My favorite restaurant in Paris (6th arrondissement)
I had been staying at a little boutique hotel in Paris’ 6th arrondissement for many years. The Marché Saint Germain was only steps away. It’s in a more modern building than you typically see in the area, so I wasn’t immediately pulled in. Uniqlo and Apple are the anchors here. Not pulled in. Not yet. Then one warm, sunny day as I was returning from an afternoon walk, I heard sounds of joyful laughter coming from behind some large planters. I heard forks clanking against plates. Must investigate. Between the planters I saw people enjoying wine and some amazing looking food. Need to find out more. There were wine barrels on either side of the entrance. Always a good sign. The barrels held menus and cute little vases filled with fresh flowers. I went inside and was instantly mesmerized. How had I been staying so near and never been to this place? Reservation made. Six course tasting menu with wine pairings.
It might be difficult to discover this restaurant as it’s a little off the beaten path. Everyone gets to Rue de Buci and thinks they’ve arrived. That’s understandable because Rue de Buci is the quintessential little Parisian street lined with bars, restaurants, and cafes. But head a little further east up Rue de Seine and cross over Blvd Saint Germain. Then go half a block further and you will see Rue Clement on your right. Turn right. Here you will find the beautiful Marche Saint Germain. This is where Mordu is. Mordu means bitten in French. Bitten by love, bitten by music, poetry, art, gastronomy…
I want to shout it from the rooftops; Mordu is my favorite restaurant in Paris! There are many places in Paris that I love. But if we’re going to go down the list of boxes to be checked, well, Mordu simply ~ Checks. Every. Single. Box. I rarely eat at the same restaurant twice while I’m in Paris, mainly because I have a long list of restaurants that I need to get to for my blog. However, I always eat at Mordu at least once.
So let’s talk about those boxes. For me the boxes are, always, in this order: ambiance, staff, food. I know it might come as a surprise that food is last. I’m not saying that the quality of the food isn’t important. I am just saying that if the staff are amazing and the ambiance and vibe are super cool and the food is good, then I’m all in. However, if the food is exceptional but the staff and the ambiance are not great, then I’m usually out. I don’t write full blog posts on a restaurant or bar that only checks 2 of my boxes. It must be all 3.
So let’s start with ambiance. The interior is a mix of modern, and rustic chic. Classy yet still casual. Plush curtains. Large, round light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Fresh flowers on every table as well as a lot of other greenery scattered around the restaurant – real plants, not plastic. And, the playlist. Playlist isn’t one of my boxes but… I do always make a note of good music. There was some Sade, a little Ottmar Liebert, Cassius… I had my Shazam app open. Usually when I land in Paris, I set up a new playlist and title it with the date of my trip. That way I can immediately start adding songs to it. So: Paris Spring 2023. I like listening to the songs from my trip while I’m writing. It always takes me right back to those moments. Open the app and it will tell you what every song is that plays. It will even make them into a playlist for you that you can export. It’s easy to download onto your phone from the App Store. I encourage you to start your own Paris playlist. Such a great souvenir! Music definitely falls under ambiance for me. Good music isn’t an essential, but when it’s on point, it kind of makes the whole night.
Now let’s move on to the staff. While the food is some of the best I’ve had in Paris, the servers here are what make the experience so special and memorable; they make you feel like you’re sincerely important to them. And, as I’m sure you know, this is not always the case at many restaurants. We absolutely loved our sommelier Theo. He was super quirky and charming, and had great energy. He was very generous when I asked a lot of questions about the wine and wanted to see all of the bottles. He explained the wines to us, and brought over the bottles as we made our way through the courses. I asked him if they change up the wines regularly and he said, “Of course! Otherwise, I get bored!” Good answer. He single handedly made this our best night in Paris.
I have since been back to Mordu several times. On my most recent trip I had an equally lovely experience. I was by myself, it was a Tuesday, and tourist season was not yet in full swing. The restaurant wasn’t as full as it usually is. I didn’t know what to expect because our favorite Parisien sommelier, Theo, was no longer working there. But don’t fret! He is now the manager of the O’Chateau wine bar, another business owned by the same company. However, Yaëlle was there. We had met Yaëlle the first time we dined at Mordu; she helped bring some of our courses to the table. We had the best night together! She was extremely knowledgeable on all of the wine pairings. We chatted a little more than we might have if the restaurant had been fuller. The chef also came out to the table to offer little tid bits about the dishes he had prepared. Finding outstanding employees is extremely difficult these days, especially in the restaurant industry. When you encounter servers this focused and this engaged you know that they must really love what they do and where they work. That says a lot about an establishment. Mordu definitely has all the recipes for success.
Now let’s get to that last checked box; the food and the wine. All the magic here is created by chef Alan Deloumeaux, and head sommelier Olivier Machado. When I’m doing a tasting menu, the wine pairings are just as important – if not more important – than the food. It’s always disappointing to find that not a lot of thought went into the pairings. This is never the case at Mordu. Not only are the pairings always spot on, but the wines themselves are absolutely delicious. And, you will want more. You’ll be tempted to order a full glass pour of one of them. But resist! Because, there’s 6-8 wines to be had before you are done; and they’re not small pours. On this particular evening, the tasting menu was 6 courses but they brought me 8 different things – there were two desserts. Come hungry.
The amuse bouche were little savory, parmesan, oregano bites with a carrot mousse and caper leaves. It was served with a blanc de noirs rosé Champagne from C.H. Picconet. I’m really picky about Champagne, and this one was definitely selected by someone who can tell the difference between the good ones and the great ones. It had the tiniest little bubbles rising up from the bottom of the glass; they continued to float up from the bottom until the last sip. And yes, if you want more, they do sell it by the glass.
Subsequent courses included a beautifully presented Navet Daïkon with a French buttermilk and olive oil emulsion poured around the edges, paired with a Loire Valley Savennières (100% Chenin Blanc, bone dry). Then, Boudin Noir; a blood sausage or black pudding perfectly paired with a Bourgogne Rouge, Domain Guyon, Chorey Les Beaune, 2018 Les Bons Ores. This pairing was outstanding, the flavor of the wine literally melted together with the blood sausage. Then there was the poulpe, or octopus. This is one of my favorite dishes at Mordu and I was really happy to see it on this tasting menu. I’m kind of finicky about eating octopus. If it’s not cooked right it can be really chewy. When I’ve had it at Mordu it has always been fork tender with a little crispiness on the outside. This dish may change the minds of people who say they don’t like octopus. And another brilliant pairing, Adrien Berlioz, Rousette de Savoie, Zublime. The grape is Altesse. A dry white wine with notes of floral, honey and hazelnuts – it is often paired with seafood. This is a grape that most non-wine industry people have likely never heard of. At least not in the U.S. It is always exciting to be served something unique like this. There were several other items served including a white fish paired with an unpasturized Sake, and a lamb dish paired with a red Bordeaux blend.
The first dessert was a really fun pairing of a spicy curry sorbet streusel served with an IPA. The second dessert, and last dish, was another one of my favorites at Mordu – the Snickers. An elevated twist on the candy bar that we all know and love, but with an ice cream component. Tastes just like it sounds. It was paired perfectly with a Porto aged 10 years in wood.
One of the things that I appreciate about the tasting menus at Mordu is that the chef is really excellent at balancing out the dishes. There’s never too much of anything. The portions are also just the right size.
Tasting menu is usually around $75, wine pairings $55. Extremely reasonable.
One thing to note is they don’t typically offer the tasting menu in July and August, but they do have their à la carte menu available.
If you want to have a lovely meal with perfectly paired wines in a beautiful setting, then get yourself a reservation at Mordu. And if you want to have a dreamy afternoon of wine, cheese and charcuterie whilst listening to Theo talk about terroir then head on over to O’Chateau. But of course the right answer is to do both! Full blog post on O’Chateau coming soon!
Mordu
2 rue Félibien, 75006, Paris
+33 1 42 39 89 27
Tues-Sat 12:15-2:30 for lunch & 7:15-10:30 for dinner
Closed Sun & Mon
Be sure to check out their Instagram pages too! Mordu & O’Chateau
One Response
Beautiful descriptions and pictures! And your music playlist suggestion is fantastic. Our memories are so entwined with songs, the soundtrack of a visit will help us remember what might otherwise be forgotten.