Restaurant La Gauloise review — A worth dining venue with a hundred years of history

When it comes to French food, “if it’s second, no one dares to be first,” yet it is, without a doubt, one of the greatest in the world.

So, when it comes to French tourism, it’s not just about going to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower or admire the charming Mona Lisa, or going to the Loire valley to visit magnificent castles, or coming to Bordeaux in September to see locals harvesting grapes and crops; it’s also about enjoying the delectable cuisine of Western civilization!

I’m not a foodie or a food blogger. But because I have a very… gluttonous ego, wherever I go, I prefer to go to numerous (hundred) year-old restaurants, taste traditional cuisine, or simply… eat everything. My family and I attended a memorial meal in Paris this time!!!

However, because there was not enough time to savor all the specialties of French food, during my family’s 2-day vacation to Paris in early September 2019, I only had enough documents to write some brief evaluations about the restaurants that I had the opportunity to experience this time in Paris.

Review of Restaurant La Gauloise Paris

Address: 59 Av. de la Motte-Picquet, 75015 Paris, France
Hours: 12–3PM, 7–11PM
Getting there: Take Metro numbers 6, 8 and 10 to La MOTTE – PICQUET GRENELLE station, then walk about 5 minutes to get there.
Price: Lunch set menu from 27 Euro – 32 Euro/person
Website: http://www.restaurant-lagauloise.com

I first learned about this restaurant via an article in O’bon Paris magazine about a review of Restaurant La Gauloise, although it was a translation post from another language. Fortunately, La Gauloise is only around a 10-minute walk from the Airbnb property where my family slept on our trip. So, for the sake of convenience, my family had lunch here. On a Saturday afternoon, Restaurant La Gauloise did not appear to be packed, but when I looked up more information about it on the internet, I found people advised booking a seat in advance using The Fork app.

You may download this app, reserve a table, and collect points to obtain savings on your next visit, or there are restaurants that provide deals for specific days or times of day. My family and I took a leisurely stroll to the restaurant from the Airbnb after arranging a reservation while I was at the Oslo airport on my way to Paris.

Decoration & style

As soon as I went inside, I fell in love with the interior design style — the real style of a (rumored) hundred-year-old French restaurant. The decor is comfortable in the old continent style, looking opulent but not too beautiful that diners are “overwhelmed.”

In my experience, you may dress nice casually and dine here without fear of being invited out by the wait staff, or if you dress too simply, you won’t be frightened of being judged!

More on dining out in the West: Many restaurants, as well as pubs, nightclubs, and so on, have a dress code for diners. Many restaurants, particularly in France and Italy, may refuse to serve visitors who are dressed too casually (shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops) or do not follow the restaurant’s dress code regulations.

Menu & dishes

For lunch, the restaurant will offer a set menu, including 2 options:

• Full menu of 3 starters, main course and dessert for 32 Euros/person, or
• 2-course menu (starter and main course, or main course and dessert) for 27 Euros/person.

The menu only includes two alternatives for each item (2 varieties of appetizers, 2 types of desserts, etc.), so you won’t have to waste time thinking about and selecting. The evening meal, on the other hand, will be considerably more stunning, with around 6-7 courses for each choice, not to mention the associated wine selection.

We ordered a 3-course set menu and the restaurant started surprising my family at “max level”!

I had only been at the table for less than 5 minutes when the waiter brought out a beautiful little tray like the one in the picture, and this dish, with my “superb” French ability and the waiter’s “excellent” English, I… didn’t know what it was, just that it was very delicious, and is a free dish the restaurant invites guests to!

This dish has a creamy texture, is half salty and half sweet, contains shredded cheese within, and is very tasty spread over the restaurant’s bread! I ate bread for several seasons in Norway, and when I visited Paris, I discovered that French bread (baguette) is truly a top product!

Appetizer – Raw shrimp mixed with sesame oil & pureed beans

Raw shrimp may sound strange, but they make it so delicious and fresh that there is no fishy odor at all, just the sweetness and firmness of chilled fresh shrimp, the aroma of premium sesame oil blending with pureed beans, and mixed with beans that were very fleshy, greasy, and cool without being mushy.

It’s been over a week since I returned to Norway, but every meal I eat with the scent of sesame oil reminds me of this dish and makes me need it. But the recipe isn’t here, and I can’t go to Paris all the time, so I’ll have to settle with something else… eat anything else!

Main course – Deep fried fish & ratatouille

You’ve probably heard of this meal if you’ve seen the cartoon Ratatouille. Ratatouille is a stewed vegetable dish from the Provence area of Southern France, which originated in Nice.

This meal is said to be simple to speak but complex to make excellent, exactly like in the cartoon, the tiny mouse ends up creating ratatouille for the grumpy old critic, who ate a wonderful mouthful… Haha, the fork was dropped!

But I did not drop the fork. Be like me, LOL.

To be honest, I’m not sure what was fish; I’m guessing it was river fish because the flavor differed from sea fish. Three persons were fed three pieces of fried fish, with no bones and no risk of choking. A piece of ratatouille with sauce was served beneath the fish.

I’m not a big fan of veggies, but this meal has a lot of vegetables I don’t like, like eggplant and zucchini, so it’s really appealing to me, especially the portion with the fish.

Dessert – Chocolate mousse with raspberry

After being too full (but not drunk, because at noon, I was afraid of getting drunk, so my whole family… drank pure water), my family continued to sit while waiting for the dessert to be served.

Everyone was already full by the time the dish was presented, and it was chocolate again, so my parents were a little bored. But because it was so wonderful, all three of them ate their portions. Sweet yet not greasy, just enough to give my meal a “happy finish.”

But not…

Bonus – Madeleines

After settling the bill for a total of 96 Euros/3 persons, the server brought out an extra plate of freshly baked madeleines with buttery fragrance, accompanied by three little pieces of chocolate candy.

I was shocked because I had not ordered this. The server grinned and remarked, “This is a special from our restaurant!” Oh my my, how adorable is that?

Summary of the review of Restaurant La Gauloise Paris

This restaurant is ideal for a family meal or a romantic supper. This, like Paris and the rest of France, is not a place to visit (and dine) alone.

Because it’s lunch, the price is lower, but the supper menu will almost certainly be more costly, and you may drink additional wine, thus the price may be more than what I spent. If you want to try French food here, you should expect to pay around 40 Euros per person.

See more photos of Restaurant La Gauloise Paris: