We’ve rated Lissit as GREAT with three stars * * *
You can find all our rankings in the Restaurant Index
Last month, the wonderful Pico Iyer penned a piece in the New York Times about the travel writer’s dilemma - whether to share a favorite discovery or to keep it for oneself.
“The very premise of the job is to tell you about attractive possibilities that you might not otherwise know about. But as those little-known jewels become better known, readers grow understandably indignant (that quiet and reasonably priced cafe is suddenly unquiet and unreasonably priced), while locals wonder how much to curse the onslaught of visitors and how much to try to make the most of them.”
My whole professional life is centered around publishing favorites, and I rarely feel stingy about sharing. But I really did hesitate with this one. Lissit is special. It’s so small, so close to my apartment, and so very, very good.
Enter this corner restaurant and you’ll find exposed stone, mismatched chairs, bottles and tapered candles in the window, and a monstrous plant that seems to have been growing here since the 1960s. An icy wine bucket sweats as sunlight streams in through the windows. It’s comfortable without trying too hard.
Owner Alexis Lissitzky (Lissit for short) is a hustler, and a wonderful host. He can greet customers while carrying an armful of dishes, pop a cork for one table while taking an order for the next, check on a sidewalk table through the open window. During our three hours there, he never stopped moving, or smiling.
The vibe and service are so lovely that I would come to Lissit even if the food was forgettable. That’s not the case. The food here is serious. Seriously good.
We started with this gorgeous pâté en croûte, which included pork, lamb sweetbreads and lamb tongue. Silky house-made pickles and biting mustard made this a nearly perfect small plate.
Then came these little flavor bombs that married oeufs mayonnaise and pickled herring salad. The eggs were garnished with slim strip of fish, bathed in oil, and topped with a carrot flower cap. Two bistro snacks in one.
I’m still thinking about this one - a tatin of boudin noir and pear, bathed in jus and brightened by a wedge of little gem with lots of dill and pickled mustard seeds. Such an incredible balance between soft and crunchy, deeply savory and sweet. I loved this dish.
But this was also incredibly good: zucchini stuffed with summer vegetables and bathed in sorrel sauce. A vegetarian dish that felt worked, highly seasonal, and special.
Not at all seasonal was this dainty dish of cassoulet. I’m not sure what this was doing on a summer menu, but I have a hard time not ordering cassoulet when I see it.
It was delicious, and perhaps the perfect portion of cassoulet. The small ramekin allowed maximum surface area to develop crispy duck skin and a crust on the beans.
And finally: this insane sausage of pork and mussels wrapped in a buttery brioche, garnished with a tongue of mild red pepper, and bathed in cream. This dish encapsulated the chef’s precision and creativity, and also Lissit’s incredible value - it was priced at just 13€.
Who is Claire Grumellon? Where did she come from? Why have I never heard of this chef? Google stalking reveals that she’s a photographer. Is that why her plates are so pretty? She’s a force, or at least she will be. Remember her name.
For wines by the glass, the pricing is simple - 7€ for red and white (whatever’s open), 8.5€ for orange and sparkling. I’m seeing this format a lot lately, most recently at Trouble. For bottles, the selection is natural and mostly priced in the 40-50€ range.
There’s a great sidewalk terrace and, as you can see from this photo, the vibe is pretty casual. Lissit is a neighborhood place that’s punching far above its weight, but it’s still a neighborhood place. I hope the Tiktok crowd stays far away from this one. I hope that chef Claire Grumellon sticks around, and I hope I can still get a table the next time I want to return. Which will be soon!
Lissit doesn’t feature among our 50 Favorite Restaurants in Paris (we visited after that update was published) but it will surely be included on a future list.
LISSIT
48 Rue de la Folie Méricourt, 75011
Open Tuesday-Saturday from 5pm-1am
Closed Sunday & Monday
Reservations online or at +33 1 80 87 22 68
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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
Our Restaurant Index
On this page you’ll find a ranking of all the Paris restaurants that we’ve visited anonymously since the pandemic reopening (more than 260 at the latest count).
Jeez! Those pictures. My god! Stunning
love these photos