Review: Le Petit Gourmet, Paris

Reviewed by Ruman
On a recent Netflix binge-watching session, I finally got round to watching Julie & Julia. The film is based on a New Yorker called Julie Powell (played by Amy Adams) who embarks on a mission to cook every single recipe (there are 524) from Julia Child’s famous French recipe book ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ within a year. The story is intertwined with Julia Child’s (played by Meryl Streep) actual journey of mastering French cuisine. While I may not be able to master the art of French cooking, during this trip to Paris I embarked on a journey to master the art of eating as many French delicacies in Paris as I could. For the halal eater, the options are quite limited but I did get to try all of these must-eat foods.
One thing I knew I couldn’t leave Paris without trying was French onion soup. Many restaurants use beef stock to make this soup, so where better to try it than at Le Petit Gourmet – a halal French restaurant in the heart of Paris.

Given this was my first time trying French onion soup, I don’t have much to compare it against but boy was this exactly what we needed. Le Petit Gourmet was our final stop in Paris and our last day just so happened to be the day where it started to snow. The soup, made with meat stock and onions and served with bread topped with cheese, was a hot bowl of comfort.

For our mains we opted for the specials of the day. Zohra tried the roast beef which was served with mashed potatoes. The beef was cooked medium as requested and had a good flavour to it. I wasn’t a fan of the coriander that had been sprinkled on top of the cuts as I felt that it overpowered the taste of the meat/gravy.

I ordered the other special of the day: lamb saddle with chips. This was also a good dish. Served with the same sauce as the beef, the lamb had a good flavour and wasn’t tough or chewy. The fries were a bit too soft, presumably because they had been placed in oil that wasn’t quite at the right temperature.

We ended the meal with a round of mint tea. I liked that it was served in a tray with a pot and cups similar to how it is served in North Africa. The owners of the restaurant are Algerian so I imagine that’s where the influence comes from. The tea was really good. It was the closest thing in taste to the tea I’ve had in cities like Marrakech.

Overall, this was a good meal to end a busy trip to Paris. The service was friendly, the food was good and the location was great – just ten minutes away by train from Gare du Nord. If you’re looking for halal French cuisine, we’d recommend this restaurant.
RATINGS
Food: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Atmosphere/Decor: 7/10
Value for money: 7/10 (€41.90/£37.32 total bill // €20.95pp/£18.66pp)
Overall: 7/10
Halal Status: All meat served is halal. Alcohol is not available.
Address: 39 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 75009 Paris, France
Nearest stations: Le Peletier
You can view our guide to the best halal restaurants in Paris here.

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About Ruman

Ruman eats a brownie a day, but only with coffee. She struggles to eat more than 2/3 of an adult size portion of food, but always has room for dessert. When not exploring restaurants, galleries or cities around the world, Ruman is a Marketing Ninja at Halal Gems, where she also holds the title of Chief Chocolate Officer.
Forever consumed by a mixture of wanderlust and FOMO, her interests include all things social media, travel, charity, photography and food.
You can follow Ruman on Instagram and Twitter.