Le Grand Pan

20, rue Rosenwald
75015 Paris

Phone: 01.42.50.02.50

Metro Station: Convention (Line 12) or Plaisance (Line 13)

Type of cuisine: Basque

Days & hours of operation: Mon-Fri 12:30 p.m. - 2.30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. - 11pm; Sat 7:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Credit card: Visa

Our friends Gaille and Richard from Australia recommended this place.  We are pleased that they gave us this tip!

Looking ever so much like an informal, country restaurant, Le Grand Pan serves up delicious, hearty cuisine.

For the starter, we each ordered the Terrine de gibier et son mesclun, an inch-thick slice of terrine of game served on a wooden cutting board with a small, mixed green salad.  Bits of chestnut had been incorporated into the moist meat pâté, adding contrasting texture.

For the main course, we tucked into the Côte de porc Ibaïona de Chez Louis Ospital for two.  This was an immense portion of pork chop, carved into small, rectangular segments, and served on a platter.  The meat was succulent and tender.  At our request, the waitress served us sautéed vegetables (extraordinarily flavorful turnips, string beans, and carrots) in lieu of the hand-cut French fried potatoes that normally accompany this dish.

For dessert, I ordered the Tranches de clementines confites, macaron crème praline, consisting of a macaron (an egg white-based cookie) filled with a praline-flavored cream resting on a bed of sliced, sugared, juicy clementines.  My partner ordered the Tarte aux quetsches, caramel laitier, a Damson plum-filled cake atop a flaky pastry-dough crust, dusted with powdered sugar and a drizzle of milk-based caramel sauce for garnish.

The restaurant is a popular place, and while we dined the sounds of high-spirited conversation filled the space.

The service was friendly and efficient.

The bill for two, including two starters, a main course for two, two desserts, three glasses of wine, one bottle of sparkling water, and a single espresso, came to 89.90€.

Tom Reeves has been a confirmed Francophile since he first traveled to France in 1975.  A native of northern California, he moved to France permanently in 1992.  Reeves’ love of French language and culture inspired him to create Discover Paris!, a travel planning service that caters to Americans interested in cultural travel to Paris.  His book, Paris Insights – An Anthology, has been called “the kind of insider’s view of the French capital…that first or even second time visitors pine for.”  He publishes a monthly newsletter entitled Paris Insights about history, culture, and contemporary life in the City of Light, and posts daily information about the French capital on Facebook.