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France Paris Restaurants Travel

L’Ecailler du Bistrot, Paris

One of the culinary delights of visiting Paris is indulging in the assortment of raw seafood that so many restaurants offer. You see them as you pass by, with fresh seafood piled outside the venue, resting on ice, while l’ecailler is standing outside, shucking oysters on demand.

No visit to Paris is complete without this travel pilgrimage to discover a new restaurant or revisit a favourite. Previous visits included Le Bar à Huitres at various locations, Le Bar du Marché in the 6eme arrondissement and Maison Prunier in the 16eme.

Photography © by Corinne Mossati for Gourmantic – Copyright: All rights reserved.

L’Ecailler Du Bistrot is purely a seafood restaurant in Paris located in the 11eme arrondissement, a recommendation by Forest Collins of 52 Martinis. Inside you’ll find an inviting maritime décor much like a quaint boathouse, with wooden boats, sea paraphernalia and prints, painted murals and blackboard menu with daily specials.

Les huitres (oysters) are graded by number which refers to their size (1 is the largest), region (eg Bretagne) and location (eg Creuses) as are belons (flat oysters) which you can order as an assiette de degustation or tasting platter.

But for the seafood gourmand, nothing beats the Plateau de Fruits de Mer at 80€ for two persons. A large metal platter on a bed of ice is brought to the table with Creuses no 4 (oysters), half a tourteau (crab), crevettes roses et grises (shrimp), bigorneaux (winkles), bulots (whelks), étrilles (crabs) amandes de mer (dog cockle) and palourdes (clams).

Starting with the briny oysters, and one is drinking the sea. No accompaniments needed. This is as fresh as it gets.

L’Ecailler du Bistrot is a busy restaurant therefore reservations are highly recommended. On a weeknight around 10pm, the venue was at full capacity and still turning tables. The clientele is a little older, which according to my Parisian cousin, are the ones who can afford it. Service is friendly and swift highly recommended on your next visit to Paris.

L’Ecailler du Bistrot is featured in our restaurant and bistro guide, Where to Eat in Paris.

L’Ecailler du Bistrot
22 Rue Paul Bert, 75011 Paris
Tel: (33) 01 43 72 76 77
Metro: Faidherbe-Chaligny
Open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday to Saturday.

About the author

Corinne Mossati

Corinne Mossati is a drinks writer, author of GROW YOUR OWN COCKTAIL GARDEN, SHRUBS & BOTANICAL SODAS and founder/editor of Gourmantic, Cocktails & Bars and The Gourmantic Garden. She has been writing extensively about spirits, cocktails, bars and cocktail gardening in more recent years. She is a spirits and cocktail competition judge, Icons of Whisky Australia nominee, contributor to Diageo Bar Academy, cocktail developer and is named in Australian Bartender Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential List. Her cocktail garden was featured on ABC TV’s Gardening Australia and has won several awards. She is a contributor to Real World Gardener radio program and is featured in several publications including Pip Magazine, Organic Gardener, Australian Bartender and Breathe (UK). Read the full bio here.

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