Le Petit Saint Benoît
Les escargots - gros or très gros?
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On the back wall of Le Petit Saint Benoît, the wall closest to the kitchen, is a set of drawers. They look like the sort that once held a library card catalog; dozens of old and wooden tiny drawers arranged in a grid. Spend a few minutes at Le Petit Saint Benoît and you’ll see what they contain soon enough: the napkins of the regulars. Now it is one of my heart’s greatest desires to have one of these napkins, and the aspiration is currently even more excrutiating since my dear friend Dave recently got a drawer + napkin of his own.
And he’s in good company. Open since 1901, Le Petit Saint Benoît is a Paris institution, once frequented by the likes of Jean-Paul Sartre, Serge Gainsbourg, Jacques Prévert and Marguerite Duras. It’s an authentic, top quality Paris bistro, with simple but marvelous French food and and a warm, relaxed atmosphere. I am terribly fond of the revolving door and the slightly tarnished antique mirrors on the walls, and the staff are great.
Everything on the menu is good, and whenever I have visitors from back home in Australia I make them try the escargots - you can have them gros or très gros. The boeuf bourguignon and cassolette de poisson are served in round individual cocottes and ideal for a cold day, and the hachis parmentier (like shepherd’s pie - Jack and I recently discovered that Monsieur Parmentier was the man responsible for introducing the “culture of the potato” to France!) is perfect comfort food. The confit de canard (duck) is also delicious, and for the very brave I really recommend the tartare, it’s maybe my favourite thing on the menu. Vegetarians don’t have a huge range of choice but if you let one of the friendly waitresses know, they can have the kitchen make something up especially for you.
The wine list is solid - you can have carafes or bottles - and the desserts are not bad either (I like the fondant and the crème caramel). Be sure to read the daily specials on the blackboard because there are occasionally some gems in there - I once had the best souris d’agneau (lamb shanks - but literally mouse of lamb!) I’ve ever had in my life here. Only thing I’m not a huge fan of is the coffee, they have more turkish style coffee served in an ornate mug and not the little espresso shots of pure caffeine power that I prefer.
I’m still working on getting my napkin - maybe I need to show them this glowing review! In the meantime I will just have to cope with seeing Dave gloat (and probably wipe his face constantly) but it’s Le Petit Saint Benoît, I just can’t seem to stay away.
Open Monday to Saturday 12h to 14h30 and 19h to 22h30.
Le Petit Saint Benoît
4 rue St Benoît75006 Paris
01 42 60 27 92
Métro: Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Map!
Image Ken Schwarz
Antonia Hayes is an Australian writer, photographer and mother of one who woke up one morning somewhere in between The Eiffel Tower and Invalides unsure how she ended up there but decided to stay anyway. Originally from Sydney, she has been living in Paris since 2006 but still can't remember which one is the Left Bank and which is the Right Bank. Antonia is currently working on her first novel and is pretty sure she lives on the Left Bank.