You know those times when you don’t feel like eating a big, heavy meal but you’re hungrier for something more than just a measly bowl of olives or peanuts to accompany your apéritif ?
This is where tapas come in. They fall perfectly on the hunger scale — satisfying enough to tide you over and prevent the morning-after effects of ‘Oh I should have eaten something last night instead of drinking my dinner’ but not so filling that you’re worried about ending up in a food coma. And when done correctly, they’re pretty damn good.
Paris is known for its culinary excellence, but the tapas bar remains a foreign concept. Don’t waste your stomach or money on overpriced, unqualified wannabes in centre-ville tourist traps. There’s a new spot in town from the people behind Ze Kitchen Galerie, and it’s the real deal, dishing out beautifully crafted hot and cold tapas that will give you l’envie to try everything on the menu.
Located near Grands Boulevards, which has little to offer in the way of top cuisine or a decent wine selection, Le Bat is the neighborhood’s diamond in the rough, tucked away on boulevard Montmartre with an understated yet enticing contemporary façade.
Lunchtime is already drawing crowds of regulars, who come for its midday menu of more substantial fare, including tartare mains in beef, veal and fish versions, prepared with unconventional ingredients, such as vodka cream, lime-ginger vinaigrette and pickled veggies. Steak fiends will find reprieve in the mouthwateringly tender faux-filet composed of Spanish beef from the region of Galicia and a side of smoked new potatoes.
Le Bat’s secret to success, however, probably lies in its unbeatable happy hour. From 5 to 8 pm, you can order a glass of wine and a tapas plate for a mere 8 euros. Consider the fact that most happy hours get you a pint or a watered-down cocktail for 5 to 6 euros and maybe a cup of stale popcorn, and you’re already leagues ahead of the game.
Post up at the wraparound bar with a front-row view of the open cuisine as Ferrandi alum and former executive chef at KGB, Yariv Berreby, whips up edible masterpieces with fresh, in-season ingredients and a high dose of creativity. Under the amiable direction of Jérôme Taverny, who also made the leap from KGB to launch Le Bat, the place is cozy, friendly and fitting for all occasions, whether en tête-à -tête or among friends.
Order your tapas to share or hoard them if you’re hungry. Among the choices (subject to change, according to season) :
-Roasted eggplant with smoked caviar
-Spiced coco de paimpol and chorizo hummus
-Beef croquettes for dipping in a sweet pepper sauce
-Oysters doused in a carrot-pomegranate vinaigrette
-Chicken confit in a sage-infused curry juice
-Iberian pork slathered in grilled bacon butter
-Cheese stuffed with Muscat grapes and sweet onions
All served with a basket of crusty bread and your choice of red, white or rosé to meld the flavors together. Finish with a hazelnut cream puff pastry or some creamy chocolate soup, and you’ll be in one glorious state of gluttony by night’s end.
Le Bat
16 bis boulevard Montmartre
75009 Paris
Métro : Grands Boulevards, Richilieu Drouot
Open Monday to Friday from 12 pm to 3 pm and 7 pm to midnight
Website : www.le-bat.com
Article : Stephanie Holmes
