Eating Out with the Phoenician Trader: Le 7eme Sense
Created | Updated Mar 1, 2011
Le 7ème Sense
Restaurant dining in Paris is the stuff of legends – the day the poet knocked the waiter and the soup flew into the General's lap! Alors! They still tell of the duel that followed!
While I wouldn't want to understate the drama of Parisian dining, le 7ème Sens provides it in a different style. Last time I was there, the most wonderful chef, waiter, sommelier and maître d'hôtel combined to give myself, my charming companions and two little ones one of our fondest dining experiences. Maybe I should explain myself more clearly...
Two of my charming companions had decided to drive the last leg of their month's driving holiday starting in Bosnia, from Strasbourg to Paris to meet me and my other charming companion. Their route was under heavy fog, largely flooded and at certain points, stock had wandered onto the dual carriage way blocking the traffic. Now all French men are farmers at heart so the traffic came to a complete halt as the drivers (all men – this is France) all got out and argued how to move the cows: the philosophy, the practice – for hours.
The two wee ones in the back of the car where not happy by the time they arrived in the 9th arrondissement to join us. Even a box of beautifully wrapped Parisian macaroons were not enough although they were eagerly seized upon.
So dinner it was, and quickly. We settled on le 7ème Sens because it was close, looked lovely and also because we misread the price (the evening menu is far more expensive than the lunch time one) but we were charmed and the two little ones quickly stopped being ratty.
Earlier I was misleading when I said all of the management roles were combined to give us a perfect experience - in fact one man ran the whole show. The place has maybe 20 tables but he stopped taking people once about 10 were occupied. He would run out, take orders, pour wine, run back to the kitchen and bring back perfectly prepared food. How he did it I do not know. I entertained the children with hastily concocted stories of Princesses and Ninja (and a princess ninja to boot) so I missed some of the details.
Once the initial round of food was eaten, one of my charming companions took the children off to bed (casting only a small look of regret over her shoulder at our table covered in dessert menus and wine lists). She firmly told the day's driver to stay as long as he wanted and relax. The remaining three of us told tales of travelling derring do, and tried to calm the ex-driver who would still suddenly tense up, eyes darting, looking for cows through fog or listen for the sound of unhappy small people.
The calvados post dinner was free to us. Maybe it was because the second bottle of wine we ordered from the lovely but small list was also the most expensive (about 30 Euros). It is a place I always intend to go back to but so often it is closed.
However, I hear from one of those most charming companions from that night who was also in Paris recently, that he skilled owner now has a helper. This might be the welcome start of more regular opening hours.
Getting There: The south end of Rue Cadet: try getting off at the Cadet métro in Paris.
Who should eat there: Traditional types of metropolitan Paris.
Dining Style: Traditional restaurant fare, of course.
Price: Allow £30, including wine.
Quality: Very good.
Would I go Back: Yes, but if only it were open more often!
Eating Out with The Phoenician Trader Archive
