Paris! I haven’t been to the Ville Lumière since my January 2019 visit with Bert and Wim. Also, this March 2022 getaway in Paris marks the first overnight excursion with Thanh since our 2012 visit of the capital of France. Ten years ago! 

Oh no! After we booked a table at La Grange aux Canards (The Duck Barn) in Paris via The Fork, I discovered its website in several languages, including in Dutch. That looks like a tourist trap, now does it? I got a little suspicious so I decided to phone them. The manager confirmed my booking but asked to cancel the The Fork booking and he booked me manually. 

On Saturday, we arrived punctually at 6.30PM. For the French, that’s early. For tourists, it isn’t. But many restaurants offer different shifts or services. As 9PM is too late, 6.30PM was a good timing.

Presentation

“Sissi Grigio treats us to a cuisine that resembles her, with traditional dishes from the South-West, like her, authentic and generous”, the restaurant presents itself. 

“Here we claim peasant roots, this rurality that rhymes with generosity. The welcome is warm, the food tasty. The right address to enjoy real local cuisine based on quality products: Black ham from Bigorre or ducks from the South-West.

Always attentive, Sissi recommends the right food-wine pairing in all honesty. The restaurant La grange aux Canards is quite simply a safe bet.”

Safe bet?

So is the Duck Barn a safe bet? Yes, it is. Sissi and what I assume is her husband do provide a warm, convivial, welcome. 

The menu is, you can imagine, duck-based. We did not order from the set menus, bu we chose à la carte.

We started with a plate of ham ‘Noir de Bigorre‘.

As a main, Thanh had a whole duck breast (maigret de canard) from South-West of France with honey sauce, and fried potatoes.

I had cutlet of fresh snacked duck liver, sauce with Floc de Gascogne (from Gascony), with apples. 

To finish, we shared a plate of South-West cheeses, blackberry jam and salad. 

So yes, the restaurant may be touristy thanks to its high score on TripAdvisor. But it’s worth its score. The people are nice and patient. The food is honest. Well prepared and good portions. 

La Grange Aux Canards

23, Rue Frédéric Sauton, 75005 Paris V on the Rive Gauche or Left Bank of the Seine.

Food, gastronomy and restaurants

• REVIEW | Restaurant De Godevaart in Antwerp.
• REVIEW | Restaurant SELSation in Hemiksem.
• REVIEW | Breakfast at the 5-star superior Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp.
• REVIEW | Dinner at DINS Santi Taura in Palma de Mallorca.
• REVIEW | Restaurant 273 in Utrecht.
• REVIEW | Restauracja Ritz in Gdańsk.
• REVIEW | Carlton President Hotel Utrecht Maarssen ft. Restaurant One24.
• REVIEW | Van Der Valk Hotel Hoorn.
• RIDE & DINE | Orient Dining Express by Stoomtrein Maldegem-Eeklo.
• Afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason in London.
• The German Gymnasium, Kings Cross / St Pancras, London.
• Hoftrammm, the tram dining experience.
• An airline meal for the holidays.
• More than, but also sausages: rich cuisine of Germany’s heartland Saxony, Franconia and Bavaria.
• Bars and drinks package on Majestic Princess.
• Restaurants and food on Majestic Princess.
• Food and drinks on board Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas.
• Comparing Royal Caribbean to MSC Cruises.
• Culinary, food and drinks markets in Antwerp.
• 5 (surprising) hotspots in Stockholm, Sweden.
• 8 food hotspots in Madrid for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• POLAND | 3 hotspots of gastronomy in Kraków.

Paris 2022

1. Thalys Brussels – Paris – Brussels – Antwerp in 2022.
2. PARIS 2022 | Museum Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection.
3. PARIS 2022 | ‘Oh! Charley, Charley, Charley…’ by Charles Ray pushes male sexuality from the bottom to the top.
4. GAY PARIS | LGBTQIA+ bookshop Les Mots à la Bouche.