Green bean salad with sweet anchovies and a secret dressing

My brother had tipped me on this little restaurant called Pramil, near Arts et métiers, and for some reason, I thought it was an Indian fusion food place. Well not at all : the name is deceiving and comes from a very well known family from the Lot near Sarlat. The chef Alain Pramil who used to teach physics, has run the place with talent and modesty for exactly 10 years. It is a delightful experience.

Chef Alain Pramil, a former teacher of physics who comes from the Lot

Everything was done simply and with a little surprise in the taste. The green bean salad with sweet achovies which I chose as a starter, was served with olive oil, lemon and a touch of cilantro and balsamic vinegar which gave it an interesting twist. The fabulous sweetbreads and turnips in generous cream sauce and the mille feuille with chantilly cream made an excellent lunch. The raspberry feuilleté tart had some poivron rouge (red pepper) to wake it up. The service was as charming and attentive as could be and the fact that I ate alone with a good book, did not seem to bother the staff.

There is a lot of cream on the sweet breads and turnip and you can dip your piece of bread in the sauce

My neighbors were a group of professors from Ecole des Arts et Métiers who were having their great moment of the week and spoke loudly and in an indiscrete way of their students ! And a table of nine elegant Japanese ladies, who loved their food, amused me enormously. Many habitués were saluting the chef upon arrival and chose scallops with giroles or onglet de veau poêlé. The cauliflower cake to start seemed a good idea but looked a little pale, the foie gras was perfect.

Pramil look modest but its cooking is grand

This is a no-nonsense restaurant with only about thirty seats. Everything is made fresh and last minute. If you are in the Marais or the Republic area, it is a short walk to 9 rue du Vertbois an alternative to l’Ami Louis nearby. (50-60€, 24€ menu for lunch)