We’ve rated Trâm 130 as GREAT with three stars * * *
You can find all our rankings in the Restaurant Index
Trâm 130 is a casual, creatively Asian spot from from Vietnamese chef Priscilla Trâm. And while it’s hard to compete for attention in the restaurant-laden 11th arrondissement, we think this one is worth your time.
We bypassed the much-lauded chicken wings lacquered with nuoc mam, lime and chile and opted instead for the croquettes of roasted potimarron (red kuri squash) with spicy gochujang, cancoillotte (a mild and runny French cheese) and miso cream.
We also dove into their fresh take on a som tam salad that substituted shaved radish, apple and beet for the usual papaya and topped them with tamarind, garlic and peanut.
These fresh pasta ribbons were topped with braised beef cheek and oxtail ragù and spiked wtih lemongrass. Trâm’s version felt like an inventive (and yummy) take on the French comfort dish boeuf aux carrottes.
For vegetarians, Trâm offered a yellow curry of potatoes and turnips presented with a vol au vent stuffed with sautéed mushrooms and a side of black rice. It felt both virtuous and delicious.
The scene is good - it’s young and cool, but not obnoxiously so - and service is excellent. The prices are fair, with entrées (starters) around 15€ and most mains priced below 30€.
Desserts were both fantastic. People rave about the Basque cheesecake here, but we went with this outstanding matcha crème brûlée (8€) and the surprisingly wonderful pear cake with tonka bean, whipped cream and crumbled praline (9€).
The beverage list is interesting. By the glass, they offer a small selection of sakés, some house cocktails (one with gin, shiso and umeshu liqueur), and a handful of wines. Bottles are marked up a little higher than elsewhere, and mostly natural. You might opt for the Triple Zéro pet nat from Jacky Blot for 76€ (ouch) or a Muscat made in Greece from Patrick Bouju for 46€. The wine wasn’t my favorite part of the evening.
My favorite part of the evening was watching this tipsy couple roll all over each other on both sides of their table. That, and the gochujang croquette.
We’ve included Trâm 130 among our 50 favorite restaurants in Paris. They’re an especially good idea on a Monday night.
TRÂM 130
130 Rue Saint-Maur, 75011
Open Monday-Saturday for dinner only
Closed Sunday
Reservations online
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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).
