Last Updated on September 14, 2025

4.5 out of 5.0 stars4.5

Brasserie chic overlooking the Eiffel Tower

I am often asked by friends where to eat in Paris, and it is a question I find difficult to answer – ҫa dépend. It depends not only on your budget, but on where you are staying, what your mood is, and whether you prefer small, trendy eateries in the 11^th or the big hitters that have been around for decades. My preference is for some of the terrific ethnic restaurants and the generation of young chefs who are doing exciting things in less touristy parts of the city. However, there are times when I crave a good brasserie like Margaux, serving traditional French dishes, where you know your favourites will be on the menu, where the welcome is warm, the atmosphere convivial, and the food reliable. Invited to review, I found everything that I was anticipating. It is the sort of food you would have grown up eating at your grandma if she were French.

Margaux can be described in French as ‘brasserie chic’. It is an elegant establishment on Avenue de New York in the upmarket and fashionable 16^th arrondissement. The address alone is chic, and its location along the Seine adds to the cachet. It overlooks the Eiffel Tower, no less, which is illuminated at night and, after 9 pm in summer, twinkles on the hour. It is very convenient for lunch or dinner while you are visiting any number of museums in the neighbourhood, or the Eiffel Tower itself.

At 8 pm on a rainy night in late August, when many of the Parisian restaurants were shuttered for the holidays, it was a delight to arrive at the welcoming doors of Margaux after a long walk. There is a gorgeous private dining room with a wall of wines, which was buzzing with a large group. We were ushered into a long, wood-panelled room with a wall of windows over the street, dressed with café curtains. Small round tables were packed with diners, and I noticed that they were mostly French-speaking. This assured me that Margaux is not simply a tourist brasserie, as so many are. In fact, there were several birthdays being celebrated, which is a good sign if French people have chosen the venue for their special night out. There was a happy hubbub of conversation and the sort of relaxing environment that makes you feel glad to be there and to easily forget about your tired feet after a day of walking in the city.

The service was attentive, with the waiter helping me to decide between some of my favourite dishes. Often in traditional brasseries, the staff are career waiters of an older generation. At Margaux, the staff were young and very friendly. We sat at a small round table, covered in a proper tablecloth and set with lovely French glasses. I relaxed into the evening with a crisp and biscuity coupe de champagne, Laurent-Perrier La Cuvee. When in Paris… My husband enjoyed a glass of Bourgogne Pinot Noir, JC Garnier. We are not big consumers of alcohol, but I should point out that there was a comprehensive wine list, as one might expect in such an establishment.

The French love bread, and no meal is even to be contemplated without the bread basket. Margaux served a delicious sourdough. As an entrée, I ordered one of my all-time best dishes in Paris – os à moelle. Roasted marrow bones, served simply with good salt and some parsley, may not be the healthiest dish on the menu, but every once in a while, I cannot resist this delicious treat. Those who love marrow bones know what I mean when I say that it is impossible to describe the texture politely. I grew up eating marrow bones, so it’s a pleasant nostalgia for me. Just what a traditional dish should evoke.

I rather envied my husband’s traditional onion soup, resplendent with its puff pastry crown, floating like a cloud above the white soup bowl. Clearly, this was a very popular choice as throughout the evening, trayfuls of onion soup bowls made their way to tables around us. The soup was rich and had a good depth of flavour. The pastry, once pierced with a spoon, swooned into the soup where it added ballast. Other starter options at Margaux included oeufs mayonnaise, pâté en croute, and escargots.

For our main course, my husband opted for the filet de boeuf au poivre – he really wanted to share a côte de boeuf, but the one on the menu was 1.2kg and meant for two to three people. I simply could not do justice to that amount of meat, although in my younger years, we would happily polish off a côte de boeuf every time we visited Paris.  

I chose another traditional French dish – poulet cocotte aux morilles et au vin jaune with a side of purée. The sauce was deliciously creamy with the flavour of the vin jaune cutting through. The chicken was tender and strewn with black morrels. The potato purée was so smooth – I don’t think anyone makes purée like the French – there is no point fretting about the amount of butter used to achieve these heights. Just sit back and enjoy.

For dessert, needing something fruity after such a rich meal, I chose the fraises et framboises (strawberries and raspberries)  with Chantilly à la volonté. This translates to unlimited whipped cream, but fortunately, my arteries were slightly spared by the Chantilly being served in a small silver dish; otherwise, I might have overdone it entirely. My husband ordered a mousse au chocolat – well, one has to in Paris – and it was excellent indeed. Served with toasted hazelnuts and had a wonderful texture, being light but not overly so. It was as dark as it needed to be, but a tad sweet for my palate.

Although offered an aperitif by the maitre d’, we finished our meal with mint tea, which was much needed after this decadent dinner. We left well-fed and very relaxed, strolling over the road to the Pont D’Alma, where we stood and watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle at 10 pm. I always thank my lucky stars at moments like this. After such a dinner, it felt good to have a 40-minute walk back to our hotel along the Seine and the quiet, leafy streets of the 16^th.

Margaux is open daily 12.00 – 14.30 and 19.00 – 23.20

Margaux,
10 Avenue de New York,
75116, Paris
France

T: +33  (0) 1 86044054