Boo in Paris - Le Marché des Enfants Rouges

On our final day in Paris, feeling more than a little sore headed following a late night Chez Jeanette we set off for brunch via Marché Bastille. This market is Jo's local, open every Sunday, it also happens to be David Lebovitz', here is what he has to say about it.

The sheer size of it is amazing and the variety of food on offer is remarkable. Here is one stall with enormous pans full of traditional beef bourgninon and paella. The aromas and buzzing atmosphere of the market were enthralling, had I not felt so fragile I would happily have spent the entire day wandering about there.


Finding Rose Bakery closed (quelle suprise) we head over to another market, Le Marché des Enfants Rouges, to have brunch. This market is much smaller in size and less traditional in that they offer a selection of Japanese, African and Greek cuisines. We ate in a small corner of the market at a restaurant named L'Estaminet du Marche. This place prides itself on being unfussy and traditional. They are well known for their Sunday brunch.

The concept of brunch seems an entirely different affair to what it is perceived as here or in the US. The menu offered a meat or fish brunch. I went for the meat option. What arrived was a plate with a hell of a lot going on, to be honest it was a bit much for me in my hungover state but I quite like the concept of there being a little bit of everything.

To be honest this was a bit struggle for me to eat with a dicky tum but looking back the selection is great and so typically French, I am so glad to have tried it. The cheeses were mighty and pungent and possibly not the wisest place to begin. There was salami, brawn, salad, yoghurt, scrambled eggs, fruit salad and a scone! It took me some time to work my way slowly through this and about 5 baskets of baguette but looking back I loved it. It's good to not have to limit oneself to meat or cheese, sweet or savoury when ordering but for veggie Jo, yet again there was little for her on the menu. Some cheese and baguette.

Paris resident Tori had the fish brunch and cleaned up, she had previosuly been sceptical about the French take on brunch but is now a convert. Jamie had the most adventurous offering on the menu, a tripe sausage, or Andouillette. This was served with salad and new potatoes.

It was obscured from my view thankfully by the salad leaves, I think the sight of it would have pushed me over the edge but Jamie seemed more than satisfied with it. I would like to have tried it were I feeling better.

Brunch and foodie conversation over (they have horse and donkey butchers in Paris, who knew?) we head out into the market and picked up a few bottles of Beaujolais (wine of choice for the weekend) for a very reasonable €7 each.

Another notable find over the weekend was a fig and walut boursin, correct me if I'm wrong but I'm not sure we get that here, I've never seen it. The French do know their cheese. I loved this weekend in Paris and am itching to get back there as soon as possible.

L'Estaminet du Marche
Le Marché des Enfants Rouges
39, Rue de Bretagne
75003 Paris
7.5/10