Mamine Batignolles: a granny-style tapas restaurant in Paris with an adorably kitsch decor

Mamine has set up shop in the Batignolles district of Paris' 17th arrondissement. In this regressive spot, open only in the evening, we are sold the promise of rediscovering the cuisine of "your favorite grandma". The resolutely kitsch setting puts us in the mood and amuses us, while evoking for some the sweet nostalgia of those family moments. With its mismatched saltcellars and crockery, vintage decor and nods to childhood and the grandparents of Mamine's team, it feels like a family home opening onto Rue des Dames.

A glance at the menu brings back memories of our tenderest years, evoking Granny's insistence on filling the plates, her admonitions to finish her vegetables, and the comforting flavors of traditional cooking. For Parisians, it's a call to return to one's roots, and a pleasure to respond to.

On the menu, it's hard to choose, and that's just as well, since the format here isplates to share: a delight for the undecided and those with appetites. With roasted vegetables, pâté en croûte, homemade foie gras, salmon gravlax, Brie en croûte and chocolate mousse, it's easy to see that regressive is the order of the day. There's also a wide selection of soft drinks, including a cider and a beer, both alcohol-free. For wine lovers, Mamine also opens its cellar to us, while spirits enthusiasts will find something to make themselves a little digestif among the dusted references.

When Mamie takes on a tapas bar, the result is authentic recipes that match the convivial spirit of the place. The melt-in-the-mouth green asparagus roll (note the double dose in the photos) is a real favorite. Underneath the puff pastry, the Comté cheese makes for a comforting dish that's hard to resist.

Nor can we pass up the beef cheek croquettes, a more contemporary way of presenting this muscle with its melt-in-the-mouth texture, accompanied by a béarnaise sauce with meat juice. And since Mamine is determined to make us love vegetables, we won't say no to her sweet roasted carrots, flavored with spices and resting on a creamy feta cream that we'll wipe off to the last drop.

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Mamine also shares her version of the croque-monsieur, a Parisian favorite. Here we find a croque-truffe whose secret is quite simply good ingredients: a good Comté cheese aged 18 months, good ham, good bread, and truffle accents, the recipe is made by the book.

To accompany these dishes, we recommend that you let yourself be carried away by discovery through the Mamine wine cellar. Here, prices by the glass and by the bottle are indicated by a range, and the idea is to let yourself be guided by the team's advice according to your tastes and the dishes you've chosen, or simply to give them carte blanche to discover their favorites!

If you still have room for dessert, chocovores shouldn't miss Mamine's chocolate mousse, served by the ladle, very generously. Very light, it manages to retain the texture of the whipped eggs with that chocolaty taste without saturating the palate, with the added bonus of chocolate chunks to add that extra cocoa touch.

A get-together with friends at Mamine' s is the promise of a warm and comforting aperitif for good value. In this tapas bar, we come to toast over dishes that rocked our childhood and we remake the world while going back in time in search of our lost memories, all to the rhythm of a festive and nostalgic playlist. The last trump card up Mamine 's sleeve: in the basement you'll find a room that can be privatized for groups, true to the spirit of a kitsch cocoon.