Restaurant review: Gratin

Place du Châtelain 47

What’s good? Gratin’s terrace, on the recently refurbished Place du Châtelain, is always busy and buzzing with a trendy-looking crowd. The handsome exterior is suggestive of a relaxed, Parisian bistro, and once inside, we enjoyed decent glasses of orange wine. Unfortunately, that’s about as far as the positives went.

What’s not? Trying to get a seat. Our first attempt was aborted after waiting for 10 minutes, only for a waitress to seat other guests who arrived well after us. On our second visit, we managed, after a short wait, to find seats at the bar, then later moved to a table. A casual seating policy works in some places, but probably not in an establishment where a small plate of salmon gravlax costs €17. 

Our food, which took a long time, was not good. We opted for aubergine roti (which turned out to be half a limp aubergine covered in multicolored sauces), the aforementioned salmon gravlax (which, though expensive, was reasonably tasty), a “carpaccio” of under-seasoned and watery tomatoes with burrata, and the pièce de résistance, a potato gratin with courgette that was undercooked — to the point of being difficult to eat — and completely bland. 

Vibe: A young crowd. The interior design was along mid-century modern lines, with lots of dark greens and browns.

Who’s picking up the check? We paid €71 for four small sharing dishes that left us both hungry, and a glass of wine each, plus €6.50 for two ice creams afterward from the night shop next door. We’d learned enough from the mains to skip dessert. 

Spotted: A sticker in the window announcing Gratin as part of the Gault&Millau 2025 “Hip” guide — which may provide an important lesson on the value of restaurant guides. Also, a tiny, fluffy, well-behaved Pomeranian on the sofa next to us. 

Insider tip: If you insist on giving it a go, arrive early. It’s always busy, it doesn’t take reservations for groups of fewer than six people, and you have to get your elbows out to get seats, particularly outside.

Fun fact: One of the waitresses described the seating policy for the terrace outside as “Hunger Games.” Take from that what you will. 

How to get there: Walk five minutes into the heart of Châtelain from the Bailli tram stop on Avenue Louise. 

— SAM CLARK