There are only so many hyped, chic Parisian restaurants…

Stop. Enough is enough. There are only so many hyped, chic Parisian restaurants you can do before wanting to get back to good old-fashioned values; a simple, hearty meal in a relaxed atmosphere with a nice glass of wine and that special someone.

No-one would come to the Wepler for the décor; despite its vast rooms and high ceilings, an eighties makeover has not been kind to this venerable Parisian brasserie. And place Clichy, not far form the ‘delights’ of Pigalle is a slightly unbalanced mix of neon, shouting drunks and a traffic jam that lasts from 8am to 3am. Braving all this can dissuade the fainthearted.

But bravery always pays off, and the Wepler is worth it. Over 110 years old now, and despite boasting famous customers such as Picasso, Modigliani and Henry Miller, it is refreshingly unpretentious, good value for money and – frankly – quite a laugh. Our waiter came from the Parisian old school of babbling away to himself (rather from the snotty ‘don’t even look at me’ new school) and as soon as we were welcomed at the door (none of your forced formatted politeness here) we felt right at home.

We decided to tuck right in with some white wine, served really chilled, and some fish (couldn’t really face their renowned seafood platters). Our dishes were appetising, tasty and copious. Several more expensive restaurants have served us worse than this. A little heavy on the butter perhaps, but nothing we couldn’t handle.

After a well-earned five-minute rest (and some more wine to help everything go down) we were ready for dessert. I decided on the selection of chocolate and coffee desserts (“la farandole”) and my companion went for the rum baba. We were both extremely happy with our choices. Mine was like having a second birthday, whilst the rum baba had extra rum, extra whipped cream, then more extra rum. And as the waiter had taken a shine to us, even more extra rum was poured into our now empty wine glasses. Quite a finale!

A coffee chaser was essential to avoid us falling off our bikes on the way home.

So, for a taste of what 1930s Paris was like, the Wepler is perfect. We left feeling that we had eaten well and chilled out. And even the bustling ambiance of place Clichy couldn’t take that away.

Brasserie le Wepler
14 place de Clichy, 75018 Paris
tel : 01 44 70 07 50
Métro : Place de Clichy

Service from 12pm to 1am .