L'Ami Jean

I always wanted to dine at L'Ami Jean for so many years but I was never able to get a reservation. Each time that we are in Paris I tried without any luck but this time I was a bit shocked to get a reservation for 4 people. I found out later by our waiter that since the "terrorists attack" in Paris, the restaurant slowed down quite a bit and that's why I was able to get in without any problem.

This restaurant, run by chef/owner Stephane Jego, opened in its current form in 2002 on the site of a Basque bistro of the same name dating back to 1931. Mr Jego, himself from the Basque country, had previously worked for twelve years with Yves Camdeborde at the famous Paris bistro La Regalade - See more at: http://www.andyhayler.com/restaurant/chez-ami-jean#sthash.qZIZFtPh.dpuf

L'ami Jean is run by chef/owner Stéphane Jégo since 2002 after taking over from a Basque bistro of the same name dating back to 1931. Chef Jégo, himself from the Basque country, had previously worked for 12 years with Yves Camodeborde at the famous Paris bistro La Régalade which we had the chance to eat there twice.

L’Ami Jean is located on a quiet street near the Eiffel Tower, has a bustling atmosphere an is well-know for its generous portion sizes. No one leaves here hungry!

Our reservation was at 8:00PM and by the time we got there the whole restaurant was packed! The tables are jammed together with very space in between each table.

We had the best table in the whole restaurant. We were seated right at the front window with a clear view of whole the restaurant and we could see all the actions in the small kitchen in the back ground.

A small bar on the right of the entrance.

t has an open kitchen and an emphasis on higher-grade ingredients than you might expect in such a simple place. It has a bustling atmosphere and is well-known for its generous portion sizes; no-one leaves here hungry. The dining room is noisy and cramped, with hams hanging from the ceiling. At one end of the room is a view into the surprisingly small kitchen. The noise level today was occasionally enhanced by Mr Jego shouting and screaming at his fellow chefs. One outburst was so extreme that the entire dining room went quiet as the diners sat in shocked silence while the tirade continued. According to someone who has been here on several occasions this kind of incident is not particularly rare. - See more at: http://www.andyhayler.com/restaurant/chez-ami-jean#sthash.qZIZFtPh.dpuf

When the server came back and took it away, he counted them, making sure that we did not steal them.... I am sure a lot of people pocket them before...

The menu offers a la carte or a chef's menu (carte Blanche) at €78 where you will need to trust the chef as there are no explanation of what will be served.

Thick slides of pain the campagne (rustic bread) are brought out with and olive oil!

Pâté de campagne house made.

Pâté de campagne was meant to be shared and they gave us so much! The Pâté was delicious and we probably could eat the whole thing but we had to slow down and save room for our main dish.

Hoa and Minh ordered a bottle of red wine from Saint Estephe 2008- we had a very similar bottle in Bordeaux and we were hoping that this bottle will be as good.

While waiting for our main dish Hoa went to the Kitchen to take a few pictures of Chef Jégo in action.

As you can see the kitchen is open and the whole restaurant can see all the staff working on the food.

The restaurant is small so you can hear Chef Stéphane Jégo yelling to the servers to hustle and get the food from the kitchen to your table pronto!

This place is noisy but suddenly we heard Chef Jégo shouting and screaming "Tu te foux de ma gueule" - (are you shitting me) to one of the girl that was serving us. I think she messed up the order and return the dish. Chef Jégo outburst was pretty extreme and you can feel the entire room went quiet as we all sat in shocked while the tirade continued. And to make it worst, our waiter was also yelling at the girl at how incompetent she was, like bringing out plates and forgetting to bring forks and spoons, etc....

Hoa saw her wiping her tears in the corner of the room so he tried to comfort her by saying something nice, but it is still awkward!

Apparently this kind on incidents is not particularly rare at L'ami Jean, so make sure not to pissed out chef Jégo -

Hoa ordered the special of the day: Cuisine de cochon en multiple saveur -€35 - Pork cooked in multiple flavors.

Roasted pork belly, pork cheeks, and pork butts, are served in very nice presentation. Hoa said the dish is just okay with nothing special.

Minh ordered the Ris de Veau cuisine au beurre 1/2 sel, jus reduit- €45 - Roasted Sweet bread in salted butter with it's own reduced juice.

Very good but also so rich that Minh had to share it with all of us. Can't eat the whole thing, simply too rich.

I ordered the Rape de Lapinou, cuisine du Jardinier- €38 - Rabbit with vegetables.

A large plate is brought out with a bit of vegetable and then our waiter told us the rest in coming... don't eat the plate yet!

The rabbit is brought out piping hot in a heavy oval pot. The server proceed to spoon the rabbit into the plate.

This dish is really amazing! The best dish of the night. Portion is huge so everyone was able to have a piece of the rabbit.

Dessert menu- L'ami Jean riz au lait is very popular but I was pretty full that I did not want to order starch so we went with the Pomme confite, glace de café.

The apples are roasted and served with a very tasty coffee ice cream and sprinkled with nuts brittle. Yummy!

On our way out, Hoa wanted a cigarette but Minh was out, so he asked these people for a cigarette and they gave him one.