Colvert, 30 rue Saint-André des Arts, Paris 6
I first tried this restaurant a few years ago because I had accumulated rewards yums from the reservation service lafourchette.fr and there were few other restaurants that were of interest to me that allowed their usage. Much to my surprise the food was more than just decent, and the wine list was quite good and at reasonable prices. And indeed, since the restaurant re-opened last spring after having been closed for some renovations, the food is even better.
Another reason for my initial skepticism is the restaurant’s location of the rue Saint-André des Arts, a narrow street that connects two major tourist centers in the 6th arrondissement. Much to my surprise, although there are some tourist-oriented shops and restaurants on the street, for the most part, the pedestrians are French and seem to live in the neighborhood.
The room is light and airy with a very traditional look.
With the possible exception of one East Asian man dressed in a suit and tie and sitting with some other French people, I appeared to be the only non-French person there on this Friday at lunch.
The menu, which changes weekly:
And the carte:
The wine list here is excellent and fairly-priced with plenty of hard-to-find wines that are not inexpensive, but are offered at fair markups.
I chose the menu.
I began with a glass of Muscadet:
This wine is from the 2022 vintage, which is looking very promising for Muscadet. Moreover, in today’s wine market, where so many wine prices are badly-inflated, Muscadet, from the western Loire region near the Atlantic Ocean, can remain one of the wines that still provides excellent value because the public (wrongly and snobbishly) looks down upon it. This was good, not great, Muscadet, but refreshing and well worth the 7€ price.
My first course was mussels and leeks in a curry sauce:
Covering the mussels was a thin slice of burnt leek, and below that some whipped cream. It was an excellent starter with plenty of subtlety.
Next was the paleron de boeuf with carrots:
This was Black Angus chuck steak that had been marinated and then braised and served in a Burgundy-style wine reduction sauce. The meat was tender and very flavorful and the carrots provided good flavor and textural differentiation.
With the beef, I took a glass of Fleurie, one of my favorite Beaujolais crus, from Grégoire Hoppenot, an up-and-coming Beaujolais producer and served from magnum. Unfortunately, the wine was served at room temperature. I was polite and accepted it, but as I took sip after sip of a wine that was not what it should be, I resolved not to be polite in the future and instead to refuse red wines that are served too warm, a consistent problem in Paris restaurants. (With a bottle, you can ask for an ice bucket to cool the wine down, which I habitually do, but when you’re ordering by the glass, that is not an option.)
Dessert was a chocolate ganache with popcorn, espelette pepper, and streusel, covered with whipped cream. I found it a little dry and not memorable.
An espresso to finish:
And the bottom line:
Colvert is an address worth noting. It serves quality traditional food at reasonable prices in a pleasant atmosphere and has an excellent wine list — all in a part of town known mainly for touristy restaurants. Moreover, it is open daily for lunch and dinner.
Colvert
30, rue Saint-André des Arts, 75006 Paris
Open daily for lunch and dinner
Tél: 01 42 03 73 67
Métro: Odéon, Cité, Mabillon, Saint-Germain des Près, Châtelet, Louvre-Rivoli