[Paris] Clown Bar

Clown Bar

Add: 114 Rue Amelot, 75011 Paris
Tel: 01 43 55 87 35
Hours: [Wed-Sun] 12-2:30pm, 7:30-10:30 (closed on Mon & Tue)
Price: €40~60/person
Visited: Mar 2015

Clown Bar is a historical, Belle Epoque-style bar near Cirque d’Hiver, and it’s been a real hot spot since it was revamped last year by a team from Saturne. In the kitchen is Japanese chef Sota Atsumi (previously at Vivant), who sends out plates after plates of small bites, delicious and just creative enough to keep diners on their toes. The prices are not cheap, but the food is quality, plus this place is open on Sundays which automatically earns extra points in the Parisian dining scene.

Small detail: utensils are stored in the built-in drawer of the dining table. Not really necessary, but pretty neat anyway.

The wine list is all natural…can’t say I’m a big fan, but this seems to be the trendy thing to do nowadays.

We started the evening with “bulot pané” (€6), conch breaded and fried, served with a wedge of lemon and house-made spicy mayonnaise. Excellent.

“Radicchio / oursin” (€13), radicchio (also known as Italian chicory) with sea urchin and shavings of parmesan. The stalks were nice and crisp, very refreshing and taste surprisingly good with sea urchins.

“Foie gras / anguille fumée / champignon de Paris / oseille” (€15), foie gras with smoked eel, thin shavings of mushrooms, and sorrel sorbet.

Saint-Jacques / endive (€14), fresh scallops with endives.

“Pithivier de poularde” (€20), now this is what I came to Clown Bar for. I’ve seen too many photos of this dish on Instagram, all in slightly different versions…but whether the puff pastry shell is stuffed with Challans duck and date puree, or rabbit accompanied by beans and Fourme d’Ambert cheese, they all looked and sounded decadent. The pithivier on the day of my visit was stuffed with foie gras and poularde, which is a type of hen famous for its layer of fat and its tender, moist, milky flesh. The pithivier was then drizzled with beetroot sauce, making it look as if blood oozed out as the pithivier was sliced…a whimsical touch. And yes, it was delicious, I’d come back again for this.

Served with a light soup of some sort of turnip.

For dessert we tried “chocolat / laurier” (€8), which consisted of a bay leaf-infused white chocolate mousse covered in chocolate glaze, topped with chocolate crumbles and chocolate sorbet.

There was also a “tarte au citron / sesame / miel” (€8), lemon tart with white sesame and honey. It was my first time trying lemon tart with white sesame and honey flavors added in, and while it wasn’t love at first bite, the combination was very interesting. The lemon cream was more acidic than the typical, and my taste buds were about to scream but soothed just in time by the white sesame and honey mousse.

Charming decor, friendly service, creative and delicious food. Clown Bar is worth the hype.