My friend Louise and I were in and around the grassmarket yesterday for a trawl through some of the antiques and vintage shops. Grub was needed, but from past experience, I find a lot of the restaurants in the area seem to be of the mass ‘punt it out to tourists’ ilk, knowing they’re not likely to be repeat visitors. We hovvered between Little Italy and Petit Paris (and with absence of the choice of Small Scottish, or Tiny Thai) we went for the Gallic option.
We were offered seats inside, but took a brave notion to dine en plein air (outside); in October. I know! The combination of the checked tablecloths, friendly French staff, and and big food made this one of the best lunches in ages. We kept it simple, one dish each, paired with a basket generouslly filled with baguette and sourdough, a glass of rosé for me.
Louise got tucked into a bowl of puy lentil broth, which made this a particularly peppery version of this winter classic. My roast pork came in a cast-iron dish, an all-in-one stew of the type the French do so well. Roast pork, carrots, chunky sliced potatoes, a bucket of sweet armagnac-spiked jus, and four fat boozy prunes. The meet was tender and it’s sad that pork does get such a bad rep a lot of the time.
Two cups of hand-warming tea later, and we were out of there in under half an hour; excellent stuff. Coming soon, The Silver Fox and I are off to the real Paris in November!
The bill: A veritable ‘petite’ £16.70 for the two of us.
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