In a nondescript street in an area of Paris mostly known for, er, nothing at all, sits l’Office. It’s a restaurant that was previously – and very patently – a crusty old bar. There’s just one room with rather nasty bright lighting – despite discrete 70s touches – a few half-empty shelves and, for some reason, part of an Ikea kitchen. All of which means that l’Office does not make a good first impression. But forget that. In this part of town – actually in any part of town – great food like this is hard to come by. Read on…

photos : JasonW


We arrived at 8pm to an empty restaurant, with only an iPod dock weakly hissing endless Stevie Wonder and two waiters looking slightly dazed… A quick look round the room didn’t inspire us. An effort had been made, but it still seemed a bit… cold.





Not a good start. There was lots of running up and downstairs (where the kitchens are). It all seemed a bit disorganised. We were wrong.



After being asked whether we would like an aperitif, we opted for wine instead, choosing an Apulian bottle that turned out to be both tasty and wickedly strong. Then a small plate was deposited on our table. We didn’t know it yet, but our fabulous gastronomic journey had just been set in motion. The plate contained small squares of warm fougasse, a sort of light spongy bread stuffed with vegetables, in this case fresh basil and tomato. We were instantly charmed. Suddenly the evening took on en entirely different aspect. Our noses and palates had realised that something exceptional was in store.

As the last pieces of fougasse we melting in our mouths we decided to order our meal. L’Office has a tiny, tiny menu, practically no choice at all – just three first courses, main courses and desserts. Don’t worry, you will be amazed. For out first course we opted for the candied butternut, mint, radish and cucumber, and my fellow diner chose the roast beetroot, smoked mozzarella and dill.

(The prices on the black board are for one, two or three dishes and are not that expensive for Paris.)

You’ve probably seen TV show or poor films where the characters are in a restaurant and they take a mouthful of food and stop, their eyes widen and they look amazed at how wonderful it is. That is what we looked like. The first mouthful was enough to convince us that we were not in any ordinary restaurant.

The butternut melted in the mouth, and perfectly complemented the crunchy thinly-sliced vegetables and crunchy batter served with it. The mix of tastes and textures was amazing.

The smoked mozzarella wasn’t too strong and brought out the taste of the beetroot. Roasted pine nuts helped everything along perfectly.

At the end of that we were already amazed at the detail and care taken into crafting our dishes. But the ride was only beginning. The main course wasn’t far behind.

The choice had been difficult. Two of the dishes (veal and braised beef) were out of the question – we’re vegetarians. So went for the salmon with miso, braised red cabbage and fennel, and asked the waiter if it was possible to have a vegetarian dish instead. This question is generally followed by a stern stare, much tutting, and the offer of either a green salad or an omelette. But at l’Office the waiter wasn’t even vaguely fazed. He said that there was very probably something they could do with the homemade spinach gnocchi and some vegetables. We were secretly thinking that it was probably something pretty wonderful. We were not disappointed.

The salmon – which we had asked to have well cooked – was salty on the outside and soft on the inside, sat on a bed of tasty red cabbage and covered with a julienne of fennel. A sprinkling of sprouts set the whole thing off. We tried out best to savour every forkful.

The vegetarian option turned out to be incredible melty green gnocchi served with cubes of fried aubergine. It was amazing, astounding!

Things had been going well. The music had changed (Rage Against The Machine? What an odd idea), the place had filled up. Thanks to most of a bottle of wine and orgasmic food, we were on fine form. The list of desserts was presented to us… but although there are only three on the menu, there was a major problem; we couldn’t choose. They all sounded too good. So we decided to throw caution to the wind, break the rules, be mavericks… and have them all.

First up was a dish we decided to share. Roquefort cheese served with Speculaas, a sugary Belgian biscuit with cinnamon usually served with coffee. Here it was in two forms; crumbled up and as a spread. This unlikely coupling was served with a small glass of Talisher whisky… or rather two (we’d thrown the rulebook out the window by this time). The mix of sugary spread and blue cheese was astonishing. The heat of the whisky added to this unique experience. It’s a pleasure to be surprised and charmed by food, and we were.

Next up came the desserts proper. My partner had chosen the financier – sort of cake with almond flour – served with brown sugar ice-cream and a rhubarb purée. The mix was obviously amazing. Brown sugar ice-cream? Where else can you get that?

My dessert was a dark chocolate cake served with light cream and a small slice of citrus fruit. It was fantastic, luscious, soft, strong, a voyage…


After all that we were exhausted and happy, taste buds reeling from the strange and successful combinations of food that we had tasted. It was the sort of meal where you want to go into the kitchen, hug the chef and ask if he would like to adopt you.

Personally we’d change the lighting a little, make the bar a little less Spartan, hide the Ikea furniture, but how can you complain when the food’s so good? In this tiny backstreet, culinary wonders are happening and you’d be advised to go and taste them as soon – and as often – as possible.

Here’s all the essential information for the restaurant l’Office in Paris

Address: 3 rue Richer, 75009 Paris, métro Cadet (line 7) or Bonne Nouvelle (lines 8 & 9)
Opening hours: closed Sundays and Mondays. Open for lunch on Thursday and Friday from midday – 2.30pm. Open for dinner from Tuesday – Saturday from 8 – 10.30pm
More photos: here in our Flickr gallery

Bigger map here