Le Temps des Cerises

Le Temps des Cerises is a Marais Restaurant with Interesting and Good Food:

External view of Le Temps des Cerises

Le Temps des Cerises is another of our neighbourhood Marais bistrot-wine bar and one that is very popular with locals and tourists alike. No matter what time of day, morning, lunch or dinner, there are always customers hanging around this Marais restaurant. Locals stop here for a coffee in the morning or a drink after work.

Walking around the Marais arrondissement, we noticed that there are a couple of restaurants-bistrots with the name “Le Temps des Cerises”. The bistrot that we are referring to is hidden away at 31 rue de la Cerisaie in the Marais, just about three minutes walk from our apartment.

The name of this Marais restaurant “Le Temps des Cerises” was inspired by an 1866 song which is believed to have been dedicated by the songwriter to a nurse who was killed in the Semaine Sanglante, a bloody week during which the French government troops overthrew the Paris Commune. If you look at the back of the menu, you’ll see the lyrics of this song which was later popularized by Yves Montand.

The bistrot-pub is very small, but they manage to squeeze in 15 tables set next to each other. When we dined here one Saturday evening, it was packed full, which is not surprising. Tonight, which is a Tuesday evening, it is packed as well.

Mille-feuille de Thon

Food at Le Temps des Cerises

For non-meat eaters like us, dining out in Paris can be quite limited. Many of the smaller restaurants offer a range of meat dishes and they may have one fish dish for the day. What we particularly like about Le Temps de Cerises is the spread of dishes and the blend of traditional and modern cuisine on offer. There is a sufficient range of dishes for us to dine here a few times.

The entrées that we like include the Brochette de Thon cru au Sesame which is very nice, the Salade Croquante aux Gambas – a nice crunchy salad and the traditional Escargot de Bourgogne. For les plats, our favourite main is the Mille-feuille de Thon, a modern dish of tuna stack. I was tempted to have the Risotto de St Jacques Pardées, but being a very warm evening, a heavy risotto wouldn’t have been so enjoyable. Many of the tourists that dine here go for the steak and chips, or if you like duck, the Magret de Canard is a regular on the menu.

The servings at Le Temps des Cerises are quite substantial, but if you have room for dessert, they do have very nice sweets here. Instead of dessert, Tony prefers cheese and the St Marcellin et sa Confiture de Cerises Noires is a sophisticated cheese dish with an interesting mix of flavours. Served with a little pot of black cherry confiture, the sweet cherry offsets the strong cheese flavour with the equally strong spring onion garnish.

Yes it can get quite squeezy and noisy on busy nights but if you’re after good and interesting food, Le Temps des Cerises won’t disappoint. Our meal, including wine and coffee came to about €80 which is very reasonable. The two young guys that run the restaurant are very nice and attentive.

Address:
Le Temps de Cerises
31 rue de la Cerisaie
Marais 75004

Tel: 01 42 72 08 63

Getting there:
Closest Metro is Sully Morland (Line 7)
You can also get here on Line 1 – St Paul or any of the lines that stop at Bastille.

Le Temps des Cerises – A Popular Marais Bistrot