Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
your culinary tastes - many of the mains must be ordered by a minimum of two people and
the
dégustation
menus by the entire table.
BRETON, GASTRONOMIC
L'AUBERGE DU ROI GRADLON
5-course menu €68, mains €22-52; noon-2pm & 7-11.30pm Fri-Tue; Les Gobelins)
Nicolas Castelet, whose inaugural restaurant
L'Auberge du 15
continues its unabated suc-
cess, is the mastermind behind this fine-dining gem partially set in a stone cellar. Castelet
has teamed up with two Bretons, sommelier Geoffreoy Damville and chef Antoine Bertho,
giving traditional dishes like
kig ha farz
(meats simmered in broth with buckwheat-flour
pudding) an ultragourmet twist.
Other Breton specialities include lobster and oysters as well as desserts like
kouign
amann
(butter cake, served with salted caramel).
DRINKING & NIGHTLIFE
The comings and goings of the Gare Montparnasse train station and a dy-
namic cultural centre keep things lively. Southwest of place d'Italie, rue de la
Butte aux Cailles and the surrounding Butte aux Cailles molehill has a pleth-
ora of options popular with students and local residents; places here tend to
have die-hard regulars.
Montparnasse & 15e
CAFE, BAR
FÉLICIE
Chances are your first visit won't be your last at this unpretentious neighbourhood cafe with
a big heated pavement terrace, fun-loving staff and a laid-back vibe. It's a quintessentially
Parisian spot to hang out any time of day, but especially during Sunday brunch, lunches
built around bistro classics like steak tartare, and late at night.
COCKTAIL BAR
LE ROSEBUD
Like the sleigh of that name in
Citizen Kane,
Rosebud harks back to the past. In this case it's
to Montparnasse's early-20th-century heyday (the decor has scarcely changed since Sartre
