Be sure to check your mailboxes on Friday, when we’ll be delivering the summer update for Our 50 Favorite Restaurants in Paris! This quarterly update will be for paid subscribers only, but you can enjoy today’s review for free.
Can I admit something? I no longer love hanging out in wine bars where I’m a decade (or more) older than everyone else. As someone in her late 40s, my idea of a good time is sharing glasses and stories in a comfy chair. I shake my fist at noise levels more than I used to. I grumble when the only place to perch is a wobbly stool.
Gibon is a gem for cranky discerning folks like me. I’m calling it a wine bar, because my first visit was at night when they serve a selection of small, sharable plates. They were wonderfully affordable, like this plate of three oysters for 6€…
…or this crispy tart with spicy boudin noir and Brussels sprouts for 12€.
Vegetarians had a fun option with this dish of sweet potato in bleu cheese sauce with crispy fried onions (10€).
I also loved this dish of trout with red cabbage and spicy mayo (16€). At 18€, this dish of miso chicken (below) was the most expensive and least successful item on the menu. But there are worse offenses than being a little bland.
Service was efficient and kind. The wine selections were interesting, and we could easily converse in the midst of their middle-aged crowd.
Our night ended on a high note with this chocolate tart with flaked sea salt and whipped cream (8€).
I returned recently for lunch, when they offer two courses for 21€ and three for 24€. Once again, Gibon was filled with locals. I started with the “panzanella” with apricots, cucumber and stracciatella.
Despite whatever quibbles I might have about using the term “panzanella” to describe a salad with croutons, this was a delicious salad with croutons.
I was also very into this tuna dish. The line caught tuna had a slightly crispy exterior and was beautifully rosy inside. An untraditional sauce vierge was packed with herbs and hazelnuts, and the roasted potatoes were perfect.
Despite being full, I was obliged to try their clafoutis aux cerises, featuring some of the season’s first cherries. It was merely average, but I didn’t regret spending the additional 3€ to try dessert.
Whether you use Gibon as a night-time wine bar or a easy-going lunch option, don’t expect it to change your life. It’s trying (and succeeding) to be a friendly neighborhood spot serving delicious things for not much money. I’m happy to celebrate modest tables like this alongside the more ambitious tasting menus that feature among our 50 Favorites.
GIBON
52 rue Richard Lenoir, 75011
Open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch & dinner
Closed Sunday & Monday
Reservations at +33 9 81 97 49 39
Oh I like how you word that “celebrate modest tables!” That Brussels sprouts dish is speaking to me
This piece really spoke to me and so did that chocolate tart!