Belleville is a Paris neighborhood better known for its excellent Vietnamese Pho restaurants, old-fashioned brasseries serving solid cuisine populaire, and bustling Chinese eateries than it is for contemporary French cuisine. However, the traditionally working-class area, host to successive waves of immigration since the 19th century, is gentrifying like any other area of the city is. So when two friends suggested we try Felicity Lemon, a trendy bistrot serving tapas-style small plates just off the street art micro-district on Rue Dénoyez, I was a bit skeptical.
"Concept" restaurants are a dime a dozen in Paris these days, but in my experience they too often place emphasis on decor, ambiance, or the "originality" of the dishes on offer, to the detriment of quality.
As I soon discovered, though, my skepticism was unwarranted. While Felicity Lemon's small-plate concept can quickly run up the bill-- there are no fixed-price set menus for dinner-- I was so pleasantly surprised by the delicate, fresh flavors, creative use of seasonal ingredients, and lovely presentation of the dishes we chose that it seemed like very good quality for the price. I didn't get to meet chef and owner Sylvia François to compliment her on what turned out to be an excellent meal, but wish I had. Scroll down for the full review.
Location and Practical Information
- Address: 4 rue Lemon, 20th arrondissement
- Metro: Belleville
- Tel: + 33 (0) 1 71 32 71 77
- Open: Tuesday-Saturday from 12pm-2:30 pm for lunch; 7pm-10:30 pm for dinner. Closed Sunday and Monday.
- Dress code: Casual
- Reservations: Recommended
- Price range: $$ -- Around 15 to 35€ per person excluding drinks/wine. Lunch fixed-price menus are available, but dinner is exclusively a la carte. (Note: Please be aware that this was accurate at the time of publication but may change at any time).
- Payment: Visa, Mastercard, cash.
The Food
Since the menu (scrawled on a chalkboard and brought to us by the server) loudly suggested that we share several plates, my co-diners and I decided to order a few different dishes and split them. In a restaurant culture where sharing isn't often encouraged (and is sometimes frowned upon) this seemed like a refreshing prospect. The server explained that we should order a few of the dishes as starters and the rest as main courses, to make things easier on the kitchen.
For the entrée (starter, scroll up to see pic), we opted for fresh white asparagus with poached egg, arugula, and fresh parmesan shavings, served atop a thin slice of German-style rye bread, and a Spanish-style sliced pork dish accompanied by fresh chopped pineapple and cilantro leaves. The asparagus was perfectly cooked (tender but not stringy, as white asparagus sometimes is when overcooked) and served as a lovely first course for the spring. I'm a semi-vegetarian, so I didn't taste the pork dish, but the pineapple accompanying it was tangy and pleasantly infused with some type of citrus.
The main course was a wild mushroom risotto with truffle oil (a bit forgettable and slightly less al dente than I prefer) and trout filet with Asian-style vegetables that was perfectly cooked and presented: flaky/crusty on the outside yet delectably tender inside. A bottle of white wine from the Gascogne region complemented all the dishes quite nicely.
For dessert, we greedily shared a slice of lemon cheesecake (pic), and chocolate tart. Both were simple but delicious.
Ambiance and Service
Tucked away on the eponymous Rue Lemon, the restaurant is bright, airy, and intimate, clearly catering to a "bo-bo" (bourgeois-bohemian) professional set without coming off as pretentious. You're seated in chairs that look like they formerly occupied elementary school classrooms, and black chalkboards filled with menu items and little doodles add to the casual bistrot/classroom theme. The server was helpful and friendly, at least by Parisian standards.
My Bottom Line?
Felicity Lemon is a welcome arrival in Belleville, offering fresh, well-presented, and well-rounded French, Spanish-style, and fusion small plates for reasonable prices. The ambiance is pleasant, the wine list solid, and the service friendly. The prices are moderate, especially when you consider how solid the quality is. Another plus is that the menu here features enough vegetarian dishes that those who eschew meat aren't likely to go away hungry (read our related feature on the best vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Paris). It's a little gem tucked away in one of the most colorful and little-known areas of the city, and worth the detour.
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