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Au Passage

Au Passage Restaurant in Paris | Paris By Mouth

Address: 1 bis passage de Saint Sébastien, 75011
Hours: Open Monday-Saturday for dinner. Closed Sunday.
Telephone: +33 1 43 55 07 52
Book Online / Website / Facebook / Instagram


Our Most Recent Visit

It’s so nice when a restaurant delivers more than they need to, more than you expect to receive. When looking at a chalkboard menu filled with cheap small plates, one rarely hopes for anything more than simple products. But here at Au Passage, your 8€ octopus dish has undergone three days of preparation. There’s a quiet ethos at work beneath the blaring bustle of the dining room: staples are homemade (butter, bread, stock, charcuterie), vegetables and fish receive priority attention, and meat is served in a nose-to-tail spirit with every last offaly bit turning up on the menu. So much heart and creativity for so little money. Au Passage is not for everyone, nor is it trying to be. If the loud music, frenzied service, and worn-out interior turn some people away, that leaves more space for me. 


Au Passage in Photos


In Other Words

Reviews citing Edward Delling-Williams as chef

The Wall Street Journal (2014) “Under its new chef, Edward Delling-Williams, the three-year-old Au Passage, in an alleyway south of République, has become a go-to for winemakers and off-duty cooks… The draw is the menu of small plates that are highly ambitious yet reasonably priced.”

Ruth Reichl (2014) “Casual, comfortable, raucous and delicious, this little wine bar/bistro is the perfect place to fall into when you’re hungry but not in the mood for an enormous, expensive deal.”

Reviews citing James Henry as chef

Le Figaro (2011) “Décor de zinc popu à classer d’urgence et petits plats goûtus, boutiqués avec énergie sous couvert de désinvolture.”

Wine Terroirs (2011) “All the wines here are chosen with care… The bottle wine-list is quite good for a restaurant of this size…”

Pierrick Jégu (2011) “… spécimen de bistrot local qui popote avec malice… Une bonne surprise derrière des airs de nonchalance.”

Alexander Lobrano (2011) “A perfect example of one of the most welcome recent trends in Paris–relaxed and affordable wine bars serving interesting small plates and ‘natural’ or organic wines.”


Au Passage in Video

Anthony Bourdain’s Paris episode for “The Layover.” The segment Au Passage begins around the 7:05 mark.

14 thoughts on “Au Passage”

  1. Hi Torsten! I’m not aware of any change in ownership. When I look at the owner’s Instagram page it still lists Au Passage and Aube, so I don’t think there’s been a change. I haven’t been back since 2019 (you’ve been much more recently than me!), so I’m really not sure if this is a downward trend or simply a reflection of the fact that every restaurant in Paris (like so many other cities) is having serious trouble attracting and retaining staff. I’d suspect it’s the latter, and your friend caught them on a night when perhaps there were some new recruits tending bar. Ever since the pandemic I’ve been very forgiving of mediocre service and overjoyed when it’s really good. It’s just the situation we’re in right now, unfortunately.

  2. Hello Meg!

    I really appreciate this place (last visit late October 2022) so I was a bit surprised when a colleague of mine told me about a visit in mid-July 2023. The guys in the bar suggested bland wines and lacked knowledge. My colleague said he’d heard some talk about a change of ownership lately. Would that be true?

  3. Thanks to your recommendation, we had the most amazing meal here during our recent visit to Paris. We loved everything about this place. It’s no fuss, just fantastic food, service, and wines. So grateful for your guidance, we used you as our top resource on this trip and didn’t have a bad meal the whole time.

  4. Went here today and I ADORED it. Best food i’ve had in paris so far. Will see how Clamato will hold up to this (which I will visit tomorrow). Extremely polite staff. Couldn’t be happier!

  5. Love the hidden location and the bric-a-brac, laid back decor. The fresh produce makes a difference in the food and we’re enjoying this new wave of tapas style dining in Paris. If push came to shove though, we would stick with Aux Deux Amis!

  6. Ate here last week for dinner, on a Monday night.
    It was so fantastic! it was just hubby and me, but I think it would be a great casual dinner spot with friends, as it so relaxed and you can then taste everything on the menu!
    We tried the pork rillette, the squid, the brussel sprouts with bacon, a white fish carpaccio and an amazing ganache with strawberries.
    The table over from us was trying the pork served for 4 and it looked just amazing!! Highly recommend it for lunch or a large group of friends. Looks like a run down place, don’t judge it!

  7. We enjoyed a fabulous lunch there today. So simple. So complex. So YUM. We are taking friends there tomorrow for lunch; wish we could try dinner as well.

  8. Fantastic little plates, coupled with a well recommended wine and the lively atmosphere of the place, made for an excellent evening. I think my favourite by far was the encornets, cooked to absolute perfection. And the light summer dessert of figs with ricotta and rasberries was unbelievable. Definitely on my list to go back.

  9. Had lunch at Au Passage last week & put me down as another fan. Bavette served with beautiful and unusual (but seasonal) veggies and the best cheese plate (which included a fab Brillat-Savarin) I’ve had in ages. I get the impression that whoever is heading to market for them is picking out the very best in ingredients.

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