PARIS | One of things that I miss most about living in London is the ability to pop down to Paris on the train for the weekend. I’m forever grateful that I had the opportunity to visit multiple times a year back in the day. Based in Melbourne, Paris isn’t quite as convenient or affordable to get to, so you bet I was excited to return for the first time since 2011.
Something that was just kicking off when I was last in Paris, was the new wave of openings by individuals proud to be French, with a love of French flavours and produce, and a desire to not be bound by some of the stuffiness and rules of French food and drink. Chefs and bartenders who had lived and worked in casual venues abroad and were inspired by the hospitality scene in those places.
Le Mary Celeste is one such venue. It opened in 2013, and remains one of the best places in Paris to visit if you want a sense of what’s exciting about French food and drink today. It’s a small venue, cantered around a long u-shaped bar, with tables inside out. Drinks and snacks are prepared at the bar, while more substantial dishes are prepared in the kitchen.
Creative cocktails are Le Mary Celeste’s calling card (their sister taqueria/bar, the award-winning Candelaria, is around the corner), and there’s also a sizeable wine list featuring drops from some of France’s most exciting young winemakers. Their take on a Paper Plane, featuring pomegranate aperitif, jasmine, and orange, is a great choice.
Food is not afterthought. Head chef Amandine Sepulcre-Huang and the team have put together a small but mighty menu that champions small French producers and flavours, with flourishes of Amadine’s Sino-Réunion and Moroccan heritage.
Aged Comte with clover honey is joined by things like terrine with pickles; and veal tartare with aioli, wild garlic pesto, hazelnuts, confit lemon, and arugula. The famed devilled eggs, cured in soy and sesame and topped with pickled eggs and toasted wild rice, are a must try. So too, the fluffy and textural gnocchi with aged Comte and manzanilla.
Le Mary Celeste
1 Rue Commines
75003 Paris
France
Telephone: 0142 747 945
E-mail: n/a
Website
Open
Mon – Tue: 12:30pm to 1:00am
Wed: 4:00pm to 1:00am
Thu – Fri: 12:30pm to 2:00pm
Sat: 12:00pm to 2:00pm
Sun: 12:00pm to 1:00pm