This restaurant used to be known as Les Zingots, and embarrassingly enough, that's what I set out looking for when I arrived in front of the cloaked doors of La Fidelité. And yes, I do mean cloaked- the doors and all the windows were covered with heavy red velvet, not so much to keep out the draft as the peering eyes of the uninitiated. At first, I thought I'd fallen upon an outpost of Dans le Noir, the curious eatery that opened in Paris in 2004 where you eat in pitch darkness and are served by blind waiters. Moving forward.
We checked out the menu- a somewhat safe but tasty looking entrée-plat ou plat-desert for 26 euros- why not? And in we went to the oasis of beauty and priviledge that is La Fidelité.
Part Viennese coffee shop, part massive train station, La Fidelité boasts massive ceilings, tasteful booths and absolutely perfect lighting. If you want to feel coddled and snuggled by all that is lovely, I would head here, even for a drink because the people watching is just as good as the food.
Here's the thing though, this world remains accessible to those without the It-bag and the It-bangs and the boy accessory. Although tout paris was present, the mood remained quite gay, with lots of smiles, clumsy waiters and frankly, a vibe that was refreshingly down to earth for a place with such caché.
Here's another thing: the food was actually good. Maybe even better than good. And the wine, although pricey, was decadent and memorable. And the french fries--- my goodness-- the neighboring table insisted we order them and I'm glad we did.
La Fidelité has only been open for 4 weeks, and because French people are (I'm sorry!) inherently lazy, food bloggers don't really exist so you can be happy that you read about it here. I think you'll be reading about it partout by the end of the winter. Bon app!
