A Trio of New Paris Tables

In Paris, three new restaurants with open-air seating are just the place to get comfortable, share a meal and watch the city — and the final days of summer — pass by.

The new restaurant at the just-opened Hôtel Bachaumont was designed by the modish interior designer Dorothée Meilichzon, is run by the trendy Experimental Cocktail Club crew and, not surprisingly, has been popular among a certain set — stylists, designers, photographers — since it opened. They come for the easygoing, contemporary French comfort food, like anchovies with ricotta and steak with fries. And since the entire place opens onto the pedestrian street, people-watching is an easy excuse to linger for dessert — say, a lush chocolate tart — or another glass of wine.

In the Marais, the Argentine-born chef Mauro Colagreco, of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Mirazur on the French Riviera, has opened a brasserie, Grand Coeur, in the remodeled premises of L’Aigle d’Or — an 18th-century coaching inn that had most recently been occupied by a Mexican restaurant. The Brazilian-born chef Rafael Gomes, who has formerly cooked at Eleven Madison in New York City and on an Alaskan fishing trawler, is the acting cook here, and works with Colagreco to update the menu around what’s best in the local markets. Grilled sardines with olives, or cold roast beef with potato salad and aioli, pave the way for main dishes like a tomato tart with pesto sauce, Parmesan and olives.

Photo

From left: Grand Coeur; Hôtel Bachaumont. Credit From left: Patrick Lazic; Paul Bowyer

In a food-mad city like Paris, snagging a table at certain restaurants requires patience, skill and perseverance, and this summer the most elusive reservation in town just might be for one of the outdoor seats at Restaurant du Palais Royal. The exclusivity is a study in supply — only a dozen or so tables overlook the magnificent gardens that surround the 17th-century palace — and demand — the recent arrival of a talented young chef. Philip Chronopoulos formerly worked as executive chef at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, and is an intensely groomed kitchen technician with a rich imagination. He dresses his summer risotto of rice cream, crumbled broccoli and shellfish with a light vinaigrette, and pairs delicate langoustines with fresh almonds and woody Chanterelle mushrooms.