Home GastronomyCafé des Musées, an iconic bistro in the Marais

Café des Musées, an iconic bistro in the Marais

by Melle Bon Plan
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The Café des Musées is an iconic spot just a stone’s throw from the Place des Vosges and the Picasso Museum. For the record, this traditional Marais bistro has been around since 1924!

When you step into this establishment, you get that feeling of being in a timeless place, in a dream-like Paris that has almost entirely vanished today, but which still lives on through a few places like this one (at least, that’s the impression it gives me).

Interior of Café des Musées, lively Parisian bistro with customers and waiters.

Round wooden table set with wine glasses and cutlery at Café des Musées.

On the plates, you can enjoy quality bistro cuisine with seasonal dishes that change daily, and in the kitchen, quite originally, we find Japanese chefs who execute French specialties with virtuosity.

The products used are fresh and mostly local to offer market-driven cuisine.

Apple crumble and ice cream served in a black pot at Café des Musées.

Fish fillet with crispy skin, potatoes, and vegetables at Café des Musées.Framed photographs of Picasso and schoolchildren on the walls of Café des Musées.

Interior of the Café des Musées bistro with seated customers and a waiter in a suit.

In the dining room, an extremely friendly atmosphere prevails, and the service is provided with joy and good humor (and I’m not exaggerating!), a particularly notable fact, especially for a Parisian bistro.

In short, a great address with charm, character, and where you eat very well for a reasonable price! What more could you ask for?!

To try:

  • As a starter, one of the house specialties: Paris mushrooms stuffed with snails (€11.50).

Paris mushrooms stuffed with garlic herbs, served in a traditional dish.

  • We also tested the soup of the day (€7.50), which happened to be mushroom that day (clearly one of the lunch themes, but I’m not complaining, as I love it!).

Mushroom cream soup being eaten with a spoon at Café des Musées.

  • For the main course, I recommend the incredible beef bourguignon, simmered for 5 hours and served with mashed potatoes (€22.50) with my eyes closed. It’s truly the best I’ve ever eaten, and the meat was super tender!

Slow-cooked beef richly braised in a black Staub pot at Café des Musées.

Creamy mashed potatoes topped with fresh parsley on a white plate.Staub beef Bourguignon, Café des Musées Marais slow-cooked dish.

  • As for the catch of the day, I went for the roasted sea bass fillet with winter vegetables (€21).

Grilled fish with potatoes and vegetables, cut with a knife and fork.

Glass of white wine served at Café des Musées, Paris.Dinner at Café des Musées: woman eating fish and meat, glasses of wine.

  • For dessert, we loved the Shiawase caramel cream with a tuile biscuit and whipped cream (€7), a house must-try that you absolutely have to discover!

Caramel cream with whipped cream and crispy tuiles on a white plate.

  • Another dessert, more original than the name suggests: the melting apples with tatin flavors (€7).

Fruit crumble and ice cream served in a black pot at Café des Musées.

  • As for drinks, a lovely selection of wines by the glass (between €5 and €10.50).

Blackboard with 'Suggestions' and the Café des Musées menu: soup, sea bass fillet, rack of lamb.Bottle and glass of white wine, Chablis Domaine de la Motte 2016.

A little bonus: at the back of the restaurant, there is a more intimate vaulted room that can accommodate groups, for example, which is always good to note.

Thanks to the Café des Musées for this lovely invitation.

Red facade of Café des Musées with 'Vins de Musées' awnings and green chairs.

Café des Musées

49 rue de Turenne 75003 Paris

Find all my restaurant reviews in Paris below:
⇒ All my restaurant reviews in Paris

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Photo credits: Nicolas Diolez
Photos are not royalty-free, photographer's authorization required before any use

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