I’ve been meaning to visit Les Enfants du Marché for a very, very long time, but every time I walk past this highly reputed wine bar in the Marché des Enfants Rouges (and given where I live and work, that’s about four days a week!) the handful of seats at the diminutive bar are full, and I just can’t bring myself to wait. But when Michael Grosman and Masahide Ikuta extended their culinary prowess to open the Badaboum restaurant at Bastille, I quickly reserved a table and high-tailed my way to the 11th to have a taste.
Friends, I was not disappointed.
Badaboum might not seem like the sort of place I’d find myself in frequently, seeing as it’s attached to a nightclub (by the same name), and I stopped pretending to like nightclubs around the same time I stopped pretending to like wearing high heels. (About 10 years ago.) But the restaurant, while buzzing and filled to the rafters by eight, is decidedly a restaurant, and Chef Shohei Fujushiro (fomerly of Clown Bar) is pulling out all the stops.
The day of my visit, I stuck to the small plates side of things, though there were also three larger mains on offer, including lamb saddle with kale and aged faux filet with purple carrots. The carrots were a small plate offering as well, served with a creamy sauce and topped with a crispy crumble.
Like everything we tried that night, the dish was as beautiful as it was delicious.
I adored this cuttlefish “pasta” served with cucumber, fresh blackberries, smoked almond, and dill. The texture of the raw cuttlefish was perfect, and the seasoning so delicious I scooped up what was left of the broth with a spoon.
Actually, my spoon did double-duty between that sauce and this Comté broth, the perfect pair for meaty clams scattered with walnuts. It was hard to decide whether these or the cuttlefish won the award for star dish of the night.
This beautiful meagre ceviche, served with a yuzu vinaigrette and tart gooseberries, was also a delight: perfectly balanced between richness and acidity.
We skipped dessert this time around, though I did enjoy this gorgeous orange wine – just one of many natural selections by the glass or by the bottle.
With almost criminally reasonable prices (especially on the small plates side of things) and a fun, social atmosphere, Badaboum has quickly exploded onto my list of top places to eat in Paris.
(Get it? It’s punny.)
Badaboum – 2 bis Rue des Taillandiers, 75011