Perlimpinpin, custom-made tartares in Paris 17th arrondissement

Nestled in the heart of Paris 17^th arrondissement, a stone’s throw from the Rome metro station, Perlimpinpin welcomes you in a simple but friendly atmosphere to discover tartare in all its shapes and forms. Behind this new address opened on September 1, two long-time friends, chef Mickaël Bokobza and Dimitri Djenić. Fascinated by French gastronomy, the two buddies have opened a restaurant looking like them, to put an iconic dish from bistro cuisine up to date: tartare.

On the menu, Perlimpinpin offers you tartare in all its shapes and knife-cut. You can have the set menu with a varied range of tartares for a very intriguing moment of discoveries, or you can go for the house’s raison d’être, custom-made tartare. What is it about? Choose a base from a selection of meat and fish (or vegetables for vegetarians) available, and a style that will give it all its taste.

All in all, 12 “seasonings” are available: French, Italian (with sundried tomatoes and parmesan), Mexican, Greek (with cucumber and feta), Niçois (with egg, olives and anchovies), South-West (with foie gras, fig jam and Espelette pepper), crispy, poke, tropical, forest, romesco, oriental (based on quinoa and bulgur)… All combinations are possible and they all are very surprising.

You are also free to add a few extras to give a personal touch to your dish. Also note that sides are available, especially French fries cooked in duck fat. And if you are more into seafood, the oyster bar is also available. On the menu, raw oysters, Tobiko with flying fish eggs), with wakame seaweeds, and even a vodka shooter and tomato condiment.

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A cuisine we have been lucky enough to try. Verdict: it is good! As a starter, we went for a sure bet, creamy burrata, and the Saint-Marcellin fritter, rather light in the mouth. Moving on to mains, we went for the custom-made tartare based on salmon and tropical style including lime, sundried tomatoes, cilantro, pineapple and pepper (tartare normally served with shallots but we ask them to be removed because of an allergy).

As sides, French fries cooked in duck fat of course, and they were surprisingly not too fat and very flavorful. As for dessert, a speculoos and nocciolata tiramisu, very flavorful too, and not as sweet as we expected. A rather simple, but solid meal that curious people are encouraged to discover if you happen to be in the area.

Please note that it's been over 4 years since our last visit, so the place and experience may have changed.