Recommending restaurants in Paris has been an uphill battle for me since I moved here 12 years ago. On the one hand, I do love restaurants. A lot. On the other, I don’t necessarily go to the sorts of restaurants that many visitors to Paris want to go to: bistros churning out great versions of traditional dishes like roast chicken or steak-frites. While these are obviously classics, I usually find myself, instead, seeking out spots that innovate… or at the very least, somewhere that knows its way around a chili pepper.
But during Little Sister’s most recent visit to Paris, she had a hankering for a great roast chicken: a simple French classic. After a bit of research, we stumbled upon Bien Ficelé, the little brother of Bien Elevé. Pegged as a modern rôtisserie with transparent, high-quality sourcing, it seemed like the ideal place to scratch this culinary itch.
We started things off with two appetizers. The first was excellent: farm-raised pork croquettes with Comté and barbecue sauce. The ideal blend of America and France, these croquettes were rich and flavorful, and a plate of just three of them was more than enough.
The other appetizer was unfortunately not as well-executed. These razor clams were served in a delicious herb-and-garlic butter sauce, but they were improperly cleaned and therefore quite gritty, making them difficult to enjoy.
The farm-raised pork ribs were just as excellent as the croquettes: fall-off-the-bone tender and coated in a just-sweet-enough sauce, they were exactly what I was hoping for.
But Little Sister’s roast chicken, while perfectly fine, didn’t live up to the hype. It lacked the crispy skin boasted by rôtisserie chickens one can buy at any butchershop in Paris. It was better than average, but not by much.
I’ll definitely give Bien Ficelé another chance, but for now, it’s tough for me to vouch for it… unless you’re getting pork.
Bien Ficelé - 51 Boulevard Voltaire, 75011