It was Wednesday afternoon, and time for lunch. My friend Margo and I didn’t have much else to do, so we decided to go for a bike ride around the city to see what we could find for luncheon, daaaahling. We came across Six-Huit, a boat café rocking on the Seine along Quai Montebello, serving salads, crêpes and galettes (buckwheat crêpes). A man stood at the stern of the boat preparing fresh galettes and crêpes, while the waiters prepared our drinks at the bow. The atmosphere is perfect for a quiet lunch or dinner, and picturesque, with a view of Notre-Dame and its flying buttresses to the north, and tourists and locals strolling along the shady quai to the south. (It’s a good spot for people watching.)
The menu is not vast, but the food is good and the atmosphere makes a visit to Six-Huit worthwhile. I ordered the Ron Carter galette (all the of the galettes and crêpes are named after musicians), a thin buckwheat pancake stuffed with salty chopped spinach and crème fraiche. The galette was topped with thin slices of smoked salmon and a squeeze of lemon juice. With a little side salad, the dish was quite delish alongside my chilled glass of rosé. Margo tried the verrine des tomates, which was a small mason jar of chilled, thickly pureed tomatoes, garnished with fresh basil and mozzarella. She said it needed salt but that it was refreshing nonetheless.
The atmosphere is relaxed (the waiters are rarely in a rush in France), and if you come at the right hour, there may be some musicians playing live music on the boat (two young men strumming guitar, in our case) as you sit and enjoy the scenery. About 20 Bateaux-Mouches (tourist boats) overflowing with waving tourists drove by during our lunch, and the wake made the Six-Huit rock from side to side a bit (Margo felt a little mal de mer).
Downstairs is a small but sleek bar and concert hall. The season picks up in September; if you’d like to see the list of concerts planned for the coming month, visit www.six-huit.com/agenda.html. The concerts vary from jazz to Brazilian and funk, and the boat may be rented for private parties as well. For more information, visit www.six-huit.com/accueil.html or call 01 46 34 53 05.
Tags: Foodie Finds, France, Maggie Suozzi, Paris
