
59 Boulevard du Montparnasse
Paris, France
Where is it?

To get to the toilets, head through the bar and dining room, towards the back of the place. In between the kitchen and dining room is a small enclave containing a sitting area, some displayed art (both paintings and a few items held in a glass case) and the toilets, which are behind some darkly stained wooden doors. The men's room has a little bronze boy hanging on the door; the women's has a little bronze girl on it.
What's it like?

Still, this is definitely a place to seek out, as it provided me with the best dining experience I've ever had in Paris, at least for a bistro-type experience. The affordable menu comes filled with classic French dishes, like steake frites, endive and Roquefort salad, freshly shucked Normandy-caught oysters and much more, and each dish I had was expertly prepared and outrageously delicious. (The price fixed menu offered three courses, plus dessert and cheese and white for about 35 euro, which isn't that bad, really.) The big surprise here was the use of rump steak for the steak frites -- I thought it would be chewy, considering the cut, but it ended up being moist, tender and very flavorful -- one of the best I've ever had, to be honest.

The toilets appropriately extend the art nouveau feel of the dining room. The room has two sections. The main area contains the urinals and sinks, both white porcelain. The walls here are dark mahogany wood, the mirrors and fixtures made of bronze, the lighting dim but not too dim. It's a lot like stepping into a turn-of-the-century boudoir, only without the seedy undertones. Similar in look and feel to La Cave, but without the modernist touches.

Marks out of 10:
8. Very classy art nouveau setting in a fantastic art-nouveau-inspired restaurant.
Comments to the Management:

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