institution in the field of traditional French cuisine.
Created in the 1900’s, this address managed to cross times and eras, keeping traditional specialties on the menus and most of them comes from original recipes from the Cousin family.
Awarded “Maître Restaurateur”, the restaurant offers a terroir cuisine with homemade dishes evolving around seasons and products from the market.
If French specialties are obviously promoted, Petit Marguery Rive Gauche chef Stéphane Mangin dares some original touches by offering, for example, a sea sauerkraut or a fish cassoulet.
But before coming to the main, let’s start with the starters. Several choices are possible with not less than seven à la carte starters and four starters on the menu at €29 (starter + main meal + dessert).
As for me, I go with the menu’s flow and start the tasting with the exquisite creamy white mushroom soup and Black Trumpets, perfect when it starts to be cold outside, while my sidekick goes for the French wild boar terrine with chestnuts ordered by several of our table neighbors that night.
Regarding the main meals, there’s the surprising and delicious thick cod fillet with Vendée mogette beans cassoulet-style with bacon and dry sausage. Uncommon, this fish/charcuterie pairing is a real treat for our taste buds!
My plus one goes for the French wild board shoulder braised in a spicy red wine sauce, celeriac and chestnut mousseline.
Wild boar shoulder braised in a spicy red wine sauce
Finally, the desserts, we couldn’t miss the home specialty: the impressive Grand Marnier soufflé, flambéed before our eyes by the waiter.
We also give a go to the sweet salted butter caramel lava-cake with pear and lime compote. A classic of its kind that also pleases our mouth!
Salted butter caramel lava-cake
If the choice on the menu may look limited, you can order à la carte and let yourself be tempted by the pan-fried frog legs with parsley and garlic sauce, scallops from Port-en-Bessin or the Scottish grouse mash.
Renewed every day, the brasserie menu of the Petit Marguery shows how impressive the chef and his team’s work is since they work their quality and seasonable products with love and in the purest tradition.
Having lunch or dinner at the Petit Marguery is being sure to live with a full belly and seduced taste buds!
Practical information:
The Petit Marguery – Rive Gauche
9 bd de Port royal, 75013 Paris
Phone: +33 (0)1 43 31 58 59
Set menu (starter + main + dessert): €29
Please note that it's been over 4 years since our last visit, so the place and experience may have changed.
Location
Au Petit Marguery Rive Gauche
9 Boulevard de Port-Royal
75013 Paris 13