Brunch at Joe Allen's

On Sunday, we went out for a brunch with friends of ours, Baptiste and Véro. We decided to go to Joe Allen's, a place our neighbor Stéphan had talked to us about, that was also mentioned in our "Guide du Fooding". This is a very good guide to eating out in Paris. It is issued by Nova Mag, a hip Parisian magazine that could be compared to Time Out. We have had luck with most of the places they recommend, so it has become our trusted little companion. (Nova Mag has a sister radio, called Radio Nova, which I listen to often.)

Joe Allen's is an American restaurant located in the 1st arrondissement, that has been around for a good 25 years. It is a little dark inside (there are no windows and wooden slates line the walls, cabin-like) but the atmosphere is very warm, crowded and bustling, with old music hall posters on the walls. The wait staff is mostly, if not all-, American, so we got the opportunity to order our food in English, which is always fun.

Now, for the food. What did we have? Well, the typical brunch fare we always used to have back in the US : eggs benedict (with canadian bacon or smoked salmon between the egg and the English muffin), roasted rosemary potatoes, muffins and pancakes. The 21 euro brunch menu included coffee, juice (I had cranberry), the egg dish and the muffin. Pancakes had to be ordered on the side. Only the muffin, dry and tasteless, was below average. The rest of the food was okay, nothing extraodinary, but it hit the spot and satisfied you in a way only eggs in hollandaise sauce can.

It was a really nice relaxing way of spending a few hours with friends on a Sunday. And you don't get that many authentic American restaurants in Paris, so this one is worth mentioning. We'll have to go back and try the burgers and hand-cut fries!

Joe Allen
30 rue Pierre Lescot
75001 Paris
01 42 36 70 13