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DATE NIGHT @ ACADÉMIE DE BIÈRE

I had heard many good things about Académie de la Bière. It was on my list of places to go for quite some time. Finally one evening Louis and I made it over there for a brewy date: Belgian style.

This little beer heaven is located right by Port Royal, near the Montparnasse neighborhood (14th). They’ve got a lovely outdoor seating area that is perfect for those spring evenings. The inside is tiny but cozy and can be. If you’re going to dinner, reservations are suggested. We had a cute table in a little window nook that had the perfect amount of space for our pints and a big bowl of delicious mussels.

The café houses about 12 beers on tap, and a large variety of bottled beer from France, Germany, Scotland and the Czech Republic, etc.

As beer lovers, this was the perfect place for a date this early evening. The servers gave excellent advice in terms of what kind of beers we fancy, which made me love it even more. What’s better than discovering new brewed creations?

Granted, eating mussels aren’t the most elegant things to be eating while on a date with your honey bee, but we made it work. May favorite part was Louis’s way of arranging his mussel shells that I found oh so charming.

The story behind this habit for lining up his shells goes all the way back to his mother’s father and his first date with his then soon-to-be grandmother. On one of their first dates they were eating mussels, and he did exactly that with his mussel shells. She apparently found this to be as charming as can be. The story has been told every since, and the boys in the family stack their mussel shells.

Cute, right? My bowl of shells was a bit less organized.


Académie de la Bière
88 bis, rue de la Port Roya, 75005
Tél:
Métro: Port Royal (RER B), Raspail (4), Vavin (4)

DATE NIGHT @ CHETTINADU

This is my favorite restaurant in Paris, as most people who know me are aware. One chilly spring evening, we decided to go on a little date here to cozy up.

Chettinadu is located up in northern Paris between Gare du Nord and La Chapelle. The streets are lined with Indian restaurants back to back, and grocery stores showcasing piles of ginger and rose liquor in the windows. There is always a hustle bustle, it’s always moving and busy, it adds to its charm.

I’ve been going to this restaurant for the past 4 1/2 years, and it always makes me so happy. Even though sometimes when I suggest it as a dinner venue, I get the eye-roll from my honey, I know he knows how much I love it. Hence this particular Saturday night, we went on a date here.

The ambiance of Chettinadu is rather noisy, but has got so much character. It’s often packed with locals, with hot pink walls and Bollywood music blasting. You get a whiff of the delicious ingredients as soon as you walk in the door. It’s fantastic. You’ll be greeted with a smile, which adds to the place’s charm.

An intimate table for two it was. We ordered so many little appetizers and sides that we could barely fit it all on our table.

The menu has everything from naans to biryani to thaali to dosaï, and features southern Indian and Sri Lanken specialties. The drink menu is simple but gets the job done, with staples like Lion Lager and Strong by the bottle, house wine as well as various lassies. To finish off your meal, top on a masala tea or ginger tea.

Most meals are around 6-8 euros. As an appetizer I highly suggest the samosa légume (vegetarian samosa), which is the best samosa I have ever had in my entire life and is a whopping 1 euro. I rarely step outside the box here as I love the meal I always get so much (le plat non-végétarien / thaali), but Louis has given the rice dishes a whirl and has been very impressed.

You can go light while here, or fill yourself up. The choice is up to you.

Don’t forget to wander the neighborhood before or after your meal. It has so much life to it, and really is refreshing in the city of lights.

Chettinadu
15, rue Cail, 75010 Paris
Tél:
Métro: Gare du Nord (4/5) / La Chapelle (2) / Louis Blanc (7)

DATE NIGHT @ L’ECLAIR


Sometimes a dinner out is exactly what I need. It’s always a tickle to my tummy to have to pick a restaurant for a date. This particular evening, Louis and I picked L’Eclair, a somewhat new spot on Rue Cler in the 7th arrondissement. I had been here for cocktails a few times prior, but always drooled when I saw them serve the food. It was destiny to go back for a date with my chou.

Don’t get me wrong, I love cooking at home, but a little push to treat ourselves for a dinner out every once in a while is a nice change of pace. Wouldn’t you say?

L’Eclair’s cocktail list is pretty rad. And unique. You can even do cocktails to share, punch-style, people. I stuck with my favorite cocktail there, the Navy Tea (Hendrick’s gin, fresh cucumber, honey, lime & Ginger Ale). Louis went with the Julep which was decked out with some fruit & mint and adorably crushed ice. I totally dig their Maker’s Mark cups. I’ve got to find me some of those…

The menus themselves are even lovely. The fonts & style. Yum!

And of course concerning the grub. We both couldn’t resist burgers that night, they sounded too damn good. And they were delicious. Home run.

The atmosphere is a bit noisy, so this place isn’t recommended if you’re looking for a quite and calm place to chat and such. It’s rather dark, but with beautiful furniture and decoration with upbeat tunes and vintagy goodness. I dig the casual-ness of this bar. It’s quite trendy.

Completely off-topic, but I hear their brunch is to die for.

I definitely recommend for a date. Even for pre-dinner cocktails. And it’s like a 5 minute walk to the Eiffel Tower… just sayin’.

You can check them out on and on Yelp for visual proof and reviews.

L’Eclair
32 rue Cler, 75007
Tél:
Métro: École Militaire/La Tour Maubourg (8)