The best jam is made in the oldest of jars, and Benjamin Moréel and Christopher Prêchez understand this. After restoring the reputation of Petit Bouillon Pharamond - which they have now sold - the duo have taken over another Parisian institution, this time on the Butte Montmartre: Bon Bock.
At the foot of the Butte, the restaurant opened its doors in 1879. It quickly became one of the landmarks of artistic Paris during the Belle Epoque, and is considered one of the oldest restaurants in the area, where Manet, Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh and Apollinaire all enjoyed a glass of absinthe.
Nowadays, the artists and intellectuals have somewhat deserted Montmartre, but thecanaille atmosphere still reigns supreme. So it was with a view to providing a haven for aesthetes, whether locals or tourists passing through, that the two partners took over this Montmartre institution.
Open for dinner from Wednesday to Sunday, with continuous service at weekends, Le Bon Bock 's soul has been preserved by Benjamin Moréel and Christopher Prêchez, in particular its delightfully old-fashioned decor - candles, wood panelling, frescoes, a large bar, dozens of paintings on the walls, old-fashioned music in the speakers and, at the back, a very special room that can be privatized for greater intimacy: a piano bar, invisible from the street, for piano-voice evenings.
Good advice from Adrien Chiche, the restaurant manager - who is also a partner in the business and head of beverages - presents the à la carte proposals. Here, French cuisine reigns supreme at its most reverential, with even a semainier, a long-forgotten practice, where we currently discover a Normandy rib-eye steak to share (89€) on Wednesdays, grilled veal sweetbreads and purée (39€) on Thursdays, or a Parisian-style Breton lobster (69€) on Fridays.
The à la carte menu, scheduled to change three times a year, features classics imagined by chef Salim Soilah, formerly of Petit Bouillon Pharamond: eggs mimosa topped with bottarga (8.50€), frog legs in parsley butter (14.90€), poultry pâté en croûte with foie gras and porcini mushrooms (15.90€), vegetable vol-au-vent for vegetarians, duck breast with Suzette sauce (23.90€) for the less vegetarian, while beef cheek confit with Burgundy sauce (18.90€) is regressive on its bed of coquillettes.
The same is true of the desserts, where tradition takes precedence: rum baba (€11.50) bursting with the aforementioned beverage, or Bourbon vanilla crème brûlée (€8.90) to be snapped up with the back of the spoon, just like in Amélie Poulain!
This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please let us know.
