Swann et Vincent

I don’t normally go to Italian restaurants on the basis that I can make pasta and pizza myself at home. This is not reflection on my cooking skills – just, if the main ingredients in a dish are carbs, cheese and tomatoes, it’s pretty much guaranteed that I’ll like the end result, in whatever form it is presented. However, a group of us were walking around Bastille at dinnertime and my dad looked up restaurants in the area and suggested this one. When I say looked up, I mean in his 10-year-old guide book that he insists on bringing to Paris each time he visits. Many a time, that guidebook has led us down the path of hanger and family arguments to restaurants that no longer exist.

Happily, that was not the case this time. Inside, Swann et Vincent is pleasantly bustling with cheerful red seats and industrious waiters. Our starters were fresh anchovies (11,5€) and vegetarian antipasti (13€), followed by classic pasta dishes (16€) and fish of the day (19,5€). I’ve been there twice since and stuffed myself so full with garlicy beans, grilled tuna and warm rosemary foccacia that I’ve never made it to dessert. Next time. Glasses of wine start from 5,8€.

Swann et Vincent is open 12h – 14h30 and 19h30 – 23h15 every day.

You can find Swann et Vincent at 22, Place Denfert-Rochereau, 75014 and 7, rue Saint Nicolas, 75012.

– Joanna York