We’ve rated Juveniles as GREAT with three stars * * *
You can find all our rankings in the Restaurant Index
I love my job and am grateful for the chance to review restaurants in Paris. But between visiting new openings and doing research for neighborhood-specific guides, I don’t have much time (or belly space) to return very often to my favorite spots.
Juveniles is one of those favorites. I hadn’t been back for almost two years, because I knew it was doing fine. I recommend this bistro all the time and hear nothing but positive reports. I didn’t feel like I needed to go, even if I wanted to. But I finally broke down and returned this fall for no other reason than my own selfish pleasure.
Juveniles remains the casual neighborhood bistro we all dream about, complete with a charming host (Margaux Johnston) who remembers your previous visit and her chef-husband Romain Roudeau who makes beautiful bistro food in a tiny kitchen.
The atmosphere is friendly and familial, despite the posh location near the Louvre. The wine cellar that began with Margaux’s father Tim Johnston remains one of the most delightful and well-priced in the city.
At lunch, there’s a daily special that includes a glass of wine and a coffee for just 21€. It looked great, but I opted to order à la carte and start with the grilled porcini mushrooms (it was the season). These were topped with a fried egg and showered with pancetta. A little balsamic shallot butter and parmesan cream made it all feel luxurious. Some version of this dish (egg + seasonal things + parmesan cream) has been on the menu for as long as I can remember. It’s reliably delicious.
We also tried the veal tongue croquette with a remoulade of celery root and apple. Homemade harissa brought a welcome punch.
I ate a lot of skate wing this fall, and Roudeau’s version was my favorite. The fish was cooked perfectly. The freshness of green zebra tomatoes and herbs played beautifully against smoked potatoes and a rich beurre blanc sauce. This is an excellent example of Roudeau’s thoughtful and balanced seasonal cuisine.
But that wasn’t even the best dish. We lost our minds a little bit for what came next - pork shoulder pressed and cooked until crispy, served with charred broccoli and squash puréed with sage butter. The textures were exciting, there was a great play between sweet squash and bitter broccoli, and that meat jus married it all together brilliantly.
Desserts here are always simple but good. You’re unlikely to see something with a crust (they don’t have a dedicated pastry chef), but Roudeau’s rice pudding with salted butter caramel is a reliable favorite. On this day, we went for figs roasted in red wine and rosemary with an almond financier and anise cream, and then a bay leaf pannacotta (below) with poached pear and almond crumble. Both were great.
If you’re not a dessert person, Juveniles has fantastic cheese options from both France and from Neal’s Yard Dairy in the UK - all offered with suggested pairings. We didn’t have room at lunch, but I highly recommend them for cheese.
Juveniles is affordable and centrally-located. They’re welcoming to both families and solo diners. They have enough menu options to please almost everyone. Their wine list is phenomenal. They speak English well.
They tick so many practical boxes - in addition to being delicious - that I’ll continue to recommend them in our Q&A forum, in our selection of 50 Favorite Restaurants, and in our January guide to Paris bistros. They’re the sort of hard-working mom & pop restaurant that I feel so grateful to have in Paris.
Update: in spring 2025 they started taking online reservations!
JUVENILES
47 Rue de Richelieu, 75001
Open Monday-Friday for lunch & dinner
Closed Saturday & Sunday
Reservations online or at +33 1 42 97 46 49
French with some modern & creative touches
open Monday
lovely wine list
near the Louvre
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Our restaurant index organizes the restaurants we’ve anonymously visited since 2021 by location and ranks them all as:
GREAT * * *
GOOD * *
FINE *
NOT RECOMMENDED
Love Juveniles… have for decades. Love that it’s Pere en fille - don’t see that much. ❤️
Absolutely one of the very best. Lunch a couple of weeks ago was Fabulous - a perfect plate of food. We all left saying that was one of the best meals ever.......and delightful people.