A classic Parisian bistro dining room with red banquettes and white tablecloths

7e arrondissement · Paris, France

Le Voltaire

The sole meunière is right. The room is the point.

La note

A room that has not been touched in a generation, and is the better for it. Order the sole, the soufflé, and a glass of something cold and white. Ignore the rest of the carte.

From the editors · Vedere House

Les particularités

Style: Bistro classique
Open since: 1955
Best for: A quiet Tuesday
Reservations: Two weeks ahead
Dress: Quiet · jacket

You go for the room — red banquettes, a river view through lace — and you stay for the sole meunière, which is correct. The rest of the menu is a study in "fine, if you'd expected it." The welcome is warmer at the second visit; the wine list asks to be trusted.

“
The room is the point.
”

Sur place

A good table for a quiet Tuesday. Not the one to book for a birthday.

Moments choisis

A meunière sole on a white plate with parsley and lemon

01

The Sole Meunière

Pan-finished at the table, a clean lemon, brown butter at the edge. Take it with the house Sancerre and nothing else.

A red banquette by a tall window with lace curtains

02

A Banquette by the Window

The river-side tables are the only ones to ask for. Lace curtain, brass rail, a slow Seine on the other side.

A risen soufflé in a small white ramekin

03

The Grand Marnier Soufflé

The dessert no one has improved on. Order it at the same time as the main; do not skip it.

Dans la maison

A dimly lit Paris dining room at the close of service — A Tuesday at nine

A simple plated dish with brown butter and lemon — The sole, table-side

Quai Voltaire in early morning fog — Quai Voltaire, sept heures

The Seine from the seventh arrondissement — La Seine, à côté

À associer avec

Si vous y allez, allez aussi ici.

Cheval Blanc Paris — the reception hall

Paris

Cheval Blanc Paris

One floor above the table you've just left. Same Seine, same arrondissement axis, no taxi back to the room.

The Eiffel Tower against a lavender Paris dusk, seen from the Seine

Paris

A Private Sunset on the Seine

The river you eat beside, taken first from the water. Five minutes from the quai to the table; arrive in time for the soufflé.

Poursuivre la lecture

Plus à Paris — Tables.

A finely dressed restaurant table at Plénitude

Plénitude

Paris, France

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