My friends and I had dinner at Le Ballon Rouge a few weeks back. It was a Friday night and we'd had grand plans to catch live music, but had failed to account for how tired we'd be after a full day of Parisian holiday fun. We ended up walking into this little wine bar, and it was the perfect place for a light, languid meal, complete with a bottle of wine.
The space was charming, casual and cute, with much of the decor provided by tightly stocked shelves of wine. The ambiance was comfortable, and service was great. Our waiter was attentive, friendly, and fluent in English. He helped us pick a nice, reasonably priced bottle of French wine--L'Orée du Sabia Fiefs Vendéens Brem, which was, I think, a pinot noir.
We'd eaten a huge lunch dense with butter and mayonnaise, so we decided to go easy on dinner, sharing a few dishes between the three of us. The menu was short, all of it written on a chalkboard. It food seemed designed for this sort of light meal, wine and cheese boards and small plates in the €6 to €15 range.
Everything was lovely, starting with the basket of crusty bread. The sardine rillettes were flavorful and addictive, served with sturdy buckwheat biscuits. The creamy mushroom tartine was satisfying, four slabs of bread piled with mushroom, sheep milk cheese, jamón ibérico, roasted broccoli, salad greens, and nuts. The best thing we had, though, was the croque a la truffe, a simple, buttery, decadent croque-monsieur with ham and truffled cheese.
We ate and drank at our leisure, and somehow three hours went by, carried off in waves of laughter and convivial conversation. We went back to my friend's apartment and slept until the next afternoon. I loved my time at Le Ballon Rouge and would recommend it to anyone looking for a peaceful, cozy wine bar in this part of Paris. read more