- When I visited Paris, I expected to be blown away by the local French cuisine.
- I ate some great French food, but my favorite meal was from the Italian restaurant Libertino.
When I visited Paris last year for the first time, I couldn't wait to eat my way around the city.
I expected to eat some delicious French dishes — and don't get me wrong, I did — but I was surprised to find that the best food I had in Paris, by far, was at an Italian restaurant.
I made a reservation at Libertino weeks in advance after stumbling across a photo of a beautiful-looking bowl of pasta on Instagram.
I'll admit, I was a tad apprehensive about booking an Italian restaurant for a weeklong Paris trip with my family for Christmas. As the designated master of our itinerary, I wanted to ensure we were soaking up as much Parisian culture as we could and I wasn't sure about veering away from the local cuisine — even if it was only for one night.
While we enjoyed plenty of mouthwatering baguettes and croissants from local patisseries, and of course cheese, our favorite meal was full of pasta and pizza. And I'm not sorry about it.
The atmosphere at Libertino was cozy and buzzy
Libertino opened in Paris' 10th Arrondissement in 2019 and is part of the Big Mamma restaurant group, which includes seven restaurants in Paris, as well as more locations in cities like London and Madrid.
My party of four arrived at the restaurant at peak dinner hour on December 29, during one of the busiest weeks of the year for tourists visiting Paris for the holidays. We were able to secure a reservation about two weeks before and could decide where in the restaurant we'd like to sit.
As a food reporter, one of my favorite places to sit in a restaurant is at a chef's counter, where you can see the food being prepared and coming out. I decided to book our table at the counter, and couldn't have been more pleased with that decision.
As soon as we sat down, we realized we were stationed right by the pick-up station for waiters so we got to see every dish being carried out into the dining room. We saw plates piled high with spaghetti, perfectly crisp pizzas, and certain dishes we had to ask our waitress about, begging to know, "What is that?"
Every chef and cook working in the kitchen was calling out to each other in Italian, which added to the ambience and made us feel confident about the food's authenticity.
The food blew me away
At the time of my visit in December, we started off with a round of cocktails, followed by an order of burrata with pesto, which cost €15, or about $16.50, and an order of fried mozzarella, which cost around €10, or $11. Both were exquisitely prepared, but I preferred the contrast of the fried outside of the mozzarella with the creamy inside — it tasted like a gourmet version of a mozzarella stick.
For my main, I ordered the truffle pasta, which came served in a traditional French copper pot and cost €21, or about $23. The ribbons of pasta perfectly clung to the creamy sauce, while the earthy flavor of the truffles and mushrooms balanced out the rich flavor of the dish.
As a truffle fanatic, I couldn't have been happier with my choice. Of course, that didn't stop me from trying other dishes on the table, including a slice of delicious Margherita pizza topped with fresh San Marzano tomato sauce (€14, or $15.40) and a bite of the restaurant's original spaghetti (€15, or about $16.50). Both blew me away.
I should note that the menu at Libertino changes every month, so some of the dishes I've mentioned might not be available at other times, but I like the idea that visitors can try something a little different each time they go.
As for the cost, the meal came to around €126, or roughly $138, for our group of four. We agreed that the experience and food was well worth the cost, and it was a highlight of our trip.
I loved Paris so much, I'm planning another trip there next year. And I know I'll be back at Libertino — or one of the Big Mamma group's other restaurants, which all offer a similar Italian menu.