Jeu de Quilles, 75014 Paris

Jeu de Quilles is a very small bistro  which opened a year or so ago on the rue Boulard  and is only open for lunch from Tuesday to Saturday and for dinner on  Friday and Saturday evenings.   The chef-owners are  Benoit Reix and Guillaume Clauss, who are serious food enthusiasts, and you can be sure that they have personally researched and sourced all the dishes they offer.  The rue Boulard  food market is literally across the street so they haven’t got far to go for a many of the  raw materials for the traditional dishes in which they specialise.

The day of our visit the starters were coppa salad, rillettes (for which the restaurant is famous) and cold mint pea soup.  Followed by a Gratin of clams, roast pork,  carpaccio of beef, or grilled steak.  But this is not just any steak  – it comes from the butcher’s shop of Hugo Desnoyers, “the” butcher to the Parisian elite, including the Elysee Palace, which is a few doors away.  and where there always  seems to be a queue outside.  This item is however a  Euro 15 supplement on the menu but to steak enthusiasts worth every penny.

Despite the limited space the restaurant also has a little corner where you can buy olive oil, the famous rillettes, traditional mustards  and some jars of conserves.

Two courses, entree or main course or main course and dessert, are Euros 17. Three courses for Euros 24.  Also a la carte.

The  bio wine list is short but  carefully selected and reasonably priced.

An ideal lunch venue.with a great atmosphere.