We hadn’t planned it that way, but it just so happened that the morning after our visit to Septime, they entered the list of the world’s top 50 restaurants (at n°49). Since that day, it has been pretty difficult to get a table there, but perhaps you should really make the effort? Here’s why…

Tucked away to the east of Bastille, in an area that insiders know for its concentration of extra-tasty bistrots  (especially around the  rue Paul Bert) Septime is a very discreet kind of place – there’s no logo and no sign to tell you they’re there. Inside, this low key attitude continues, with industrial influences, old lamps and metalwork, and wooden tables. A small interior garden can be spied towards the back, and an open kitchen in the other far corner, with probably a dozen people bustling around it. Once you pass the old-styl bar and the large and highly-visible wine cellar (filling a small windowed room) you be seated at your table and shown the menu. There’s actually not much on it. Septime has a no choice fixed menu at 55 euros, plus 8 euros for cheese if you want, and a separate wine list ranging from reasonable to pretty damn expensive that they’ll be happy to advise you on. The idea is that you put yourself in their hands, which is exactly what we decided to do. How about a glass of  prosecco to start things off nicely? You’ll soon find out that the wine waiter knows his stuff, and many of the propositions are quite original, like the Pinot Grigio we had during our meal, which is not white, red or rosé, but somewhere between… With nothing more than the price on the menu, our meal was to be a complete mystery. Just in case, we announced that two of us were vegetarians, with one meat eater, and that wasn’t a problem. Each dish is brought to you with a smile, followed by an explanation of the ingredients, which are often unusual and plentiful. For example, our first dish included radish, mint, ground elder, pieces of oyster, bonito, spinach, cabbage, fennel, broccoli flowers and sorrel. Some of our other dishes were made with unusual ingredients such as bear’s garlic, kalamata olives and nasturtium. So brace yourself for an explosion of tastes, and probably six dishes, including a pre-first course and main first course, two main dishes and tow desserts. As improbable as it may sound, we were so concentrated on what we were eating that we actually managed to forget to photograph a couple of our dishes! Our taste buds must have overpowered our brains… As the restaurant is already in the world’s top 50, you don’t need us to explain that each dish is super fresh, delicately composed and presented, bursting with new and different tastes. However, it is worth pointing out that service is smiley and proficient, surpisingly so for such a young team – they know all the ingredients and the atmosphere is friendly but professional, all of which contributes to Septime’s new status as one of the places you have to eat before you die. Our few hours there were extremely enjoyable, on several levels. As night fell and the place emptied out, we were already saying that we definitely had to come back… Septime is at 80 rue de Charonne (here) Tel. +33 (01) 43 67 38 29 (but if you think you’ll be able to book a table over the phone, then think again) Open for lunch Tuesday-Friday, and for dinner Monday-Friday Book online via The Fork here. You’ll be shown what space is left. Bookings open three weeks before the date in question (at midnight CET), so make sure you do your online booking at the right moment! (Tip: it’s often a lot easier to get a seat for lunch rather than dinner) Official site: septime-charonne.fr To see all our photos of Septime, click the play button below, then click the four little arrows bottom right to go into fullscreen mode.