Le Bon Georges: Fresh Food and Friendly Dining in Paris’ SoPi Neighborhood

With a menu that embraces the best of France and an approach to customer service that rejects the worst, Le Bon Georges is swiftly becoming a new neighborhood favorite in the 9^th arrondissement.

Lunch service starts with a smile from a hostess and a seat in the sun-soaked, airy dining room where the attentive waitstaff takes over, buzzing between tables and sharing their excitement about the food they serve.

The reasonably priced lunch formule is 15 euro for the plat du jour with your choice of starter or desert. The price is right to entice locals who come on their lunch break, giving the restaurant a nice, neighborhood feel.

When I stopped by for lunch, I was happily surprised to see a mixture of French locals and visitors from afar sharing the dining room – a refreshing mixture for an area that is becoming increasingly touristic.

An all-star team of suppliers is behind the quality ingredients in Le Bon Georges’ cuisine. A proudly displayed list detailing the origins of various products assures the customer that even the mushrooms have their own specialty producer.

Here the veggies are from famed market farmer Joël Thiébault, fish is sourced from rue du Nil based Terroirs d’Avenir, and the coffee comes from the locally roasted beans of L’Arbre à Café. This special attention to sourcing is happily on the rise in Paris and Le Bon Georges, which has been open barely four months, is on point when it comes to creating a network of top-notch suppliers.

While the fixed price lunch menu is a great deal, it is easy to be tempted to go off menu and order à la carte. The (rather meat-heavy) menu offers many enticing options, all seasonal and made in-house with fresh ingredients: a cut of beef that stewed for 72 hours (24 euro), a peak-season spring chicken (24 euro), and an entire roasted lobster (34 euro) all came highly suggested.

While I was disappointed to see that there are no natural wines on the wine list, there is a wide selection of whites, reds, rosés, and sparkling wines. The staff is happy to advise on the best glass (6-9 euro) or bottle (with several selections hovering around the 30-40 euro mark) to go with your meal.

I opted for the céteaux (a fish from the Charente Maritime region resembling a miniature sole) with steamed spinach (21 euro), served with a basket of crispy, crusted brown bread (from Maison Landemaine) that was perfect for soaking up the citrus and butter juices left behind.

A glass of white wine from the Luberon made me a little sad that I couldn’t have ordered something more interesting and natural, but overall I had a wonderful lunch.

I admire the unwavering commitment to quality and conviction (meat is served only rare or bloody, for example) at Le Bon Georges. When paired with a welcome that makes each diner feel like a guest of honor, this restaurant is one I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

The overall approach to dining, which combines quality, ingredient-focused food, exceptional customer service, and a diverse mix of locals and foreigners creates a dining experience that I wish were more common in Paris. Le Bon Georges may just be a sign of good things to come.

Le Bon Georges

45 Rue Saint-Georges, 75009 Paris, France

+33 1 48 78 40 30  http://www.lebongeorges.com

Related Links

• More fabulous dining in the trendy SoPi neighborhood? Forest Collins rounds up our favorite restos for small plates in the area.
• Alex Lobrano, master of Paris food writing, recently took a trip to Le Bon Georges as well.
• To quench your natural wine craving, Claire Oldman recommends heading to La Buvette de Camille in the trendy 11th.

Written by Emily Dilling for the HiP Paris Blog. All images by Palmyre Roigt. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, London, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven in Paris.