Fantastic Feast in the 5th Arrondissement

One of the great ways to find new restaurant and bars is to grab the magazine of “local attractions” that hotels often include in the room. Depending on your tastes, you can trust in the full-page glossy ads, or if you’re like us, you can look for the quirky, interesting, and curious little ads.

We were flicking through exactly this kind of magazine in our hotel in St. Germain when we came across an ad for Jean Baptiste. The ad was small, unpretentious and didn’t use any of the cliched catch phrases that make you groan internally. Instead, what caught our eye was both the description of some contemporary French cuisine, and the claim that the restaurant was once frequented by Hemmingway. Well, with a provenance like that, we thought we’d give it a go.

The mains were delicious and adventurous at the same time. The pick was a classic bifsteak, with a sauce to die for. Just when we thought it could get any better, along came dessert. I’d chosen a lemon marscapone with fresh berries. It sounds simple and tasty. What it was, was sublime, delightful and magical. I’ve tried several times since to recreate the amazing blend of lemon, marscapone, and sugar, but I suspect there was some deeper secret. It was whisked to an incredible lightness, without detracting from the silky velvet texture of the marscapone. The lemon tang balanced the raspberries, and several small slices of mandarin were included to bridge the citrus-to-berry flavours.

The wine list held a good selection of French wine, as you’d expect, running to about a dozen reds and a similar number of whites. We picked a white Burgundy; Pouilly-Vinzelles. This turned out to be a fabulous drop, and the owner chuckled as he told us that it’s the best on the list, even though it’s not the most expensive.

To cap everything, the proprietor was either on to our game as food bloggers, or just enjoying the conversation so much that we ended up sharing a few free rounds of calvados and apple schnapps.

If you find yourself in “The 5th”, make Jean Baptiste one of your destinations. We’re already planning our next trip there.

Jean Baptiste
12 rue de l’Hôtel Colbert
75005 Paris