Recommendation #1

20/10/2024- Le Petit Keller, 13 Rue Keller, 75011 Paris

Admittedly this recommendation isn’t entirely objective. The likely love of my life that I broke up with three months ago (LLOMLTIBUWTMA for short) took me here on our second date and in all honesty he could have taken me to an Argentinain steakhouse and I would have loved it (n.b: I don’t eat meat). But if there is one thing I am grateful to LLOMLTIBUWTMA for, it's the little black book of Parisian restaurants he helped me build. I never knew that I could eat so well and more importantly so diversely in Paris. I’m not knocking the value of a good Bouillon but it’s nice to stray off the steak tartare/coq au vin/bavette frites merry go round. Le Petit Keller is in the 11eme arrondissement (as everything trendy and chic seems to be), it’s a small intimate room with a bar on the left as you walk in and a semi open kitchen at the back to the right. There is an elegant winding staircase which anticlimactically leads you up to nothing more than the toilets. It’s got lovely french carrelage and simple formica tables: a curated version of grandmother's kitchen but with natural wine bottles everywhere to remind you it’s cool. I’m not an expert on cuisine but I thought the food was great; veggie friendly and Japanese-fusion-esque. I had some kind of baked cauliflower and I couldn’t tell you what was in it but it was good.  Above all though, le Petit Keller is about the vibe which is perfect: it’s cosy and sexy and despite all that manages to remain unpretentious.

This is a bad photo. Just trust me, it’s nice.

UPDATE: It has been brought to my attention that this place has now closed down. I’ve since walked the 30 minutes from my flat to the restaurant to confirm this tragic news. In many ways I can’t think of a better way to kick off my blog than by recommending a restaurant that’s closed down.What a great omen. Also wow, that relationship had such bad karma it shut down a restaurant. Powerful stuff.