Chez L’Ami Louis

A 100-years old restaurant, which offers simple French staples, like chicken, duck and veal kidneys. Tremendous wine list. Large portions. Very high prices. Almost impossible to make a reservation for dinner, a little easier for lunch. 3.5 stars

It's one of the best foie gras dishes I've ever had. The famous chicken, however, is somewhat overrated. The escargot is generously sized. On the downside, the waiter was a mix of rudeness and friendliness. The prices are quite steep, likely due to the restaurant's long-standing reputation. While I appreciated the beautiful cuisine, I believe customers should be treated with more courtesy.

My wife and I ate here Apr 20, 2024. Everything was a “WOW”. I use the word “WOW” as this is above “incredible”, “awesome”, etc and is probably the words I used when I saw our food). Portions are huge so come hungry as you will leave extremely full. The waiters are very nice, friendly and fun-loving and the service excellent. This was one of the “GOAT” places that we’ve eaten at. If we ever get back to Paris, this will be the first place we will go to eat. To begin, Chez L’ami Louis is very small (14 tables) and we were extremely excited to get reservations. We called several months earlier from Canada and found out that they only take 2 weeks ahead. They also told us that “they love Canadians”. So exactly two weeks ahead of the date we wanted, we called immediately at the time they opened (12 noon) to ensure a reservation. Generally, I don’t talk about our meals but this place is worth raving about. For drinks we had a “modest” glass of champagne. There was a very wide range of wines (even by the glass) with a wide range of prices to choose from. For appetizers we had “fois gras”. I expected a small dish but we were served 3 thick slices to go with a giant stack of toasted bread. The fois gras was very soft, very buttery and easily spread. This was very filling and almost a meal in itself. We loved it. For our main course, we had the “Cote de Boeuf Grillee” for two and this was “WOW”. There was lots of other interesting entrees on the menu which I would have liked to try next time if I can get past not ordering the Cote de Boeuf Grillee. After our appetizers, the waiter appeared and presented 2 massive pieces of cooked beef on a wide tray the length of his forearm and hand. I wish I would have taken a picture of it. When we saw it, we let out a loud “WOW”. In fact other tables who ordered it did the same. I know all the tables near us looked at us. I think the waiters had big chuckles on their faces (you could see the smirks on their faces) and got a kick out of g peoples’ reactions. In fact there were similar responses (loud gasps, looks of amazement, etc) at the tables near us when their food (not just the beef) arrived. I know it is not polite to look at what other people are eating but it seems that all dishes were big enough for multiple people. It was a lot of beef. The waiter then took it away leaving us wondering, we can’t eat all that. A plate with a huge stack of shoe-string fries appeared. We started eating these and these were light and delicious. A few minutes later the waiter put down two plates each with two thick slices of beef. They had taken it back to be sliced. We ordered “medium rare”, but they looked more on the rare side (perhaps this is what med rare is in France but I’m not complaining). It was tasty, tender and delicious. I was relieved thinking that we were only getting a part of the meat that we saw. I was wrong. Just as we finished the first plates, the waiter served us another plate (with three thick slices). By this time, my wife had slowed eating, and I helped her finish her plate. And just when I thought we were done, the waiter showed up with a 3rd plate. I told the waiter to take the 3rd plates back “I can’t possibly finish that” but the waiter said, “you can do it, I know you can”. Unfortunately, I tried my best but was unable to finish it all. That is a shame having to leave some beef. The waiter also asked if we wanted more shoe-string fries. Yes, I would have liked to eat more of these too but I was just too full. To finish for dessert, we each had a café au lait. No room for a dessert. God knows how big these would have been? This is one of the “BEST” meals that we’ve had. All I can say is “WOW”. We loved everything here. Mega thank you to the waiters and the staff at Chez L’ami Louis for such a “WOW” dinner.

A CAUTIONARY review. Enter at your own risk visitors. Lets get the basics out of the way first. We knew very well that this was a pricey place. We had the "famous" roast chicken with the fries - this was our only food. I figured a whole chicken for 2 was enough at lunch. Canadians have a roast chicken culture, coast to coast chains specialize in just that, so maybe I'm jaded or biased. The chicken was very good, but not the best meal you'll eat in Pairs by far. The fries i might sell a child for. Bread and butter was also good. Ambiance.. meh, i'm pretty sure the tablecloths were the same material as an 80's junior bridesmaids outfit I had: peach overload. The fruit set up was very nice though. You will smell of roast chicken when you leave and for hours after. HOWEVER and here's where my caution begins, if the price is not listed ASK. You are brought a tome of a wine list. Maybe 40-50 pages. It was lunch so we simply asked for a glass of white. I have never had a GLASS (yes one) of white wine cost €26!! Thats $39 Canadian. For one glass. (Keep reading it gets better) I have had espresso in Michelin starred restaurants - and L'Ami Louis is not one. You expect to pay a premium in those kinds of places... but €9? Thats highway robbery. I left feeling rather used, like i was paying a tourist tax because they didn't want us there. Considering there were only two tables, including us, occupied- they could do worse than some bougie foodies. In short, I would strongly suggest you could have TWO better meals in Paris for what this one lunch cost.