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25° Est, restaurant on the Bassin de la Villette in Paris

It was a rotten grey day in Paris, cold and windy. Summer in Paris was looking a lot more like November in Berlin…

My hairdresser (of all people) had told me about this new restaurant not far from his salon, supposedly smart, big, with great terraces. I had to go and check it out. And that’s how we ended up at the 25° Est just a few weeks after it had opened.

We started with a drink on their upper terrace (no meals served up there), which has great views of the canal basin that stretches on up to La Villette. Thanks to the rain our drink didn’t last long, and we were soon shivering under a parasol wondering how we could get down to the restaurant without getting soaked!

Eventually we made it (amazing how hunger can motivate you eh?). The restaurant is a large, fairly low-ceilinged concrete blockhaus with industrial-style lighting, visible wiring and a floor painted bright red. Spaces this size are not common in Paris, and terraces with such a great view over water are very very far between. The ground floor terrace will be great when/if the weather’s good.

So the tone is set: urban, modern, minimalist. These words do not usually bode well for good food, however the menu was full of dishes that took our fancy, and before long the friendly young waiter was over to take out order.

The food didn’t seem too expensive and would like to think it’s inventive, but the servings could be larger. For example, the first courses are 6.50 euros. Our ‘crunchy goat’s cheese with thyme honey’ turned out to be just cheese melted over two small bits of bread, served with a small side salad. The vegetable crumble fared better; it was tasty and nicely served.

Main courses are 10 to 14 euros, We went for a swordfish steak and a salmon steak. Both came served with salad and had either mashed potato or (delicious) mushroom risotto. Apart from that, the fish itself was not bad but not exceptional; the swordfish was as dry and the salmon was greasy (but I suppose you can’t really escape that).

Dessert was left me unimpressed; although a fairly cheap 5 euros, the rose and litchi dome tasted just of roses, and the ‘marshmallow cushion’ was bright purple and tasted of… nothing.

I would go back to 25° Est, especially for the space and design of the place. As for the food, I can’t say we ate badly, but the dishes didn’t always live up to their description, and a three-course dinner with wine will probably set you back around 30 euros. We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, as they’ve only been open a few weeks. For the moment, there may be better deals in Paris, but none have the great setting of 25°C Est. With a little extra effort in the kitchen, the restaurant could soon become one of the city’s hottest.
25° Est : 01 42 02 91 70