Habile, 16 rue de Lancry, Paris 10
Habile opened in the first part of 2021, and despite the facts that (1) I have had it on my list of restaurants to try since June 2021 and (2) it is only about a fifteen minute walk from my apartment, I had not gotten around to trying it until now. It proved to be a good and interesting address with an off-the-beaten path aspect thrown into it.
The restaurant is also a location where one can purchase goods, and in particular, clothing and accessories under the Habile label. The clothing is designed by Camille, and her husband Éric, is the chef of the restaurant.
Éric has worked in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Ibiza, Sardinia, Toulouse, and, of course, Paris. In particular, he has worked in the kitchens of Guy Savoy and Alain Ducasse.
The interior of the main dining space:
There are also seats off to the left of where I was standing when taken this picture where diners can sit at a counter and watch the preparation of the food. Downstairs is the wine cellar and space for private parties and wine tastings, and the clothing is up one level from the main dining space.
The diners were mostly French, exceptions being one German-speaking family of four and ourselves.
The menus (which change regularly) to reflect seasonal dishes:
And à la carte:
(At lunch, a selection of the above is available for 23€ for entrée/plat or plat/dessert and 29€ for entrée/plat/dessert)
While we were making our selections, we were offered this quite delicious charcuterie:
We decided to go à la carte. L chose to start with the beet salad and I with the pâté en croûte, and then we both chose the chicken breast with morels and a “risotto” made of a pasta and confit shallots.
The wine list is composed of organic and biodynamic wines and is well-chosen. The markups are quite modest. (Wines can be purchased to take away, too.)
The list of wines-by-the-glass:
The chicken with morels is a dish associated with the Jura region in eastern France, along the Swiss border, and so we took a Trousseau from Domaine Badoz:
Trousseau is a light, refreshing red wine from a grape that originated in eastern France, although it has long since spread to other areas, often under different names. The wine was served cool, just as it should have been (but so often is not in restaurants) and was fresh and fruity.
L’s roasted beet salad, which was quite tasty:
And my satisfying pâté en croûte:
The main dish chicken was juicy and flavorful and came in such large quantity that each of us took half home for the following day’s dinner:
Although the desserts all sounded delicious, neither of us had the room to sample one on this occasion.
The check, which, as always in France, by law includes tax and tip:
Habile provides seasonal food of very good quality and a good choice of wines in a pleasant informal setting. There is good value here, and I look forward to returning, perhaps to check out the bargain lunch offerings.
Habile
16, rue de Lancry, 75010 Paris
Tuesday-Saturday 11am to 11pm, continuous
Tél: 01 44 63 82 62
website: habile.com
Métro: Jacques Bonsergeant (5), République (3, 5, 8, 9, 11)