Hôtel Amour 8, rue Navarin, in the 9th Arrondissement.
01 48 78 31 80. Daily, noon–11 p.m.
The food at Hôtel Amour is perfectly fine, but it’s the leafy terrace in the back that makes my heart sing. On a warm summer day it feels several degrees cooler in this sort of urban secret garden. Here it’s also cooler, with a laid-back right-bank mix of diners tucking into their tartare with gusto.
The menu is conducive to light meals and snacking. Start with a bunch of radishes or make a meal out of a chicken Caesar salad, a salade niçoise, or a plate of melon, mozzarella and Spanish ham. In case you haven’t noticed, the offerings here are less French, more casual-cosmopolitan. But then so is the clientele.
I saw plenty of bountiful salads pass by in the hands of pretty young waitresses, but many hungrier types were skipping the greens and going straight for the burger, with or without bacon and cheese. I have heard very good things about that burger (from a curmudgeonly American, no less), and I suspect those comments have to do at least in part with the honest pile of frites that accompanies it—crisp, golden, freshly fried and served with all the accoutrements from Heinz and Hellmann’s. Now that’s amour!
Roast chicken with fries.
A burger was not in the cards for me on a recent visit. I wanted to try more of the menu. Starters included smoked salmon, an artichoke salad with Parmesan and olive oil, and a tomato soup with basil. I chose a salad of green peas and fava beans, tossed with delicate greens, bacon and chèvre, which was just right.
I got my fix of fries with the roasted chicken. The chicken (a poulet jaune des Landes) was moist and flavorful, comme il faut, and the green salad was fresh and well dressed, competing as well as it could with those fries. Memorable? Not exactly, but satisfying nonetheless. Other main-course options included an entrecôte, grilled bass and grilled saucisses.
The real treat here, though, as I said earlier, is the setting. A brick patio under a glass atrium gives way to a lush garden with more seating among the greenery. There are a couple of tables secluded up a few stone stairs, which would make an excellent spot for clandestine business meetings.
Or a little amour, maybe.
In a nutshell: With a pretty crowd, a prettier space and pretty good food, there’s plenty to love about Hôtel Amour.
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Hôtel Amour
by Lamar C
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 03:13 AM
By Barbra Austin
The leafy terrace at Hôtel Amour.
Hôtel Amour
8, rue Navarin, in the 9th Arrondissement.
01 48 78 31 80. Daily, noon–11 p.m.
The food at Hôtel Amour is perfectly fine, but it’s the leafy terrace in the back that makes my heart sing. On a warm summer day it feels several degrees cooler in this sort of urban secret garden. Here it’s also cooler, with a laid-back right-bank mix of diners tucking into their tartare with gusto.
The menu is conducive to light meals and snacking. Start with a bunch of radishes or make a meal out of a chicken Caesar salad, a salade niçoise, or a plate of melon, mozzarella and Spanish ham. In case you haven’t noticed, the offerings here are less French, more casual-cosmopolitan. But then so is the clientele.
I saw plenty of bountiful salads pass by in the hands of pretty young waitresses, but many hungrier types were skipping the greens and going straight for the burger, with or without bacon and cheese. I have heard very good things about that burger (from a curmudgeonly American, no less), and I suspect those comments have to do at least in part with the honest pile of frites that accompanies it—crisp, golden, freshly fried and served with all the accoutrements from Heinz and Hellmann’s. Now that’s amour!
Roast chicken with fries.
A burger was not in the cards for me on a recent visit. I wanted to try more of the menu. Starters included smoked salmon, an artichoke salad with Parmesan and olive oil, and a tomato soup with basil. I chose a salad of green peas and fava beans, tossed with delicate greens, bacon and chèvre, which was just right.
I got my fix of fries with the roasted chicken. The chicken (a poulet jaune des Landes) was moist and flavorful, comme il faut, and the green salad was fresh and well dressed, competing as well as it could with those fries. Memorable? Not exactly, but satisfying nonetheless. Other main-course options included an entrecôte, grilled bass and grilled saucisses.
The real treat here, though, as I said earlier, is the setting. A brick patio under a glass atrium gives way to a lush garden with more seating among the greenery. There are a couple of tables secluded up a few stone stairs, which would make an excellent spot for clandestine business meetings.
Or a little amour, maybe.
In a nutshell: With a pretty crowd, a prettier space and pretty good food, there’s plenty to love about Hôtel Amour.
Price check: Starters are 6–15 euros; mains, 13–28 euros; desserts 4.50–9 euros.
For similar food with a grander view, visit Café Marly, which looks onto the main courtyard of the Louvre and is priced accordingly.
INFO
Café Marly
93, rue de Rivoli, in the 1st.
01 49 26 06 60. Open daily, all day.
Editor's note: For a gourmet walking tour, check out our DIY downloadable tours.