Calice, 5 rue de Bazeilles, Paris 5

Calice opened early last year. Located near the southeastern edge of the fifth arrondissement in the space formerly occupied by Le Bel Ordinaire, it is the third establishment opened by Julien Alain and sommelier Thomas Legrand. Their first was Narro, also in the fifth, and then Baillotte on the rue du Dragon in the sixth, which I have been to several times and very much like. The chef at Calice is Chikuda Kazuma, who is executive chef at Narro and also has an ownership interest in Calice.

Although Baillotte has a different chef and reflecting its neighborhood is maybe a little more upscale than Calice, there is a similarity between the two in that (1) the food has substantial Asian components and is complex with a large number of ingredients that nevertheless come together, and (2) also the natural wine lists drawn up by Legrand. The interior is café-like and not quite as cramped as at Baillotte; there is also room for substantially more outdoor tables than at Baillotte.

The evening carte:

There is also a 28/34€ lunch menu offered from Tuesday through Saturday.

The wine list is natural (although nothing that I recognized as really wild or supernatural). Since Legrand did the lists here and at Baillotte, it’s not surprising that there is a substantial overlap between the two. Nevertheless, perhaps reflecting the fact that Calice is in a neighborhood with plenty of students and Baillotte is in a high-fashion district, there is more of an emphasis at Calice on wines from lower-priced areas such as the Loire and less on Burgundy (and surprisingly Beaujolais) than I remember from Baillotte. The list of wines by the glass:

As an aperitif and with the first course, I took a glass of the white Côtes-du-Rhone from Château Simian, a property best known for its Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

The wine was medium-full with very good minerality and freshness. A perfect start.

For my entrée, I took the smoked oysters with a Champagne sabayon, vinegar, shallots, oyster leaf, and panko:

This dish was excellent. The smokiness from the barbecue sauce was noticeable but did not overwhelm the dish and the oyster flavors came through clearly.

I took the charred black angus flank steak with yakinu, saté baby potatoes, spring onions, and béarnaise sauce. This dish, too, was excellent, with none of the toughness that is so often found in beef in French restaurants.

I took glass of the red Anjou, a Loire Valley wine made from Cabernet Franc:

There was nothing special about this wine, but it did the trick with the steak.

I didn’t really need dessert, but the offerings were so delicious-sounding that I decided to try the citrus vacherin with blood orange sorbet, basil foam, and bergamot cream.

This was a wonderfully light and pungent dish that I throughly enjoyed, even though I thought it might have been even better without the basil, which stuck out from the other ingredients.

The check, which as always includes the mandatory 15% service charge and the tax:

Calice is an informal restaurant that provides high-quality, inventive cuisine that, as I stated above, combines a large number of elements into a successful whole. I recommend it and look forward to going back, especially when the weather is warmer and the terrace will beckon.


Calice

5 rue des Bazeilles, 75005 Paris

Tuesday-Sunday lunch and dinner

Tel: 09 81 11 72 78

Website: calicerestaurant.fr

Métro: Censier Daubenton (7)