Grilled gambas with ginger cream

A dear friend who lives near the Bastille in trendy Paris, always takes me to nice restaurants and we had  fun over lunch at Chez Marthe, near rue de la Roquette. The service was delightful, the food mostly great and the bill extremely moderate (25 € each with coffee but no dessert) for lunch. The only drawback was the noisy ambiance but we did have two large tables of guests next to us… The owners also run the restaurant across the street “Papa Poule” which is larger and even cheaper…

Souris d’agneau with polenta and sweet spices

The waiter could not have been nicer and the mineral water was the very trendy Abatilles from Arcachon. Everyone seemed to be between 30 and 40 in the restaurant, young professionals who enjoyed their lunch. The cooking is classical with a good choice of fish and meat and I enjoyed my marinated daurade with leeks as a starter. The kidneys were ok but maybe not as good as the leg of lamb and I have to admit we did not try the desserts.

Cod with Chinese cabbage as a main course

Located 24 rue des Taillandiers, a little street off the rue de la Roquette, less than five minutes from Opera Bastille, it unfortunately does not serve after 10 pm.

The full dinner menu is at 39€…

Notre Dame d’Espérance with its minimalist cross and altar

On our way out, I had the great surprise of visiting a modern church, at 47 rue de la Roquette,  Notre Dame d’Espérance built in 1997, on the spot of former Hotel de Sedaine where Jules Michelet lived in 1818 to 1827. A number of contemporary artists were asked to create a minimalist cross (Nicolas Alquin), altar (François Cante-Pacos), etc… A very good surprise open all day for all.