Name: Clown Bar Address: 114 Rue Amelot, 75011 Paris Website: http://www.clown-bar-paris.com/ Location: Paris Budget: $$ Price: £50pp with wine and dessert. What I recommend: Veal Brain in Tosazu sauce, Fois Gras Pithiviers
Every time I see a Japanese chef heading up a french restaurant, I get very excited. After having drooled over the pictures of Fois Gras Pithiviers and Tosazu Veal Brain, I just had to run to Clown Bar the last time I was back home in Paris. I can confirm, it's worth the detour, heck, it's even worth a trip to Paris in its own.
Clown Bar is brain-child of Sven Chartier, owner and head chef of Michelin-starred Saturne in Paris. He and his team set out to create a bistro with a twist in which they would like to eat themselves. The restaurant itself has taken up rooms in the old artists' bar of the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris, and the walls are covered in Clown tiles (not as scary as it sounds). The menu is an exciting mix of extreme creativity combined with some of the most traditional and old school french dishes. One visit there was enough to earn it a spot in my top 5 and if it wasn't for it's location (on the other side of Paris from my house), I'd make a visit there compulsory every time I come home. Below you'll see some of my favourites. I can't wait to go back and try the rest of the menu.
TOP TIP:
Don't be shy, try the brains. I don't like brains, of any kind, but the Tosazu sauce combined with the ginger and chives topping, make the whole thing feel more like a delicious silky tofu thank the cerebrum of a small cow.
