By Heidi Ellison

I was surprised by how easy it was to get a reservation the very next day at Blue Valentine, supposedly the hottest new restaurant in Paris. In spite of its odd but poetic name, the title of an anguished song by Tom Waits, the ambiance is cheerful and lively in this small place with Fifties furnishings and a colorful Formica bar.

Although we were two, we were seated at a table for four, but we weren’t alone for long. The waiter came over and announced that a “lovely lady named Deborah” would share our table. Deborah turned out to be an American studying French in Paris for a few months, and she was indeed a pleasant, nonintrusive table neighbor. She had been placed with us because the staff had lost her reservation, and it was the only seat available (or maybe because they thought all English-speakers should sit together?).

The two servers, a man and a woman, were friendly but seemed a bit overwhelmed. It took a while to get things started, but once they did, everything went smoothly. Having arrived early, I ordered a glass of white wine – a Languedoc called Mémé Jeanne – from the limited (three whites and three reds) wine list, which offers only glasses, half-liters and liters. The waitress warned me that the Mémé Jeanne was “amer” (bitter), but I told her to bring it anyway. Obviously a “natural” wine, it was more the color of rosé than white and was indeed slightly bitter and apple-cidery, but I liked it.

Read the full review of the restaurant here.

Blue Valentine
13, rue de la Pierre Levée
75011 Paris
Tel.: 01 43 38 34 72

Métro: République
Open Wednesday-Sunday for lunch and dinner
Fixed-price menu: €36 (three courses)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du6CCxkWtSM