A simply superior French cafe.
The headline story is the interior decorating and the atmosphere.
But the food and drink command respect as well.
* * *
Look and feel is a huge issue here.
This is NOT another another artificial attempt to recreate a French cafe of Toulouse-Lautrec's era for the sake of the tourists.
This is a real deal just-the-way-it-was cafe of the 1950's and early 60's.
Think Yves St Laurent.
Think Jacque Tati.
Think Francoise Sagan.
Modernisme rules.
Split level design is cool.
Think shining steel.
Think glass.
Think white marble.
No warm woods.
No chalkboard.
You sit here.
You feel chic.
You wish there were Ye Ye girls singing in the background.
Artistically, the architect and interior decorators nailed everything good about that period.
* * *
The execution of French staples is absolutely superior here.
My oeufs mayonnaise was made with genuine homemade mayonnaise -
Not something out of a jar.
Freshly made in the kitchen mayonnaise tastes nothing like Hellman's or institutional mayonnaise.
Better still, each egg was grounded in a small pedestal of unsalted fresh butter.
Cold fresh sweet butter makes all of the difference in an oeufs mayonnaise.
I had that dish about six times while I was in Paris.
The La Mascotte version stands out notably.
* * *
La Mascotte also does an extremely superior Salade Nicoise.
No canned tuna here. Freshly sauteed seared on the outside rare on the inside tuna.
Perfect hard boiled eggs. (A rarity in a Salad Nicoise.)
Red peppers to die for.
Subtle but wonderful anchovies.
And a host of other attractions including lots of artichoke hearts.
I adore Salade Nicoises in general.
This one is something special.
* * *
They also have a superior bar.
Most places will have okay cognac, okay armagnac and a bottom of the line eau de vie.
The cheapie downscale places will have Kahlua.
Here they pour a superb Belgian mandarine liqueur, Mandarine Napoleon.
Mandarine Napoleon makes Grand Marnier look like cheap orange brandy for collegiate drinks.
It is a warm, rich, intensely orange, not at all cloying, clean, warm liqueur.
Other cafes do stock Mandarine Napoleon, but it is not common.
The bar was filled with offerings of this caliber.
Between the decorating and the bar options,
I could have stayed at La Mascotte all day and all night, drinking,
And been supremely happy.
* * *
La Mascotte is near the Seine, near the bridge to the Eiffel Tower.
You are in Major Tourist Central.
You are also near Avenue George V with the 88 star $$$$$$$$$ hotel the George Cinq.
(That place has been bought out by the Four Seasons -
So I suspect the supermodels of the world now stay elsewhere.
The prices have not dropped.)
So the local establishments are either total tourist rip offs or insanely expensive.
(Tip: Avoid any cafe that offers you the "Real Paris Experience" in English on the front window.)
La Mascotte will give you absolutely superior food and drink in a room that captures the Paris of Jean Luc Godard and Georges Brassens.
(Okay, the Paris frequented by the bourgeoisie of the era of Jean Luc Godard and Georges Brassens, not the artistes.)
Still,
Style is style.
Chic is chic.
**************************
If you read the other Yelp reviews,
You can see that there is a lot of whining here from American tourists.
They complain about
1) Waiters not understanding them.
2) The steaks.
The tourist cafes nearby specialize in serving (and overcharging) Americans.
The waiters all speak English and the food is nothing special.
La Mascotte is a little farther back from the Eiffel Tower and gets more of a French clientele from the nearby upscale neighborhoods.
Not all of the help speaks English. Their basic clientele is French.
As for steaks, French cafes everywhere are known for cheap tough miserable steaks.
Steack Frites are rarely a good idea anywhere.
I have one seen one good French steak while I have been here - at a famous Cafe called the Bouillon Julien.
There is a lot of shoe leather.
Americans visiting Paris.
French cafe food is good but French steaks are terrible.
Plan accordingly.
The Yelp tourists think this is a three star place.
This reflects the tourists. Not the actual quality of the cafe. read more