We wound up at La Marmite our first day in the Paris region because almost every other shop was CLOSED when we were all settled after our flight. We were looking for late lunch around 3 PM, so it was quite frustrating to find that places weren't open for business. :(
De toute façon, we stepped in and saw the owner (?) and another staff member eating. We were welcomed in and seated. He handed my family members English menus but gave me a French one, since I greeted him in French. LOL THE SHAME.
We ordered off the set lunch menu, which came out to be not quite €17. I started with the starter of the day, which was melon and ham. It was the simplest of the starters we had, but the owner recommended it to me as a good food for the warm day. I liked it, even though it was very simple and straightforward. I've never had ham with melon but I knew I'd like that sweet+salty wonder. My brother got a great little mussel dish, where the mussels were cooked with butter, garlic, and basil. My parents got the salad with potatoes and duck. Super delicious.
I ordered the beef bourguignone, which was one of the entrees of the day. It was good, but I think I'm just not personally good on red wine still, even in my food, so I struggled a bit to eat it with the flavors. (I've never been 100% with the French flavor palette.) It was nice and hearty, which would've been better for a colder day, with the yummy stew and the potatoes and carrots. Yum.
For my dessert, I got the apple tart, and the flavor was just a wee bit off? Maybe I'm used to sweeter kinds of apple desserts, but it wasn't really very sweet and that's what I was craving. :( However, my family had some great desserts that I was able to sample.
All in all, I had a great experience at La Marmite, and the owner was SO nice and kind to us. He hovered a little bit, but I didn't mind too much since we were the only ones in the restaurant at that hour. read more