Aux Fins Gourmets, Paris

As entertaining as it is to visit new, trendy restaurants in Paris, it would be criminal to spend a week there and not eat at least one meal in a classic bistro. Thus, we descended upon the 51-year-old Aux Fins Gourmets in the Seventh one night, drawn by the restaurant’s signature dish, duck confit.

Like most traditional French bistros, Aux Fins Gourmets is brightly lit and convivial. A mostly local crowd filled the place at around 9pm, the standard dinner hour here. There are not a lot of surprises at this neighborhood place, but that’s exactly the point. It was an oasis of calm on a busy Saturday night on the Left Bank.

We started with the charcuterie, for which the salami speckled with fat came served with – what else? – a slab of butter. This was fabulous butter, sprinkled with all-important fleur de sel and accompanied by country bread.

An olive tapenade came laced with olive oil and served on little toasts.

Something got lost in translation with our appetizer order, so what we thought would be a miniature casserole of warm foie gras turned out to be this huge dish of country pork pate. Is it always served as a loaf, or was this just because of our attempted explanation of what we wanted – paté in a dish? We will never know. We merely served ourselves a slice and enjoyed the hearty pork.

Similarly, Ms. S. thought the mushrooms would be the star in this appetizer of wild mushrooms with a soft-boiled egg, but the egg dominated. Creamy, earthy and woodsy, it was nonetheless the perfect entree into fall.

Satisfyingly salty and just gamey enough, the duck confit was crisp on the outside and exceptionally tender, flaky and moist within – exactly the sort of bistro comfort food you crave in Paris. Thin discs of crunchy fried potatoes alongside served as a sort of haute french fries.

This classic cheese plate featuring the stinky, the mild, the sheep and the goat was easily devoured between the three of us.

In a nice personal touch, Aux Fins Gourmets finishes out your meal by bringing you canisters of candy. The red citrus jelly candies coated with sugar were particularly addictive and fresh. We had to seal up the canister and move it far away.

Comfortable and charming, with solid food, good prices and relatively friendly service, Aux Fins Gourmets can make you feel like a local even when you’re miles from home.

Aux Fins Gourmets
213 Boulevard St. Germain
Seventh Arrondissement, Paris
01 42 22 06 57 ‎