La Bibimerie, the French-Korean version of bibimbap restaurant

La Bibimerie is the restaurant that awakens our taste buds in Paris's 10th arrondissement. The restaurant features the famous Korean dish Bibimbap, but with a French twist.

La Bibimerie is the name of a bibimbap restaurant that opened in 2017 on rue Lucien Sampaix, in the 10th arrondissement. Just a stone's throw from the Canal Saint-Martin and Place de la République, this charming restaurant takes gourmets on a trip to Korea with bibimbap revisited with a French twist.

The decor is simple and modern, with wooden tables, white chairs, blue tiles, a large counter and an open kitchen where you can watch your food being prepared.

Haven't you heard of bibimbap, a typical Korean dish that's as good as it is beautiful? Let us explain. It's a bowl of rice in which an array of colorful vegetables, fermented vegetables, condiments and meats are laid out. In short, it's one of the most complete and deliciously spicy dishes around.

At La Bibimerie, bibimbap is known as Bibim, and comes in 5 gourmet versions . There's the Bubu prepared with shredded beef, the Dadak simmered chicken version , the Yeye and its salmon tartar; and then for vegetarians and vegans, the Lala and its beautiful Korean-style rolled omelette and the Momo with fried tofu .

Since it's cold and we're hungry, we turn to the bibim with meat. Bubu on one side of the table, Dadak on the other! In the Bubu, the beef is prepared pot-au-feu style (the famous 'French revisited' side we've been telling you about) and is literally gorged with an incredible sauce, rich in flavor.

Dadak's chicken, too, is covered in a reduced, sweet chili-infused sauce (so it doesn't sting; here again, a little twist for French palates). In fact, at La Bibimerie, the raw egg yolk and chili pepper have been replaced by Korean-flavored sauces to maintain the link. And we love the idea.

Just keep in mind that you need to mix your bibim well to get all the flavors to combine perfectly in the mouth! In fact, each Bibim vegetable is cooked separately with its own seasoning, so that the flavors reveal themselves once the dish is mixed, as is the custom.

Another important tip: at La Bibimerie, bibimbap is served warm, not in scalding bowls, as you might imagine. In fact, there are as many ways to prepare bibimbap as there are regions in Korea, or even countries in Asia, as bibimbap is a dish that has been exported very easily beyond its borders. La Bibimerie has chosen to serve it this way, warm and delicious!

Before dipping our noses into our Bibim, we tried the house cocktails, original in that they're made with Korean soju (9.5€), and the starters on offer at La Bibimerie: Top & Cheese (7€), brand-new to the menu, which are typically Korean rice noodles with an absolutely astonishing texture (like a mochi) and covered in a tomato sauce with garlic and thyme and a string cheese.

Also on our table, an excellent miso soup (€4.50), different from those you're likely to eat in Japanese restaurants, since here it's prepared with miso,sesame oil, zucchini and roasted sesame seeds. We recommend you take the plunge and try it.

To enhance these dishes, we serve them with banchans (8€), Korean hors d'oeuvres to share with the table, including kimchi, lotus roots, edamame and sweet potato puree with garlic and sweet chili. A must-have for your meal.

And we'll round off this richly flavored meal with two ultra-light "Bungeoppang" fish-shaped waffles (7€), containing praline, sesame and peanut, to dip in lemon-relaxed salted butter caramel.

La Bibimerie also offers a Sunday morning brunch (23.50€), and the restaurant has just launched a new formula for theater-goers in the area, offering them a banchan on presentation of a local theater ticket. How nice!

Come on, let's go and have a big bibim!

Please note that it's been over 4 years since our last visit, so the place and experience may have changed.