Not just a hotel dining room, the Brasserie of the Hotel Lutetia is one of the hot spots of the Left Bank. On any given night you might see writers, movie stars and politicians. Even model first lady, Carla Sarkozy, has visited.
Decorated by the Left Bank’s most ubiquitous designer, Sonia Rykiel, with full respect for its Art Deco history, the brasserie is chic in black and white, chrome and mirrors. The atmosphere is informal: a meeting place for friends (there are several large round tables) or cosy dates (the brasserie is lined with cosy leather banquettes).
The brasserie specialises in seafood and its stall on the corner of Boulevard Raspail and Boulevard Saint Germain is a spectacular shopfront of lobsters, crabs and oysters. I ordered three succulent oysters (speciales Claires) with shallot vinegar (10 Euros 50) and a glass of the house champagne followed by a half-lobster with pearl barley risotto.
If you don’t feel like shellfish, meat dishes are not overlooked. There’s a good selection of traditional French bistro dishes, from steak tartare to andouillette and garlic roast chicken. My date went meaty with an enormous charcuterie plate followed by a tender roast of pork loin.
Our waiter somehow managed to tie all this together with a bottle of Menentou-Salon (38 Euros).
There’s a 38 Euro vegetarian menu and also a ‘lightness’ selection for the weight-conscious. The restaurant offers a 15 Euro children’s menu but children under the age of 8 eat free when accompanied by an adult diner.
One day I’ll get to write about dessert, but not at Lutetia where portions are hearty. I went for the café gourmande, an espresso flanked by a mini macaron, shot glass of chocolate mousse and a raspberry tartlette. After his meatfest, my date could only manage an espresso.
Did I spot France’s first lady? Well, no, but I was so busy people watching from the windows overlooking the Boulevard Raspail that I almost failed to notice Gerard Depardieu brush past me on the way to his table, swinging his moto helmet.
Come for: The sharing menu for groups of four or more (45 Euros) and, of course, for people-watching.
Set menu (dinner) 38 Euros
Starters from 7 Euros
Main Courses from 20 Euros
Brasserie Lutetia
45, boulevard Raspail 75006 Paris France
Tel: +33 (0) 1 49 54 46 46
The Lutetia wasn't on the corner of Raspail and St. Germain last time I ate there, it was at Raspail and Grenelle. They moved it!! Imagine that!!
Posted by: Expat Stu | February 17, 2010 at 04:33 PM
Yes - they did it just for me!
Thanks for pointing out my mistake (smartass ;) but actually we're both wrong. The hotel's so big it takes up an entire block of Raspail and Googlemaps puts it between rue de Sevres and rue du Cherche Midi.
Posted by: badaude | February 17, 2010 at 07:25 PM
The last time I was there, there was a lot of "airline personnel" hanging around. Is that still the case?
Posted by: Steve Solosky | February 19, 2010 at 09:34 PM
What? Those quotation marks make it sound so "sinister". Do you mean "cabin crew" and "pilots" or is this a code for something completely different? (Or is it that I'm reading your comment having just woken up and I haven't had coffee yet?) Anyway, I didn't see any. But maybe they were in "disguise".
Posted by: badaude | February 20, 2010 at 10:09 AM
Am now kicking myself for not guessing M. Depardieu. :(
Posted by: Rachel | February 21, 2010 at 01:35 AM
I love this place! It has such a wonderful
atmosphere but I haven't yet seen a famous diner! I just recently returned from Paris and wrote a blog about this but I was pretty preoccupied with the pommes purée, have you tried it? I will check out the sharing menu next time! City Girl x
Posted by: City Girl (EC1) | August 02, 2010 at 12:17 AM
I've never eaten the mash (its an option I seldom go for) but my well-dined date declared the pommes puree at Atelier Maitre Albert the best in Paris (along with other flattering but unrepeatable comments about the saussicon sec http://tinyurl.com/3537os4)
Posted by: badaude | August 02, 2010 at 08:54 PM