Falstaff Magazine (International)
ARNAUD NICOLAS
Paris, France
Arnaud Nicolas started out as a butcher. His fine charcuterie was served by chefs like Alain Ducasse. Then Nicolas started a boutique shop in the Montmartre neighbourhood and people queued up for his sausages, patés and pies. Finally, he has opened his own eponymous restaurant, just around the corner from the Eiffel Tower. This is his temple to gastronomic charcuterie.
When you enter the restaurant, you can study a presentation of great patés to choose from: there is La terrine grand-mère, honouring his grandmother’s recipe, a pork and chicken terrine with pickles, jambon persillé, the famous potted ham with parsley. There are also more exotic options like clam and cod terrine with courgette, a poultry pie with foie gras, pork trotter terrine, also with foie gras. Of course, there also is just a ‘simple’ duck foie gras, you probably will not have tasted a better one, even at Michelin-starred establishments. Ask the charming staff at the counter to put a selection of your favourites together and let the whole table join in the feast.
But do leave some room for the main courses – fortunately they are lighter than the starters: Arnaud Nicolas knows that his charcuterie is rather filling. He thus offers salmon with asparagus and lardo or a tartare of seabream flavoured with miso. The most advantageous way to sample the butcher’s cooking is to go for lunch. 28 Euro for pie, terrine, foie gras and a Rhum Baba to finish – offers simply unbeatable value. Should all of this indulgence make you worry about your waistline, simply climb the Eiffel Tower afterwards. 14 stairs and 1665 steps will do wonders for your figure.