I stumbled upon this cafe whilst strolling around the Marais, and I am so glad I did! Not only is the host extremely delightful and friendly, but the food was incredible. Simple and traditional french cuisine, the menu offers a nice variety and you simply can't go wrong with any choice. Among my favorites were the confit de canard and tartare au saumon. During our stay we tried a dozen different ducks at various restaurants and I have to say the one we had here was hands down the best one! The ambiance is quaint and picturesque, reflecting the tranquil personality of the quarter. Our experience was so lovely we HAD to stop by right before our departure to end our trip with another perfect meal. I will be returning the next time I am in town. I highly recommend stopping by for an amazing meal! read more

My husband and I went to Paris for four nights and ate at BDJ Café two of them. We loved the prix fixe menu. I would say the duck thigh was dry but everything else we had was good. I especially loved the escargot. The sea bass which was the fish of the day was wonderful too. We are saving it to our notes on what to do the next time we go back to Paris! read more

Wow. Literally the best meal I had during my 7-day trip to Paris. This place is a hidden gem and is surrounded by other cafes or bistros that seem to get more business, but let me tell you, if you come to Paris and find yourself in Le Marais, you must eat here. The prix fixe menu is a great value for the quality and quantity of food you get. Everything was perfection. My husband and I both ordered the prix fixe (25 EUR pp for a 3-course meal). He ordered escargot, fish of the day (sea bass over a bed of ratatouille), and finished off with French apple pie. I ordered the french onion soup, lamb shank (paired with mashed potatoes), and ended with creme brulee. The escargot was not chewy like most people say escargot seems to be and I sopped up all the delightful herbs/oil with the best baguette in the world. Seriously...I had so much french baguette all week and this place provided the best bread basket of baguette. The perfect combination of crusty on the outside and soft/chewy on the inside. My french onion soup was AMAZING. Do yourself a favor and get it if you come here. It comes out piping hot and bubbling. The mains were all cooked to perfection. The fish had a nice crust to it and was so tender and flakey. The lamb shank was not game-y at all and came smothered in a delicious wine-reduction brown sauce. My husband particularly loved it. While the creme brulee was good, we both especially enjoyed the homemade apple pie more. My husband does not have a big sweet tooth, and even he wanted more of the apple pie. Also can't beat 5 EUR glass of wine. It was the best meal ever. WHEN we go back to Paris again, we are definitely coming back here AND staying in Le Marais again. Great area to stay if you're looking for suggestions on which arrondissement to stay in. Le Marais still feels kinda local and not too touristy. Gives you a good idea of what living like a Parisian is like. read more

I'd like to make it clear from the start I am no expert at French cuisine. Of all the world's offerings I've only felt intimidated by French menus. My wife and I tried this establishment the first night in Paris. The owner was inviting and gracious, (even with our non-existent French). The pre-fix menu is extensive. The wine list is complete and very reasonably priced. The first night my wife had the onion soup and I the scallops carpaccio. Both outstanding. We both tried the entrée of duck confit. I've ordered duck confit at east a dozen times at French restaurants in America, (both because I like it, and also because it's so "French"). The Duck confit here has created a paradigm shift for me. You know when you feel you just where handed the secret keys to something? Thats the feeling I experienced. Dessert the first night was a delicious crème brûlée. The second visit we both had the escargot and lamb shank as recommended by the owner. Both very delicious. Dessert of the best apple pie I've tried. Of course a great bottle of French wine... another exceptional dinner experience. I truely could not recommend this restaurant highly enough. read more

If you're looking for a quaint authentic bistro with top-notch food, you've found it. Incredible value for an exceptional meal -- the duck confit was fantastic. Also, the service was fabulous. The owner waits on each table himself, and was very accommodating to a large group of non-French speakers with a baby, all of whom were arriving at different times -- no easy feat. Great service, great value, and terrific food -- definitely worth the trip to La Marais. A cut above your dime-a-dozen bistro for sure... we'll be back. read more

This was one of my favorite meals during my entire Paris trip last November. Stopped by here for their pre fixe lunch menu and were attracted to the plat choices! It was also busy with a full house but we were luckily able to snag a table as a couple was on their way out when we were heading in. Although everything we had was tasty, our most memorable dish here was the duck confit. It was crispy on the outside, but moist and warm on the inside. The stir-fried potatoes that accompanied the dish were seasoned nicely and the fresh side salad complimented the sauce from the duck perfectly. I am drooling as I am reviewing this dish! The restaurant is owned by a dad & son duo and there is one chef who cooks all of the food in a tiny kitchen. Amazing how he can produce such tasty food in such a tiny little space! I am returning to Paris for the first part of my honeymoon this Fall and BDJ Cafe is on my MUST GO TO list! Can't wait! :) read more

Great little neighborhood gem. Awesome 3 course prix fixe menu for 23 euros. Most of the restaurants in this area either did not have a prix fixe menu for dinner or were more expensive. Hubby almost killed me after we spent about an hour looking around for restaurants with good reviews & good price. It was quite cramped but not unusual for Paris. A bit slow in getting the prix fixe menu. The owner gave us the a la carte menu and said he'll come back with the prix fixe menu - and when he didn't get back to us in 5 minutes, we ended up going back to the sign and took a picture and figured out what we wanted and flagged him down to order. I *think* we got the salmon tartar for appetizer and something else. All I remember was that we got a good amount of salad. Both were tasty. Then the entree - the hubsy got the foie gras pasta - quite bland for my taste but he liked it. It's 2 pieces of foie gras on top of unseasoned pasta. I believe the heat from the past melts the foie gras which as a result, created a nice 'sauce' for the pasta. I got the duck confit which comes with some pan fried potatoes and salad. I really wanted the skin to be super crispy but unfortunately it was a bit soggy. The flavor was great, but the texture was not as amazing as I had experienced in the past in NYC. I shared some of my duck meat with hubs to improve his pasta. For dessert, he got the creme brulee. it was so good he didn't want to share which means he REALLY liked it (he's usually good with sharing his food). I got the molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream (you can see the vanilla bean!) and raspberry sauce. Sooooooooo good! I liked mine better. It was nice sitting under the heat lamps outside. The inside would have been too stuffy. read more

My daughter and I arrived in Paris this evening. Since we are staying just one block away and it was raining hard, we decided to stop here as it was close with nice outdoor heaters. The menu was 23 euros for entree, plat and dessert. We also ordered a decanter of wine for two and cafe for dessert and the total was 65 euros. We tried escargot and scallops to begin. Both were excellent. The Lamb shank arrived with delicious potatoes and the fish of the day was presented on a zucchini dish with sauce that was amazing. For dessert, creme brûlée and apple pie. Both solid, not amazing but for the price, we were quite satisfied with our cafe dinner. Would come back again! read more

Wandered by and were drawn in by the special menu. We had French Onion Soup and Duck pâté starters, followed by escallop de veau and duck confit mains. Delicious meals and very friendly service. read more

We had our last meal of our honeymoon here and it was perfect! The server was incredibly friendly and helped us muddle through our limited French. The prix fixe menu- 3 courses for 23 euro- was great for us. We had escargot, the fish of the day and the lamb, and two excellent desserts. The atmosphere is great- on a fun open square- and the staff made the experience extra special. Definitely a bargain dinner when you're in the Marais district, especially when most other prix fixes start at 28 euro. read more

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My husband and I came here our last night in Paris while staying in the St. Paul neighborhood of Le Marais. We were pleasantly surprised to find that not only was the food amazing, but the service and prices were equally pleasing! They had really good Prix Menu options and we choose a tasty well portioned pate/sald for appetizer, a mouth watering Rib Eye steak (Entrecot), that came with salad, fries and peppercorn sauce, and a chocolate soufflé with ice cream an a raspberry sauce for desert. We were impressed with the flavors and the super nice owner who serviced us. We wish we would have found this place sooner (and it was literally across the street from our hotel). read more

Terrific little restaurant on the Place Ste. Catherine in the Marais. Excellent menu and good very carefully prepared. We had St. Marcelin salad and duck pate, then sea bass on a zucchini gratin with turmeric cream sauce. Unusual but comforting. Very nice wine by the pichet and reasonably priced. Then I asked the proprietor about dessert: he recommended the tarte tatin as dessert and the vieille prune ray de vie as a digestif. This was the best tarte tatin (special apple tart) I have had since I was in Normandy. And the vieille prune was the perfect cap. All this with friendly and helpful service in a convivial atmosphere. Thorough excellence. read more

This was among the bottom of all of my dining experiences in France. We were attracted by the 22 euro menu with nice sounding selections and (one of our rules) no hamburger on the menu. We should have been tipped off by the lack of people eating there and almost nobody getting food, but how bad could it be? Our soupe a l'onion was ok, but the cheese was more like mozzarella than gruyere. Not horrible, though. My duck confit was ok, but the side potatoes were mushy and obviously sitting around for a few days. Her fish was overcooked, with a gratin underneath that was edible. Dessert was included, and the creme brulee was broken, and my tarte tatin was soggy with rubbery crust. We should have known better: the kitchen was the size of a closet with only one guy and two stove burners and a refrigerator. The 16 euro 50cl wine was ok, but expensive. Bad, Bad, Bad. read more

I go to this restaurant every time I'm in Paris. I first bumped into this place in 2012 when I was visiting Paris for the first time. I had their amazing foei gras on top of fettuccini and I was hooked. It was heaven. Coincidentally, my friends who were visiting on a different time, bumped into this place as well and had an amazing experience. Next time we all went back to Paris on the same trip in 2014 we made sure we stopped by not just once but twice. On my recent trip to Paris this March (2016). I was eating there almost every day. You can't beat the price and quality. 15 Euros for lunch which includes appetizer + entree or entree + dessert. And for dinner, 23 Euros for 3 courses. Here are a few of my favorites: Foei gras fettuccini, terrine, escargot, duck confit (amazing), salmon tartar and magret de cannard. The owner Mouss is very nice, he recognized me last time I was there. We were late one time for lunch, they were prepping for dinner already but he still let us eat and gave us the lunch price instead of dinner. Amazing service. read more

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