Paris Insights - The Restaurant Review

Kitchen Ter(re)

posted January 28, 2025

26, boulevard Saint-Germain

75005 Paris

Phone: 01.42.39.47.48

Metro Station: Maubert Mutualité or Cardinal Lemoine (Line 10), Pont Marie (Line 7), Jussieu (Lines 7 and 10)

Type of cuisine: French

Days & hours of operation: Tues to Sat noon - 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Credit card: Visa, MasterCard, American Express

Kitchen Ter(re) stands on boulevard Saint-Germain in the heart of the Latin Quarter.  We went there for lunch on Thursday.

The restaurant specializes in broths containing fish, grains, and pasta. 

The menu
The restaurant offers a lunchtime menu consisting of a two-course menu (starter + main course or main course + dessert) for 32€ and a three-course menu for 37€.

There are three choices for the starter, four for the main course, and three for the dessert.

The starter
For the starter, I ordered Crevettes mi-cuites, a serving of half-cooked shrimps, carrots, pickles, and yuzu kosho (a Japanese seasoning made from chili peppers, yuzu peel, and salt), garlic, and olive oil.  The preparation, served in a broth in small, deep bowl, was garnished with dill, flat parsley, and paper-thin crisps of toast.  From the moment that I took my first bite I was astounded by the wonderful flavors that were contained in this dish: the succulent shrimp, the crispy toast, the spicy broth…all delicious.

My partner forwent the starter.

The main course
For the main course, I opted for Pêche du jour, which, in this case, were small calamari called encornet.  Cut into narrow slices, the succulent squid rested in a creamy broth of yuzu kosho juice and lemon condiment, floating about with root vegetables and tiny button mushrooms.  The flavors were exquisite!

My partner requested Raviolis grilles artichauts-épinards and received a shallow bowl containing grilled raviolis stuffed with artichoke and spinach.  They floated about with tiny button mushrooms in a creamy white broth flavored with ginger juice. The dish was decorated with a smear of tamarind condiment.  Garnished with wilted spinach leaves and fennel sprigs,  the dish was perfect in every way.

The bread
Fresh thickly-cut slices of baguette were served alongside in a bread dish.

The beverage
For the wine accompaniment, I ordered a glass of Domaine Minchin Menetou-Salon from the Centre-Val de Loire region of France.  A slightly fruity white wine with citrus notes and a mineral taste, it went well with both the starter and the main course.

My partner sprang for L’Œvre de Perraud from Burgundy.  A slightly tannic brilliant, light red-violet wine with red fruit and vanilla notes, it was a great accompaniment with her main course.

The dessert
For dessert, I selected Gianduja and received a large dollop of chocolate and hazelnut paste topped with a scoop of praline ice cream nestled against a chocolate crumble containing broken hazelnuts.  The flavor of the gianduja was intense.

My partner opted for Pomme Tatin. This was a curious and delicious combination of apple and lemon flavors – caramelized apples topped with a spongy lemony crumble topped with a scoop of honey-ginger ice cream and a light, tangy lemon cream.  My partner loves traditional tarteTatin, and she grumbles when it is not thoroughly heated when served.  This dish was deliberately served cold, and my partner withheld her judgment until she tasted it.  She thought it was delightful!

The bill
The bill for two, including two glasses of wine, one starter, two main courses, and two desserts, came to 84€.

The service
The service was friendly, helpful, and efficient.

The ambience
We sat at a table made from colorful, polished broken stone, I on a heavy metal cushioned chair and my partner on a cushioned wall bench.  Framed art on the walls included images of kitchen utensils that, in my mind, dated from the 1930s.  Spotlighting and lamps hanging from the ceiling provided illumination.  A fan consisting of three blades made from lime green, teal blue, and gold plastic embellished the ceiling.

No music played while we dined.

Around 1:00 p.m. the restaurant began to fill with customers.  The conversation around us became quite noisy.  The service continued apace.

The menu is in French and English.  The staff speaks English.

We noted that a customer in an electric wheelchair arrived to dine shortly after we had sat down at our table.  The WC, located down a steep stairway, is inaccessible by wheelchair.

Travelers to Paris who are curious to try dishes prepared as broths will enjoy the food served here at Kitchen Ter(re).