Cafe St Honore Paris: where you can have post-Louvre munchies

Walking around the Louvre left us extremely peckish. We had reservations at Cafe Marly (right next to the pyramid) but we wanted a change of scenery so we moved towards Rue Saint-Honore. I had this idea of cocktails at Hotel Costes but the weather was moody so we ended up parking our butts at the nearest brasserie, Cafe St Honore, instead.

Hello, charmed one.

We asked for a table streetside because people watching is much better that way. Wish we had more of these types in London – if only the weather cooperated!

The weather called for soupe a lóignon (8.9€). I thought the soup was pretty decent, particularly the grilled cheese top crust.

Plaid Boy ordered tartare a la Thailandaise (14€). The beef was seasoned with Thai-style ingredients: soy, onion, ginger, lime and mint. Sounds like a lot, but the flavour was actually quite subtle and I thought it was fairly refreshing on the palate considering it’s raw beef you’re eating.

I don’t think we both expected the generosity of raw beef on the plate. It was seriously a massive serving which would have been a perfect sharing starter for three people. Or four.

I wanted a (relatively) healthy meal after all the rich butter-based food we’ve consumed so I figured I’d get a salad. Resisted the screaming urge to order the salade Gourmande (a celebration of duck – breast, foie & gizzard) and went for the very vegetarian Cote Sud (14.9€) (artichokes, aubergine, asparagus, tomatoes, olives, roasted pepper, lettuce, olive oil).

I love that you get grand servings when you order a salad in most Parisian brasseries/cafes. This was good enough to share between two people as a side or as a very filling main. Everything on this plate sang to me, save for the roasted peppers which I’ve never been too keen on anyway. The olive oil was delicious, the artichokes were gorgeous, and the asparagus stalks were crisp. Simple yet substantial, very easy to recreate (if you have a decent grocer with amazing produce).

Service was a bit abrupt, but we can’t complain much as we visited during peak hours. Being so close to the Louvre, they handle the influx of tourists pretty well, too. Overall, it’s a decent enough pit stop after a long day at the museum. Lots of pretty people to watch, too.

Cafe St Honore
194 Rue Saint Honoré, 75001 Paris
Ave spend pp 30€