Just a few blocks from my home in the 10th arrondissement is the rue de Lancry, a street known for its plethora of commerces de bouche (literally: mouth shops. Figuratively: foodie havens.) To wit: Along this one stretch is an artisanal chocolatier, two Italian delis, a cheesemonger, a butchershop, multiple wine shops, and no shortage of restaurants, many of which skew international (Sur Mer, le Verre Volé, SAam, Ippudo Ramen, and Early June, to name just a few). One of my most-frequented is El Guacamole, not because it’s my favorite Mexican food in Paris (that honor, for the moment, still lies with Los Gueros), but because the 10-euro three-tacos-and-a-drink deal is kind of the ideal way of coping with a night spent at Carburant, aka my local beer bar, also located on rue de Lancry.
With a menu of both corn and flour tortillas and a house-made hot sauce that actually packs some heat, El Guacamole is a good standby, and I became somewhat of a regular there when indoor dining was still verboten, as the tacos survived the three-minute walk to the banks of the Canal quite well. But when I heard that its sister restaurant, ACÀ Pigalle, also made fish tacos, it seemed high time to make the pilgrimage to Montmartre.
ACÀ is a slightly larger venue as compared to El Guacamole, with a more robust menu to boot. In addition to tacos, the restaurant offers heaping bowls of guacamole (including one doused liberally with chipotle sauce), nachos, burros, and quesadillas. I opted for the three-taco deal (somewhat less of a bargain than at El Guacamole, seeing as no drink is included), but I wasn’t disappointed.
For my three tacos, I chose two from the wheat section and one from the corn. The lone corn tortilla was the Carnitas, which I chose mainly thanks to the presence of guacamole, though the rich flavor of the pale pork stew proved pretty tasty too. The Gringa, made with OJ-marinated pork and melted cheese, scratched my hungover zest for the former, but the Cochinita Pibil, topped with pickled onions, proved my favorite, boasting not only a lovely spiciness but the ideal balance of freshness and richness.
Where ACÀ really stands out as compared to El Guacamole is in its pescatarian offerings: The Champiqueso is a wheat tortilla-based taco that’s already a fave over at El Guacamole, but two fish tacos – one with shrimp and the other with tempura-battered white fish – make welcome additions to the menu. (There’s also an octopus iteration for those who haven’t seen My Octopus Teacher.)
Both fried offerings were tasty, albeit a bit similar to one another, paired with the same zesty cabbage slaw. Given their similarity – plus their more consequential size and understandably higher price point (5.50 as compared to 3.50 for the others), perhaps just one of the two would have been sufficient.
On non-hangover days, a frozen margarita would have been welcome, but I also have a soft spot for the horchata here. And I need to give an extra bit of love to the ladies working in the open kitchen, of which we had clear view from our bar stools. They were friendly and fun, not to mention pretty darn talented.
A word to the wise: On the day we visited (admittedly in winter), the line out the door, while far shorter than the one that snakes out of nearby Bouillon Pigalle, moved far less briskly than it should have, given the fact that one could opt to occupy an outdoor table without waiting – information we only sussed out when it was nearly our turn to sit. I’m not sure if this is an always policy, but if you’re happy to dine in your coat, be aware that you may be able to sidestep the queue entirely.
ACÀ Pigalle – 48 Bd de Clichy, 75018