It’s tucked away on a Marais side street, at 8 Rue de Jouy, that I’d almost forgotten about Metropolitain. The neighborhood standby has been around as long as I can remember with its cherry red storefront dotted with portholes. Passing it last month, I saw they had a 20€ two-course lunch menu and decided to give it a whirl.

Looking like a typical neighborhood Bistro, Metropolitain has a white tiled wall with vintage movie posters with opposite walls of exposed stone along with wood tables and bentwood chairs. Touches of fall and Halloween, including pumpkins and gourds, lined the shelves along with bottles of red wine.

The 20€ lunch was the daily entrée and plat (appetizer and main course) special, with no other choices, but luckily it was two things that I liked. A not-so-salty olive tapenade cleverly served in a sardine tin on a cutting board with dried toast on the side was first. A house-cured salmon gravlax served with radish rosettes and dots of beet juice was the entrée. The freshness and flavor of the salmon clearly came through as the curing was not too strong or smoky, and the beet dots gave a subtle but recognizable sweetness to it.

Next up, my plat was roasted codfish with rosemary served with broccoli mousseline. The codfish was perfectly cooked, tasting more steamed than roasted, but I didn’t taste the rosemary. Mousseline and pureed vegetables have been a long-time staple accompaniment to plats but as of late you don’t see it much on menus anymore, so I appreciated the smooth, comforting pool of broccoli mousselline.

Although my meal wasn’t sensational, I still recommend Metropolitain if you are looking for reliable, solid bistro food and don’t need to be dazzled.

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