Pacifique in Belleville: an institution of Cantonese cuisine in Paris

In Paris, a handful of addresses have stood the test of time without losing their edge. In Belleville, Pacifique is one of them. Located at 35 rue de Belleville in the 19th arrondissement, the restaurant first opened its doors in 1983 and ranks among the establishments that helped anchor the wave of Asian businesses that arrived in the neighborhood in the early 1980s.

This longevity gives the venue a special standing in the local scene. As the neighborhood evolves, Pacifique stays true to its course, with a team that has changed little over the years. In the dining room, Madame Ly, founder of the house, remains a well-known figure to many regulars.

Here, the place champions a Cantonese kitchen that stays true to a lineage, with an offering that echoes the yamcha restaurants once abundant in Paris: large communal tables, steamed preparations, wok cooking, and a house rotisserie. A way to keep alive a dining format that has become rarer.

The menu places a strong emphasis on dim sum and small plates, notably fried shrimp dumplings, grilled radish cake, fried taro pastries, five-spice dumplings, steamed chicken feet in black bean sauce, shrimp rice crepes, or steamed chive dumplings.

Shareable dishes extend this thread with several classics of Cantonese cuisine, starting with the Peking duck in two courses, prepared for two people or more. Also on offer are the shrimp in kindo sauce, the salt- and pepper-grilled pork ribs, the sautéed eggplants, the lemongrass beef salad, the garlic- and ginger-kailan, the steamed turbot, the sharing rotisserie platter, as well as the wok-fried rice noodles and the shrimp dumpling soup.

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To finish, the menu also features coconut pearls, egg-and-vanilla brioche, mango sticky rice topped with coconut milk, and mango tapioca pearls.

What stands out here is less the notion of reinvention than that of constancy. In both the dishes and the setting, Pacifique cultivates a sense of continuity that partly explains its distinctive perch in the neighborhood.

«For over 40 years, our tables have brought generations together and welcomed friends. Our cuisine is meant to be savored, and above all, shared. Come in as you would at home, and share like family, in a place steeped in memories and anecdotes for many people.»

Located near the Buttes-Chaumont, the Buttes-Chaumont, the parc de Belleville and its views over Paris, and just a few stops from République, Père-Lachaise, the parc de la Villette, the Philharmonie de Paris or the Zénith, Pacifique fits naturally into an outing on Paris's east side.