Negotiating tight side streets past the imposing museums of Les Invalides, I finally found this traditional restaurant with no official website, or little mention elsewhere… oh and it starts at 8pm. Half an hour till eating time, will it be worth the trek?
Invalidated.
The valley of heroes. Military might. The iconic golden dome of the church of Invalides.
Les invalides is also the place where many a tourist can pay their respects to famous French heroes, such as Mr Bonaparte for example. Ah, I could go on about Parisian history and culture, but that’s not why I’ve chanced upon the grandeur of this area; I’m here to find a local French restaurant, buried within the heart of the city, and one that is named after the most royal of herbs: The Basil.
It was not an easy find, but after walking past many official looking structures, protected by guards who carry Jack Bauer style side arms (not to mention the fancy caps), Le Kang successfully navigated the complicated Parisian urban jungle to land at the front door of Le Basilic. One knew that he had chanced upon a gem of a restaurant, as the staff hardly spoke any English. Ok, maybe that’s just the excited tourist in me, but I was totally under the illusion that I found myself at a restaurant that served truly authentic French food which Parisians could be proud of. The language barrier was rewarding, but it was quickly overcome as I glanced at the A4 menu printed on both sides, in French.
Experience with French/French inspired restaurants around London meant that I magically understood the language… well parts of the menu at least. For instance, I could make out that Comte was a cheese, poulet was chicken, boeuf.. beef….. yeah, at least that’s what I think. Guesstimating.
Booth and Lamps
Since we were one of their first patrons to arrive, the restaurant was relatively empty and it meant that I could take in the details of the interior.
And what an evocative restaurant. 1930’s art deco side lamps, leathery booth seatings and creaky wooden floors, the sun was just setting and one could feel the dim lights slowly filling the room with atmosphere. Soon, the restaurant also filled up, and with it flamboyant French whispers took over the airwaves, exuding a dream-like quality. I love dim lights and chatty atmosphere, it’s soulful & so alive, the restaurant had its kitchen doors wide open, so you could smell the cooking and hear the crackling hot oil… it even had a carvery as a centrepiece.
Yes. A carvery in the middle of the room, behind a huge wooden cock. How ironic eh.
Le Kang eats.
The first dish the waitress recommended were ravioli with basil and comte; I’m a big fan of comte.
Is it just me, or are cherry tomatoes in France a lot sweeter than what one can find in England? A little awkward to be starting with pasta for a ‘truly authentic’ French meal. The warming milky basil infused soup was pleasantly scented, the mellowness helped to highlight the crumbly savouriness of the comte filling. Elegantly simple and just simply delicious; not spectacular, and it was abit like eating a cheese flavoured cereal breakfast, for dinner.
Might I just add that the sourdough poilane was excellent. One of the things I really wanted to try in Paris was to indulge in amazing steak, and I was satisfied when the waitress recommended the fillet of beef to us. We opted for it with mushroom sauce.
I don’t know what it is, but French sauces on steak just taste so good. The first bite of this steak…. And I let out a quiet moan, bloody hell it was obscenely tasty. Yes, that’s right, it was ‘tasty’ because it made my tummy rumble like Rocky, it was phantasmagorically remarkable. I could not make out the type of mushroom they used, it looked fungus like and carried a sour juiciness. The runny sauce was richly infused with fragrant butter, shallots and complex red wine flavours, all of which was seeped into the meat and – here’s the best part – all these dominating flavours were complimenting one another and artificially adding to the natural beefiness. Very simply, it was one of the best steaks I’ve ever had. My mouth was experiencing a rainbow of flavours, and the slightly sugary and vanilla perfumed mash, smooth in texture and creamy in taste was able company to the steak. The steak was cooked rare, but it was so delicately soft, it was like eating silk.
Why can’t we can’t get glorious steak like this in Britain (open to raging debate, I’m sure, somebody start please?) – it was a classical French steak that was executed with brilliance. An easily understood recipe, and an easy eating dish, whole and hearty, I wiped the plate clean with the sourdough baguette and asked for more bread. It wasn’t cheap at 30 euros, but it was the best 30 euros I had ever spent.
I didn’t order the fillet, but I did eat a lot of it, as it was much too rich for the other half. Up till now, I had never tried the Onglet before, also known as Hanger’s steak or more affectionately referred to as ‘the butcher’s fillet’. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this supposed cheap cut produces interesting flavours not akin to the traditional beefiness of other cuts since it is quite close to the kidneys. An exciting first; a true commitment to gastronomy, trying it was absolute requirement.
This steak was also cooked rare, and I should actually mention that the waitress didn’t ask us how we’d like it cooked. But I didn’t mind, in my limited experience with French Charlorais, it is typically tougher than other breeds. Besides, French restaurants tend to char the exterior quite abit, which means that medium rare is closer to medium what with all the heat. Oh gosh, this is again beef heaven. The meat is completely silky, it was indeed a different sort of softness to traditional cuts. The softness was a sort of bouncy mushiness, one that was more associated with kidney or even liver, or as my notes indicate: a cross between raw chicken and tofu, or maybe ‘corrugated bouncy jelly’(… yeah my notes are a little hard to decipher sometimes). The flavour carried hints of chocolate, there was a slight gaminess as well. Juicy, chewy it was just very different; like a fillet that’s been blanched in foie gras juice. The steak came with béarnaise and it was excellent. It was chunky and it had crunchy pickle bits, and I even detected some chilli in the mix, perhaps due to dried chilli flakes(?). The flavours were certainly dominant, it was more complex and quite unlike anything I had tried before. Of course, I was happy to find that the steak was cooked to perfection, with the juices sealed into the meat and the charred smokiness emanating from the surface. It was yet another amazing steak that was stunning on first bite. If we hadn’t ordered the fillet, this would have been one of the best steaks I’d ever had, but that fillet was just ethereal.
Classeat.
What more can I say? The portions looked tiny, but we were both so stuffed, we didn’t have room for pudding (then again, I had just gobbled up ten macarons a couple of hours before this meal..). It was a great meal, the location was great and service was superb. I enjoyed this restaurant, and I have to thank Epicurienne for recommending it to me once again. I haven’t a clue where this restaurant lies in the Parisian premier league of restaurants, but if this was a London restaurant, I would make this my local for steaks.
Like this blog? Why not subscribe to the email newsletter ; alternatively you can subcribe to the RSS feed.
The Gist of It
Le Basilic
2, Rue Casimir Périer
75007 Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 44 18 94 64
Metro: Invalides or Solferino
Verdict: The best fillet steak with sauce and mash I have ever had, period.
Tags: invalides, le basilic, paris
i’m happy to see that you enjoyed a French steak with what French are quite proud of: A good sauce! I agree with you that in most of the restaurants you go in Paris and in France, meat is served with amazing sauces. And the best moment is when you have finish your meat and you can enjoy the sauce leftover with a good and fresh piece of bread. Heaven!
Kang – when you tweeted that this post had gone up my heart skipped a beat. I was so nervous in case it had been an off day. I know what you mean about hard to find. We were lucky to be led there by a French friend who works in Paris, otherwise we would never have chanced upon it. He, too, said that the onglets at Le Basilic were among the best he’d ever eaten but the fillet sounds even better. I know some people are trying to argue that the French are losing their touch with food, but I can’t see it and I’m in France often. Their religious approach to buying fresh produce daily is key. They also use different cuts of meat to the ones we have in England. That might have something to do with it. BTW, was the sheep still there?
Love the first image Kang L. Such a great capture. I’m trying to get the gf to get us one of her family’s flats in Paris for a week in August. I do love Paris and always go over when I have a band playing there.
I have to say all three of your Paris reviews are making me insanely hungry, but come on, no good steak in Britain?? That’s a bit strong.
Wonderful description of the steaks Monsieur Le Kang. I can practically taste it, and it tastes good.
They probably didn’t ask you how you wanted the onglet cooked because if you cook it anything past medium rare, it becomes tough as old boots – with any breed of cow.
Lizzie – ahh I see, first time I’ve had the onglet, different. they didnt ask how we wanted either steak to be cooked though.
The Graphic Foodie – thanks!
Charles – Came out abit stronger than intended, Hawksmoor was pretty good I thought.
Mark – Paris is lovely, it may be a little cliche now, but it is still a magic city I think.
Epicurienne – it was a great recommendation, I loved the place… hmm, didn’t see sheep of any form when I was there though.
Mathilde’s Cuisine – that’s my favourite moment, wiping my plate with the bread!
Wow, sounds like a great place – never heard of it…will keep it in mind when I am in Paris in the future! Great review & pics too.
I am just discovering your blog, and I can’t let you say your first dish was Italian!
It’s raviolEs, not raviolIs, and it’s a special dish from Franche-Comté (and filled with parsley and Comté, yes). Even the concept of ravioli isn’t Italian, you find them in different cultures (like gyozas in Japan, etc).
Just for your information
Hi Dorothee – ahh I see, thanks for that, I didn’t realise it was French
I loved it the dish.
I love it too, and cook it all the time, and when I travel I have to bring lots of them to friends abroad who love it! You can also fry them and use them as an appetizer, or grill them with cheese, veggies and/or meat or fish…
Actually, this kind of restaurant is too snobbish to serve foreigner food (not in the meaning they don’t like it, but no food is better than in their own country), except maybe in some of them with carpaccio (which has become very parisian) and club sandwich (it is supposed to ‘remind’ us of NYC). Drinking San Pellegrino is also THE water to drink in the 2000′s, whereas it was Perrier in the 80′s and Ty Nant in the 90′s!(next water fashion might be Scottish or Japanese…)
Darn it all why did you have to give this restaurant such a good review! I work for a company with offices a hop skip and a jump away from Le Basilic and have been eating there for years now. Part of it’s charm is that it is so well hidden and off the tourist track, generally only attracting locals who appreciate good quality French food at a good price! Now you have well and truly blown its cover!
Oh well off there again tonight for one of their steaks….My tummy is already rumbling in anticipation….
Incidentally the small hotels in the streets around this hotel are all good quality and excellent value for money. Forget the Hilton or large chain hotels try the Hôtel de Varenne or Hôtel Bourgogne et Montana. They are not 5 star luxury but clean, quiet and very well situated for a visit to Le Basilic!
I’ve now been and I do love
but I must be one hell of a pig because we had dessert… and then I had a crepe afterwards too! LOL 
Hi, Paris is a cool blond