“For Parisian women, it’s not about looks; it’s not about style – for me, it’s more about this beautiful city, culture, and lifestyle. It’s more about attitude – style it your own way.” – Jeanne Damas
When you have the benefit of French friends to give you the grand Parisian tour, you best scrub up well and make your way to them quickly.
My friend and designer, Enrica, is a constant wealth of information, whether it be on: people, food, fashion or life!
She told me the first rule of visiting tourist attractions on her turf, is that you’ll probably have a better, more picture-perfect time walking the area surrounding the attraction, or dining a bit away from the towering monuments and such.
So while I did get my Eiffel Tower snap eventually, I caught up with a good friend at an eatery which gratified the persistent gnawing hunger I had, since forgoing my morning bakery commute for croissants & cheese.
Today’s foodie escapade takes me to Chez Ribe.
Craving some foie gras, classic crispy fries, or perhaps a tartare?
Tired of pushing through crowds around the Eiffel, or walking through the burning heat? Chez Ribe is a convenient stop-over near the Invalides, where you can stay within your daily budget, with a value-for-money seated lunch somewhere cool, clean and interesting.
My Meal
Anyone partial to a little cheese exploration, will find merit in the Goat cheese salad on deck, at Chez Ribe.
The salad, including: mache, lettuce, red peppers, fresh mesclun sprouts, tomatoes, and sometimes raisins and pine nuts, is recommended with a glass of chilled Sauvignon Blanc; the crisp refreshing result of a sip of Bordeaux’s finest, used so as to enhance the richness of the Goat cheese.
On this warm day, the salad was matched in its original agreements – the goat cheese softened by the wines intensive and liquorice tones – with a sweet wine (for future reference: ideally of the Sainte-Croix-du-Mont persuasion).
Dessert
One of the frenchiest French desserts you should ever deign to stomach, is chocolatey…and that’s all the draw you should need.
Petit gâteau de chocolat is the name, and sweetness is its game.
A good petit gâteau de chocolat is crispy chocolate cake on the outside, and melted ‘fountain of artery-clogging‘ chocolate inside.
The best ones are made with due consideration for not overwhelming diners with sweetness, but balancing: the expectation of okay’ish spongy cake, with smooth creamy dark chocolate sweetness inside, and a cut through Willy Wonka’s wet dream, with the crispy chocolate cake’s not-quite-burnt edges.
The Chez Ribe petit gâteau de chocolat passed muster by the skin of its teeth...perhaps because of the awe-filled euphoria of being near the Eiffel Tower.
Drinks
Chez Ribe may lack a haute gourmet leg to stand on, but they have champion cocktails to ease you into your late Parisian afternoon.
Mojitos are their calling cards, as everyone from TripAdvisor to Instagram boasts.
Enjoy the Chez Ribe versions, with their Rhum’s, champagne, Sucre de Canne and Citron vert, for that cosmopolitan city girl buzz.
However, I specifically asked the waiter to serve me their sweetest, most delectable cocktail, and BY GOD! Did Chez Ribe deliver!
My cocktail is called the Cointreaupolitan – Jus de Cranberry, Jus de Citron, and a healthy dose of Cointreau, make this cocktail the best one of my entire #FrenchKlaas trip.
Verdict?
Chez Ribe does not bear all the exemplary marks of an establishment unyielding in delivering foodie nirvana, but it has the superficial charm to get by.
Come here, if for no other reason than the fact that every other nearby eatery would be a food truck, too pricey, inaccessible to regular folk, or too snooty to enjoy hearty lunches.
Chez Ribe
15 avenue de Suffren, 75007, Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 45 66 53 79
Open
Monday – Friday: 08h00am – 00h00pm
Saturday – Sunday: 08h30am – 00h00pm
LOL Thanks so much for the comment Maria 🙂 It was actually really hard to find decent enough eateries in Paris, when you’re on a budget. Most of the places served bland, small portioned foods. This was a lucky find thanks to my French friend who knew of it.
I went to Paris a couple of years ago, but I will be sure to visit this place next time. Always looking for places to eat good French food because, when I went there for vacation a couple of summers ago, I got a really bad impression of the food. Great writing, quality reviews. Absolutely perfect 👌🏼 Loved the Chocolate cake part. Not gonna lie, I laugued for a little bit when you said the Willie Wonka thing 😄👌🏼 Looking forward to reading more of your posts.