Chez Denise

Does anyone know of this restaurant? We%26#39;ve read some very good things about it and would like to go there when we%26#39;re in Paris a couple of weeks from now. Does anyone know if the area it%26#39;s in is safe for a woman and young teenager alone? %26quot;Chez Denise, 5, rue Prouvaires, First%26quot;

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It is one of the last authentic restaurants in the area called Les Halles (before they were moved to Rungis). It has been in business for over 30 years. It is good traditionnal hearty food. Portions are generous. Open all night (they have a day chef and a night chef!). Closed on week-end.

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It is also called La Tour Monthlery. I had a beef cheek stew there and they added a touch of orange zest that took the traditional into the realm of sublime. Portions were enough for my entire family.

As for safety, I don%26#39;t think you%26#39;ll have any problems, but I would not walk home through the Les Halles gardens after supper, either.

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Thanks - we are staying in the 5th, so if we don%26#39;t walk home through the Les Halles gardens, is there a safe route back to the 5th from Chez Denise...we want to walk, if possibel, everywhere!

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You might need to make reservations - it%26#39;s very popular. But I do recommend it. Our 3 teens really liked it a lot . We did too - lots of history and good solid bistro food. You can easily walk to the rue du Pont Neuf from there, so getting back to the 5th should be no problem. Enjoy!!

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The gardens are north of the restaurant and would therefore be a detour on your way home. That is to say, very easy to avoid and a safe walk home just about anyway you should wander.

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Thanks very much!

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A couple of years ago, Marc Bittman of the NY Times did a nice write-up of Chez Denise and some other popular Parisian bistros. Here is the link to the article:

…nytimes.com/2005/03/13/travel/13tables.html…

You might have to register with the NY Times (www.nytimes.com) but registration is free

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Chez Densie is a wonderful place to eat. We had a fantastic meal there last year. The staff were very friendly, the food (we had the Coute d Beouf) was so good. We are really looking forward to going back and sitting there all night with several glassess of the house wine. I hope you go and have a great time.

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Thank you all! I do plan on going and taking my 15 year old daughter with me --

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Hi jedwards...

I just got back from Paris yesterday. We rented an apartment on Rue des Ecoles not far from Rue St. Jacques. We found it very convenient for getting everywhere in Paris.

We ate at Chez Denise on Monday, our last night in Paris. I had heard about it on this forum. It definitely is worth going to. We had reservations at 7:30pm (we had an early flight the next morning) and were only the 2nd table seated but the rest of the tables filled up pretty quickly. I had stopped by earlier in the day to make a reservation and I%26#39;m glad I did. When we arrived in the evening, each table had the party%26#39;s name on a piece of paper in a glass. And all the tables had a piece of paper so walk-ins were out of luck.

There%26#39;s a long bar in the front of the restaurant and the dining room is in the rear. The tables have red-checkered cloths. I love ambient lighting in a restaurant and my first impression was that the dining room was a bit overlit/bright, but I adjusted pretty quickly.

The menu is written on a blackboard that the waiters move around. There were about 6-8 first course options and 12 or so main course options. They were all traditional dishes with a good selection of fish %26amp; meat. The food was good and the portions generous.

We were 4 people. We shared 2 starters (which our waiter had plated on 4 plates - very nice of him) - a fish terrine and a chicken liver pate. For main course, we had the french version of shephard%26#39;s pie (hachis parmentier), 2 lamb chops, and a haddock with beurre blanc.

The highlight of the meal was one of two desserts we ordered, the floating island (ile flottante). It was eye-closing, conversation-stopping AMAZING. The other dessert, raspberry cake, was completely mundane by comparison.

We walked back to our apartement at the end of the meal. It took about 20-25 minutes and it was totally safe. And a nice end to the evening.