House-made foie gras de canard (duck foie gras).
Willi’s Wine Bar
13, rue des Petits-Champs, in the 1st Arrondissement.
Lunch and dinner, Mon–Sat.
01 42 61 05 09.
It’s true, you will hear a lot of English spoken at Willi’s Wine Bar. But don’t hold that against it.
Owner Mark Williamson is English, and there’s no question that the address is a popular Anglophone hangout. But none of that changes the fact that Willi’s is a longstanding landmark on the Parisian restaurant map.
How longstanding? How’s 30 years? Since he opened in 1980 near the Palais Royal, Williamson has been a champion of small vignerons, the unsung regions and the astounding variety of wines found inside the Hexagon.
I’ve eaten at Willi’s many times since my first visit, in 2007 (full disclosure: I know Williamson), and I’m happy to say that the foie gras with poached egg, polenta and wild mushrooms that I had then still makes an occasional appearance on the menu. It wasn’t there on my last visit, but the stand-in, duck foie gras served with a peppery parsley salad and toast, was delicious. My other favorite starter is the warm quail salad, the crisp skin hiding rich meat, the bed of delicate greens wilting in the heat. There is typically a soup, this time a velvety cauliflower and leek velouté with arugula pesto, and a springy salad is available for the rabbits out there.
Spin the bottle: Willi's stocks wines from all over the world.
We washed down our first round with a gorgeous sparkling Vouvray from Huet while a 1999 Cornas from Allemand was breathing on the sidelines, waiting its turn.
The main courses, well-sourced meat or fish, are all cooked properly, if not spectacularly. My roast lamb, fragrant with rosemary, was tender and flavorful, and the fricassee of guinea hen won raves around the table.
If there’s any red wine left, you’d be wise to order the plate of four cheeses from legendary fromagerie Quatrehomme, though the croquante praliné, a sort of praline mousse, was unexpectedly good.
In general, the starters are the strong point of the menu. My favorite way to eat at Willi’s is to sit at the bar and graze on appetizers: unlike most bars à vins in Paris, this one actually has a bar, perfect for trying out some of the wines by the glass, and great for a solo meal or last-minute get-together.
The crowd, as I said, is heavily Anglophone, but you’ll also find locals, mostly regulars from what I can tell, and afternoons there are plenty of (mostly) men in suits who walked a few blocks from the trading floor at La Bourse—the French stock exchange—for lunch. The whole space was recently renovated, and the newly white walls, set off by ancient exposed beams, make a fine showcase for the Willi’s Wine Bar posters that are specially commissioned every year (souvenir shoppers take note).
I said before that Williamson is a champion of the wines of France, and it’s true. But he’s always looking for great wines from around the world, wines that say something about where they come from or the people who made them. You’ll see a number of international selections on the list, including the surprising bottle we finished with the other night. It was a sparkling wine, méthode champenoise, but it wasn’t from France or Italy or Spain or even the States.
It was from England. But don’t hold that against it.
Price check: Menus hover between 32 and 35 euros for combinations of entrée, plat and dessert. Wines run the gamut.
In a nutshell: Willi’s speaks the international language of wine fluently.
If you want an Anglo-friendly wine bar but prefer the left bank:
Fish la Boissonnerie
69, rue de Seine, in the 6th.
01 43 54 34 69. Lunch and dinner every day.
Tags: 1st Arrondissement, Barbra Austin, expat spots, foie gras, France, lunch, Paris, travel, wine, wine bars, women
