Many years ago in a nostaligic funk. I trudged the streets of Paris on the hunt for fish and chips. Sandy beach and seagulls optional. A fashionable Saint-Germain establishment offered un unremarkable version with malt vinegar and a steep price. A little stone cavern in the 5th arrondissement, Le Chipper, specialised in all things fried, including Mars Bars and sausages, but the fish and chips were oily, and the fyer smell once in the door overpowering. I gave up on the quest, until now. Gregory Marchand, the owner of Frenchie, has opened a pocket-size eatery in the same street as his perennially popular resto and bar. Frenchie to Go is all about takeaway, but with 15 or so elbow-to-elbow seats and a sound track veering from 80s rock anthems to Beastie Boys via Lana del Rey, it’s more fun to stay in than go out. The fish and chips are super−crispy, comforting, light, with a spoonful of minty mushy peas, a zingy tartare sauce and a wedge of juicy lemon. The pulled pork sandwich, says a friend who thinks all hog is heaven, is the best she’s found in the city. And their ginger mayo is good, good, good. They also do an excellent looking pastrami sandwich, a lobster roll, and hot dog, plus panna cotta in little jars, cheesecake, doughnuts, and homemade ginger beer. A French food crtic squeezed into the table behind wiped clean his paper fish and chip holder, his dessert jar and his wife’s, and downed every last grain of coffee in his tiny cup in between murmuring c’est bon, c’est bon. Watch the tricky handle on the front door−it’s at ankle level. Frenchie To Go, 9 rue de Nil, 75002, Tue-Sat 8.30am-4.30pm
