View from the steps of the Sacre Coeur.UPDATE: This restaurant is now closed. Please let us know if it reopens!
Montmartre is always one of my favorite places to walk in Paris... So beautiful, high on a North butte overlooking the city. Imagine my surprise when by accident I was looking for something to eat, and fell into one of the better experiences I have ever had in Paris... Restaurant Patachou!
The nondescript entrance off the Place du Tertre just east of the Dali museum sits right on the edge of the Montmartre bluff. When you look in the door you have no suspicion that if you walk past the host desk through the first room, you emerge into a terraced garden that... yes, has a beautiful & completely unobstructed view of all of Paris!
And I was lucky. I had happened upon Patachou early (11:45 am) for dejuneur without a reservation. I was given one of the best tables on the terrace, right on the farthest outside ledge looking down over the city. By 12:15 all tables on the terrace were full, and as you probably know, the French can make dejuneur last all afternoon, which they did at Patachou.
And the food was very good. Starting out with esgargot in a wine-garlic sauce, tasting better than I ever imagined escargot could taste... tender and flavorful little shells of French delight. This was followed by a simply prepared yet very tasty herb poulet (herb-roasted chicken), accompanied with a well presented and delicious side of rice with vegetables. All this was washed down with a nice and yet inexpensive bottle of bordeaux recommended by my waiter. And for dessert, an excellent mousse au chocolate, followed by nice strong espresso for the added buzz necessary to force me to rise from my chair at about 2:00 PM and leave this wonderful lunch and view behind. Most of the tables on the terrace were still full as I walked out.
Patachou is an ala carte splurge, and this perfectly delicious and huge dejuneur came to a total of f300 for one person (about 44 Euros, $42). The food was very good, the view unbelievable, so it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and well worth it. Magazines that review Paris restaurants claim a Patachou three-course tourist menu choice for dinner in the evening is 180 francs (about $24).
Patachou is known for cocktails at sunset and dinners late (lots of wedding receptions are booked in the evening) when the City of Lights is most beautiful, but it is also not a secret anymore and it requires a reservation. Make SURE you have reserved a table with a guaranteed view ahead of time so that you get your money's worth. Walking the terrace to enjoy the view is not encouraged as it disturbs guests with good tables, so try to get a good table so as not to be disappointed. I found it to be wonderful for an early lunch, and the view was spectacular in the daytime.
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