Les Novices in the 18th; Another Fine Addition to Montmartre That is Anything but Novicial.

6.2 Les Novices, 123 rue Caulincourt in the 18th, 01.42.64.71.37, open 7/7, is just around the corner of the Rue Nobel, which is a good omen, although it occupies the space of the former Cafe Arrose, which is not.  When I originally put it on my list it had received mixed reviews, was described by Charles Patin O'Coohoon, now there's a French name for you, in L'Express as between the "années 1920 (suspension Art déco)......" and "l'épuration éthique (tables boisées brutes en enfilade)....." and I somehow thought the Novices referred to the beginning careers of the bistro's team, not the movie with BB.

In any case, it has a certain charm and today (Sunday lunch) was bursting with families at a 6-8 person table, other locals, one French couple up/in from the country and a carte that is mouthwatering and quite reasonable, albeit not as much as the weekday formulas of 13.50 and 17.50 E at lunch.  And clearly Cedric Caurette who toiled years at the Hotel du Nord is no novice.

Colette started with a dish consisting of quartered fresh figs, burrata and slices of Bayonne ham and I had ceviche with pomegranate/grenadine seeds; both with a suce of Japanese basil and terribly inventive and good.

Then Colette had the daurade royal on top of black rice and chorizo bits which she again called inventive and I had the beef cheeks that she rightly compared to good pieces of boeuf bourgignon on top of pasta and petit pois.

For dessert Colette had her favorite - rice pudding, this inventively made with spéculoos that she called a "whole new take on ris au lait."  With a bottle and glass of Chateau Tire Fe, fine bread, two coffees and even with the kids shouting, a decibel level only up to 83.5, our bill was 98 E.

Go?  Local food, local folks, inventive and on the Mont - what more could you want?