Ô Chateau -- Wine Bar

Olivier Magny, co-owner extrodinaire

 68, rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 75001 Paris

+33 (0)1 44 739 780

Website: www.o-chateau.com

Contact: contact@o-chateau.com

Rating Standards: 5-Stars = Extraordinary; 4-Stars = Excellent; 3-Stars = Average; 2-Stars = Fair; Star = Poor
€ = Inexpensive: 30€ and under; €€ = Moderate: 31€-49€; €€€ = Expensive: €50 -75; €€€€ = Very Expensive: more than €76 (prices based on minimum 2-courses)
1-Bell = Pleasantly quiet (less than 65 decibels); 2-Bells = Can talk easily (65-70); 3-Bells = Talking normally gets difficult (70-75); 4-Bells = Can talk only in raised voices (75-80); BOMB = Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)

  4.5 - Stars................ (prices to meet everyone's pocketbook)....................................3 - Bells

I don't normally review wine-bars because for one, as much as I'd like to be, I'm not a wine connoisseur, but I've been to a number of wine bars throughout Paris to know that Olivier Magny and Nicolas Paradis have a hit on their hands with Ô Chateau.  Ô Chateau has been opened since 2004 and they had a 3-year renovation project.  No expenses were spared.

Tonight was a special night, because Karen Fawcett of "Bonjour Paris" hosted a get-together of fans and writers of "Bonjour Paris".

It was a particularly warm spring evening, and our group of friends first met at a cafe and then proceeded to the wine bar.   

My Impressions

Physical Space.  This has got to be one of the biggest and well planned wine bars in Paris. The main floor of the wine bar is enormous.  How Olivier and Nicolas were able to procure such a large place must've been a miracle. Most wine bars in Paris are so tiny that you literally can smell what the person next to you is drinking.

 

Selections of wine displayed.  I was amazed at the special devices used to keep the wines at a particular temperature, and for easy dispensing. All the wines and bottles were well laid out and very orderly. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Olivier and Nicolas are a little bit on the "OCD" (obsessive-compulsive-disorder) side, in a good way.

Wine cellar.  This to me, by far, was the most impressive. They had large cavernous rooms for special wine tasting events or for private parties.  Words can't do it justice, so with that said, I've posted several random photos:

Now to the wines themselves, Olivier and Nicolas have an ENORMOUS wine selection. And, they are extremely knowledgeable about the wines. I am not a wine connoisseur, but I know what I like and dislike and for me, basically anything sweet is "interdit".  So with this knowledge at hand, Olivier steered me to wines that I would like, and so I stuck to sancerres and rosés.

In summary.  I'd love to tell you about all the different wines etc. that I tired and reviewed, but that wouldn't be fair to Olivier since I'm not that knowledgeable.  Hence, for someone like me who is not a wine connoisseur, this is a great place to be educated because of their extensive wine knowledge.  And, if you don't speak French, no worries, Olivier speaks perfect English, having lived in San Diego.  For those who are wine connoisseurs, then this is the place for you. You will be challenged and offered some very exciting wines. Because of the size of their wine bar, they are able to store an enormous varied amount of wines and champagnes.  The prices are varied and for every pocketbook. And, if you've never been to a wine bar in Paris, this is a great way to start!

The wine bar also serves food, but it's more as an accompaniment for the wine, sort of like a food-wine-pairing "tapas".  By the way you can also make reservations.

I highly recommend Ô Chateau.  It's in an easily accessible location.

Market Day on Rue de la Convention

Here's a video tour of our local market on "Rue de la Convention."  The market takes place on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, with Sundays being the busiest.









The Market begins at Metro Convention (line 12), corner of Rue de Vaugirard and Rue de la Convention, and ends at Rue de Cronstadt.   (local map)

Hope you enjoy my personal tour of the market.

Restaurant du Marché -- Restaurant Review

 59 Rue Dantzig
75015 Paris, France
01 48 28 31 55

(closed Sunday/Mondays)

Rating Standards: 5-Stars = Extraordinary; 4-Stars = Excellent; 3-Stars = Average; 2-Stars = Fair; 1-Star = Poor
€ = Inexpensive: 30€ and under; €€ = Moderate: 31€-49€; €€€ = Expensive: €50 -75; €€€€ = Very Expensive: more than €76 (prices based on minimum 2-courses)
1-Bell = Pleasantly quiet (less than 65 decibels); 2-Bells = Can talk easily (65-70); 3-Bells = Talking normally gets difficult (70-75); 4-Bells = Can talk only in raised voices (75-80); BOMB = Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)

  4 - Stars.............................................€€...................................................3 - Bells

This restaurant is not too far from our apartment. It's been around a long time. We oftentimes walked by it to take the tram to Chinatown (13eme) or to go to Porte de Versailles (Convention Center). So we decided to go with our friends Dan, Bill and Steve. It was very easy to make  reservations. We made online reservations with  "lafourchette", it's hassle free. But be forewarned though, it doesn't always work smoothly. Sometimes, the restaurants forget to tell lafourchette that they are closed for e.g., Easter break, which recently happened to us so you can imagine the rest of the story.  Normally LaFourchette confirms instantly, but in this case the confirmation was delayed several hours but eventually worked out well.

Mascot of the restaurant, the pink pig

It's quite a small restaurant. We got a nice round table by the door. They do have a few tables  outside surrounded with a wall of tall green hedges giving it a very private feel, but allowing you to dine al fresco.





All the wait-staff wore "Chef-coats" which made it a little unique. A chalk board came out with the menu and specials of the evening. As we sat they immediately gave us some thinly sliced saucisson sec.  Shortly thereafter our waiter came back to get our order for aperos. Prices are very reasonable, the formule was 32€ and you got an entree, plat, and dessert.

Pickled Salmon

 Entrees:

For the entrées Dan and Jack got the salmon à la façon du hareng. It was served in a little glass jar reminiscent of prepared pickled herring, in fact it was pickled.  Although, the jar made it a little bit difficult to eat,  none-the-less it was delicious.

Duck foie gras with warm bread

 

Steve and I had the duck foie gras. It was surprisingly light compared to most foi gras, which we preferred. It was delicious and was accompanied by a crispy exterior toasted bread, but the inside was warm and soft to allow some of the fat of the foie gras to melt like butter. Yum!

Terrine of beef shoulder and foie gras

 







Bill had the terrine, and he too thought it was delicious. It consisted of shoulder of beef layered with foie gras, now how bad can that be?

Medoc

They seem to have a good selection of wines, our waiter seemed very knowledgeable and as he gave his recommendation he actually gave the prices as well, which is unusual. What impressed us the most was he took the time to explain each wine that we were interested in, without being rushed.  In the end we shared a bottle of Medoc (34€) , it was an excellent choice.










Before our entrees were served, we were all given warm plates, nice touch. What was really surprising, rather than "plating" our dishes, our plats came out family style. In essence, if we wanted to, we could have all shared each others dishes, which in my case I did.

Plats:

Braised pork cheeks

For our plats: Dan and I had the joue de couchon (pork cheeks) braised with broccoli, carrots, onions. It was quite simple, and although it was good, it really lacked any sophistication and was quite bland. Thank God for "sel de guérande".

Filet of Bar

Jack and Dan had the "filet de bar" (mullet), now I did mention simple is good. Well this dish was not only simple, but well executed and was delicious. Very simply pan friend with fleur de sel and the skin was nice and crispy whereas the flesh was tender. It wasn't masked with any sauces or lots of seasoning, so the flavor of the bar came out.  It sat atop of a bed of broccoli, zucchini and carrots. It was our favorite dish of the evening.

Grilled duck breast

Steve had the grilled magret de canard (duck breast) served rosé (pink), and again, although the dish was very simple, it was packed with lots of natural flavor and accompanied with great mash potatoes.

For dessert:

Rhubarb compote

Jack had the Rhubarb compote. He's biased, he likes anything with rhubarb. He said the dessert was excellent. Not too sweet, but had a nice tartness just like he likes it. It was covered with  toasted gateau.



 

Madeleine with citrus cream

Steve and Dan both had the "madeleine with creme de citron," served in a little jelly jar. Both said it was nice, very simple and delicious.

Chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream

The chocoholic in the group is Dan. He ordered the moelleux au chocolat, glace. Basically its a very rich chocolate "lava" cake with rich chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream. Now how can you go wrong with this dish.







Since I'm trying to stay away from sugar, I was the only one that had the cheese course. I had the "brie de meaux",  as soon as it arrived, slightly warmed, you could smell it. It's definitely not for those who do not like strong smells, and a strong taste.  However, I loved it. It came with a salad, I was going to ask for bread, but decided I didn't need to add any more calories.

Brie de Meaux

In Summary:

It was a Thursday evening, every table in the house was taken. We were the only Americans there, and it appeared that a lot of the patrons were regulars, since everyone seemed to know each other.  All the dishes were simply prepared. We enjoyed every course, but I think I'll stay away from joue de couchon next time. What impressed us most was the service, their attentiveness, but not in your face, and not ignored. It was like "French comfort food" served by our neighbors.

Although it's quite a distance for those who live on the Right Bank, it's well worth the trip. You will be rewarded with great hospitality, excellent meals, and just an overall nice experience.

It is definitely more of a neighborhood restaurant and will certainly be our new "neighborhood hangout."