This is THE place for oysters. My lifelong friend and I always meet outside a little before noon so we can nab one of the two tables in the back. White wines by the glass whatever the barman or bar woman recommends plus a couple of dozen oysters and a tapas or two. Celebratory every time! I have also popped in on many occasions and just stood at the bar. Always interesting to see what others are choosing. People whom I would otherwise never speak to are often quite open to giving a recommendation. This is a great place to stop by for a meal or a snack, open continuously from noon to 11pm, 7/7. read more

See all

A good seafood bar. Many ppl were outside and we were able to get the last table inside. You order drinks and food at the bar. Seafood was fresh and good. Service was efficient. read more

See all

If I was never here before I may have thought it was good however experiencing what the Chef can really do this was a depressing visit !! Guess Ives is too busy on TV or opening new places to pay attention to his primary business. The wine bar and restaurant were remarkably not crowded. You couldn't get near either when in their prime. The service was unfriendly and outright rude !! read more

See all

Cozy little wine bar / bistro... no wine menu bartender is the menu. Amazing food, best scallop dish I've ever had. Went here multiple times on my trip to Paris & can't wait to go back! read more

L'Avant Comptoir de la Mer - Seafood Near Me - Paris, 75

Let me start off with... this is the best tapas restaurant. I ate here twice during my week in Paris so that says something and yes... the food and vibe is just that good. Located in Saint Germain. It's a small restaurant, with a few tables, plenty of seats at the bar and on the side. If you get there by 7 you can get a seat after 8, plan on either waiting or you can stand. Service is excellent. I had one of my best experiences in Paris here the food was unbelievably good. The Squid is to die for. It was cooked in ink and every bite exploded with flavor. Check the hanging signs with daily specials. Great wine, great food, great srrvicwhat can be better. read more

See all

I love this place where during my second trip to Paris, I made a mental note to come back again and it did not disappoint! This restaurant chain have several locations where this one focuses only on seafood. It's a very cute and small little wine bar with seafood. For wine, you can tell them what your preference is and they'll cater to your preferences. For food, they have a small menu and specials at the top of the ceiling and across the restaurant. I also got some oysters to start. read more

See all

This was a locally recommended restaurant. We stopped by since we were in the area at 2 pm and there was no wait. We had a few bites to try since we weren't very hungry. We had their escargot which was overpriced and tourist bait (me lol). It was deliciously garlicky and buttery. We also ordered the mussels that came in a kettle. That was really flavourful. The white wine sauce was delicious. The mussels were the smaller kind in comparison to say the ones from New Zealand. That was a great deal. They gave complimentary bread and the guys behind the bar were so nice. I would definitely want to go back and try more. read more

L'Avant Comptoir de la Mer - French Butter! - Seafood Near Me - Paris, 75

Start with the free very high quality bread and butter. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Huge selection of well priced wine, and some of the best small dish seafood I've ever had. read more

Cute little seafood bar with friendly staff and decent wine selection. I found easy seating at the bar (to be fair it was off hours between lunch and dinner and I essentially came here straight from the airport). I was instantly won over by the ginormous plate of delicious butter that sat in front of me-- they give giant portions of it with bread to the patrons and I'm obsessed. The seafood dishes are pretty much tapas size and pretty unique; it was nice to try a few different things even though I was alone. I'll be back! read more

I found this on some Anthony Bourdain Paris trip video and was my favorite bite/meal of the trip by far. We stopped in after a half day at Versailles to grab a bite. The interior is standing only and you pretty much make room where you can find it. We had so much fun ordering from the menu, but at the same time looking around to see what other people were ordering (felt like such a tourist, but I was). Its pretty fast paced, but they don't rush you at all and the waitress was so patient with us while ordering. My favorites were both the tartares as well as the mussels. The uni was good, but definitely not as good as JPN or Santa Barbara. The razor clams were also good, but nothing special. I don't recommend it for large groups, but for under 4 people definitely a must come. read more

See all

A favorite in Paris! Quaint, unassuming seafood bar in the heart of St Germain. Friendly and quick service. Wines flowing, locals chatting and laughing; the real deal. Go before the rush hour around 7 pm and by the time you leave there will be a line to get in. That good! Don't miss it! read more

See all

It was so crowded, I didn't want to go in, but they were so friendly, kept telling us to come in and my husband really wanted seafood so made our way through the crowd. There were anyone of people at the bar and only 2 tables in the back. One was occupied, but the other was available. The server / bartender was super busy, serving everyone. It was really fun, friendly, and inviting atmosphere, even though a little chaotic. They served bread and butter that do some reason was better than anywhere else. Maybe because we were super hungry. We got oysters- so fresh and delicious. They serve them with vinegary pickled onions in juice. We loved it. We also ordered some tapas. Tuna tartar. Fresh, but needed some acid so I added the pickled onions and juice. The octopus salad was super tender and delicious. For dessert we had a cheese plate that included a cherry compote that included whole cherries. We devoured it. It was delicious. We finished a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc with our food and enjoyed every drop. I highly recommend this place for fresh seafood appetizers, tapas style. I will be back! read more

Try this petit seafood restaurant the next time when you are in Paris's: they have the standard seafood platter usuals like oysters, cockles, langoustines, mussels, small clams but also featured many cooked dishes and soups. The steamed cockles in white wine is fantastic! read more

See all

Came here at 12 for a weekday lunch, right when it opened, and we were the first there, so we were able to snag the 2 tables in the back. Overall it wasn't too busy - there were always bar seats available while we were there and no one needed to stand. Our favorite was surprisingly the oeuf mayonnaise, which was absolutely delicious with a creamy, sweet and savory filling. Most everything else was good too, and it was a nice to get so much variety (the restaurant is tapas style). Waitress recommended the fried shrimp which was tasty. Mussels were good but pretty plain (not much broth). The ceviches were nothing special, and one of them came with a pesto sauce that I really didn't like, so I would skip those next time. read more

See all

Not just a meal, an experience. Our happy place such fond memories. Third time. Belly up to the bar to eat or snag a stool when it's available. This is the place with fresh shellfish, natural wine, foie, and several other tasty items to start or end the evening. When they have artichokes, get 'em. read more

See all

The sister seafood restaurant to L'Avant Comptoir (next door). Everything we had was fresh and flavorful, and since it's tapas style, we were able to sample a bit of everything. The carpaccio was my favorite of the bunch. The eats here are pretty darn tasty, but I admit, I enjoyed next door's L'Avant Comptoir just a tad bit more. No reservations. We got here early to avoid the crowd and we were pretty much the only ones there, but started filling up after-work hours. Worked out well, we were able to grab a couple of bar stools at the counter and really enjoy our meal. read more

See all

So delicious! The menu is up on the ceiling and the seating is st the bar. There are a couple standing tables in the back. This restaurant is a seafood specialty tapa style restaurant with delectable traditional seafood and some funky ones. They had bigorneaux or sea snails, my favorite, though I prefer it Chinese or Vietnamese style; bulots or large sea conch, also deliciously good; and they also had fish, scallops, shrimp, etc. My favorite dishes were the clam and mussel dishes, and the lobster with a sweet corn soup was so unique yet tasty. The restaurant also has a couple specialty item menus near the wall, so be on the lookout for that. The manager(?) was a cool dude who speaks both French and English and can answer any of your questions. They take your names and correspond it to a tab and on our second time there in the same week, they didn't take my party's name-- we were les filles or the girls. The manager may or may not have been a bit surprised by how we girls ate up a storm. Anyways, another huge star of the show was the mound of delicious homemade butter by local farmers. I don't exaggerate when I say it was the best butter ever. It has the right amount of salt and sweetness; it's creamy and smooth, and it's spreadability was exceptional. Can't wait to go back!!!! read more

See all

I'm going to say this was the best meal we had when we were in Paris. Of course it's right up our alley - we love tapas style stuff and we LOOOOOVE good seafood. So we might have been biased. So first, just some orientation. The Comptoir is actually three individual restaurants all crammed together on the same corner right next to each other. But they operate as individual and separate places with separate entrances, etc. The "main" restaurant is the one right on the corner and it serves kind of a variety of things. Then to the left, there is first a door for the all things pork restaurant, and then to the far left, there's the door to the seafood restaurant (de la Mer). You'll know it because there will be a raw bar in the case outside! OK so first don't act like stupid Americans. There's no hostess. You have to just bust your way in there and claim some space. There are benches at the counter. There are exactly two tables all the way in the back should you be so lucky. And there is a second standing counter on the far wall. Once you claim your space, start looking at all of the menu items, which are displayed on hanging tablets from the ceiling. We ordered a bottle of wine and some oysters and perused the hanging menu. The oysters were fine - some better than others. I wished they told you which were which but we had a good time eating them anyway. There are large mason jars full of mignonette sauce on the counter - you just help yourself. Then we dug into the tapas. -Our favorite was the crevettes fil de pomme de terre, which are two shrimp wrapped in these little potato straws and deep fried with a great rich sauce. So good we ordered two. -We also really dug the saumon marine nori wasabi, which was kind of like salmon sushi but way better. We also got two. -I loved the oeufs de saumon, tartare saumon avocat (which is a fancy French way of saying salmon tartare covered in salmon eggs, aka ikura. If you love ikura, this is a must have. -We also really enjoyed a second shrimp dish that I did not record the name of apparently (it might have been crousillant de crevettes et basilic). But it was shrimp cooked in lovely light phyllo dough with a lovely buttery sauce. Really good. -This was also the only place in Paris where my husband was happy with the beer selection (I drank an entire bottle of wine instead lol). But if you have some beer snobs in your group, this would be a good place. He liked the beer he had so much that he had four of them. -There is also a MASSIVE pile of butter on the counter every four or five seats that they just simply lob off of when serving bread. Nothing much to say there except it's a giant plate of butter and is super awesome. Service wise it's true, you kind of have to fight to get people's attention sometimes. But that's part of the schtick I think. Overall we found people to be helpful but you did have to work to get their attention sometimes. That said, we had a fantastic time occupying two bar stools for about two hours, one bottle of wine and/or three rounds of food. We would absolutely recommend and we will absolutely be back next time we're in Paris. read more

See all

Don't come to Paris and miss this joint! In a city filled with fois gras and beef bourguignon in hundreds if not thousands of places, this is the seafood forager's oasis. Can you say OMMM! We tried over 20 restaurants on our week long visit (some Michelin stars even) but we found ourselves coming back here over and over again - 3x to be exact. Each time was a whole different mix of tapas with the exception of one dish. Their menu is THAT extensive. The vibe is lively and casual and the service we received was perfect as well. Yes it's busy and yes, you will be likely be standing. If this bugs you though, I would probably visit them around noon on a weekday to get more of a sit-down experience. Otherwise, busy or not, this place rocks! The one dish we loved so dearly and ordered all 3x was the "fish of the day" carpaccio but really, you can't go wrong with any other dish either. Others of notable mention are the octopus in squid ink on rice and the squid baked in the pan. Have fun with it all and I guarantee you'll either "really like" or "really love" whatever you get. At least it will be adventurous and something you've never tried prepared that way before and this place gets an A+ for originality. And the best thing? Drum roll.....It doesn't break the piggy bank! Believe it or not, you can order a bottle of wine (if not more) and 7-10 tapas and still walk away paying about 100 euros. Enough said. It's a godsend! read more

See all

7 days in Paris and I came here twice simply because of its amazing food. The bar guys were cool and they will pair the right wine with your food. Menu is hanging from the ceiling and there are so many to choose from. Their oysters are flavorful and the homemade pickled onion really elevated the taste of each oyster. There were a couple of plates with huge chunks of butter on the bar counter, that butter is a must-have, easily the best butter I've ever tasted. Oh, and there is no table, everyone just gather around the bar. Very simple yet efficient concept. They do have a sister restaurant next door but I find its selection of food is not as cohesive as this one. read more

See all

We wanted to go next door to L'Avant Comptoir, but didn't feel like standing. We just climbed Notre Dame's towers and we wanted to sit and relax. This place has 2 small tables in the back and seats around the counter. We love the fact that the menu has pictures. The servers were helpful and spoke English well. We started with some glasses of white wine, tuna tartare (excellent), scallop and truffle tea sandwiches (could've done with out this), cockles (good), shrimp dumplings (could've done without this too) and lobster with corn (amazing). They gave us the best bread and butter to accompany the food. Honestly, we could've stopped there but we decided to keep trying more. We also got the squid "tagliatelle" (very garlicky), veal tartare (excellent), oysters (yum!) and finished with the chocolate mousse (very yummy). The portions are just right and the prices were super affordable. We also ended up getting 2 more glasses of wine and 2 espressos. Our whole bill came out to 120 euros. We will definitely be back to try L'Avant Comptoir! read more

See all

Visiting the L'avant Comptoir restaurants are always some of my favorite meals in Paris. The fun hanging menu, the giant block of butter, the friendly staff, and of course, the extravagant and delicious menu. Every time I leave I spend the rest of the day planning out my order for the next visit. For first time visitors, the only heads up I have is that the space is very small and you should expect to stand the whole time. read more

See all

One of the best meals and experiences I've ever had. Do you like some mystery? Adventure? Then you should absolutely go to this place. Just do it, and be glad. As a bizarre reference, we were in Tokyo in October 2019, and a French guy in line with us to get into a restaurant there gave me a list (he typed it on my phone for me, pre-COVID). We went to every one of his recommendations a month later, and this is one. SO.... Appetizer - they bring you a massive hunk of delicious bread and fresh butter. We inhaled this in about 3 seconds, and got more. Whoa. It's just incredible here, with the butter straight from French farmers. Oysters - they are a specialty if you dig this. We got a sampler of the oysters of the day, and many were small and very salty/briny and delicious (as many French oysters tend to be). Dig oysters? Do this. Let the bartenders/servers just take care of you, and they will. Veal tartare - Just what you imagine it would be. It's tender and very well done, with just a hint of herbs, etc. We loved it. Tuna tartare coriander and raspberry - We basically could have eaten our weight in this. I believe it may have been a special when we were in, so check to see if it's available, but we had our minds blown by this immediately. The spice and fruit makes it just delicious. Octopus with chorizo - Another winner! Obviously, octopus is going to be good in a seafood spot in Paris. Here, however, they pair it with some chorizo sausage and bring a distinct Spanish vibe to the dish, and it is spicy and perfectly crispy. This place is crowded! Just be ready to wait for a bit, but it's well worth it. read more

if I could, I would rate this restaurant as 4 1/2 stars. Although we only had a simple early dinner at L'Avant Comptoir, it was probably our favorite meal that we had in Paris. L'Avant was very close to our hotel, and we walked by the small restaurant each night with lines out the door. We finally were able to stop by at around 5 one night, and was able to sit at the counter. The menu options are displayed on the walls and on the ceilings. After looking at the options, we opted to get: Dozen oysters: we let the bartender choose for us (loved the ones from Brittany) Sausages: these came along with the oysters, and were a nice accompaniment to the oysters Pumpkin soup (soup du jour): nice pumpkin taste, with bacon added Clams in coconut broth: good, though not a lot of coconut flavor Gambas: this huge shrimp was cooked a la plancha, and was very tasty, though expensive at 12 EUR each In addition to the food mentioned above, I have to talk about the huge block of butter on the counter. The butter was so creamy and salty: the bread was just a vehicle for me to eat more butter. You got to love communal hunks of butter in a restaurant. We would have visited L'Avant more often, except for the huge lines. They do offer window service for some wine and oysters if you don't want to wait for a seat (or stand up table) inside. This is definitely a place to try if you are in St. Germain. read more

See all

Oysters -- and a Whole Lot More. If you are like us, flying in from the west coast, you arrive into Paris late morning. By the time you reach your hotel, it is early afternoon, and you are hungry. And what better way to start than with some incredibly fresh oysters and a couple of glasses of Champagne! In addition to the raw bar selection, displayed at the entry to the pigeon hole of a counter adjoining it's land version L'Avant Comptoir, are all manner of small plates, with pictures and descriptions in French hanging from the ceiling. Not to worry, the staff will take good care of you if you are challenged by the language, as most of us are. We also had a crab tempura dish and a crispy fried potato wrapped shrimp dish -- exquisite. The perfect start to our nine days in Paris! read more

Raw Oysters, White Clams and Shrimp are all great. Thanks you too. Thanks you, Dr. Jacqueline Sacco MD PhD

This place is amazing. Got there right when they opened and there was no wait. The tuna tartar with raspberries is out of this world amazing. The oysters were also very good as well as the sausages it comes with. The vibe is very chill and the sizes are tapa style so order a few plates and Share. The gambas du plancha looked so good but we didn't get them, they didn't have them ready yet. So we got the gambas (shrimp) wrapped in potato and it was ok. Not amazing. There's no menu you must order from the pics on the cieling. Took us about 20 mins to figure that out. The bread is good and the wine is delicious. This is basically a wine bar so if you came to eat don't expect to be stuffed or satisfied . It's definitely a place to sit and talk. Lots of tourists and English speakers. The service is great (better than what you expect of Paris) . But Don't come after 4pm and expect to eat . At that point you must sit at the bar and order wine and food . They won't come to your table at all and won't ask you if you need help. That doesn't mean I would not come back. It was still awesome . read more

L'Avant Comptoir de la Mer - This tuna framboise was out of this world!!!!! Amazing ! The shrimp in potato was ok (the sauce was good) - Seafood Near Me - Paris, 75

See all

Wonderful little place with delicious food and wine at very reasonable prices. Not much more to say. This place is not meant to be dinner nor a place to linger as it is small and narrow. Be kind and have a glass of wine and a snack and move on to allow others an opportunity to enjoy the delicious treats they offer. read more

See all

Straight up delicious. Had the seafood tower and their house specialty beef burgeon which was perfect. We ordered the cheapest bottle of champaign and it was great. Ordered the house red and it was perfect with my beef. Others in our group had the octopus and steak. Everyone was thrilled with their plate. We had someone in our group leave their purse and out Server came out to give it back as we walked away. Amazing staff. It was packed and our group of 7 was seated immediately in doors. Patio was super packed. Oh yeah the oysters knocked everyone's socks off. Cheers!! read more

Pretty much everything was delicious. Great service from the bartender who was also our server.

"You are inside the menu." That was our server's response when we asked for the menu. And indeed we were. The food and wine options can be found in the ceiling and on the walls. We were surrounded by what we could consume. It was a lot of fun to look around and pick out what we wanted. Our server asked us to describe the type(s) of wine we wanted to drink and we got to try some interesting ones along with our meal. No matter the type of wine you had -- sparkling, white, rosé, red -- it was served in a snifter glass. The experience was interesting and the food was delicious. Here's what we had: - Ravioles, Radis Noir, Torteau, Tomate - slices of black radish filled with crab and tomatoes, held together by toothpicks - Saumon Mariné, Nori, Wasabi - sushi-grade salmon wrapped in nori (seaweed) and wasabi - Coates, Lait de Coco, Citronelles - small clams in coconut milk with lemongrass - Croquette Saumon Tartare - salmon croquettes The menu was tapas-style -- small plates but flavorful in every bite. We had a second serving of the salmon croquettes. It was all delicious. read more

See all

The place was very cute, the oysters we're good, the service could not be ruder. It was almost comical how rude the server was. As much as I liked the decor and location, I don't feel the need to come back here. read more

Paris hidden gem. Love love love this place. Fast service, standing room only sometimes, but the vibe and food are amazing.

I'm honestly baffled by the number of great reviews this restaurant has. ENVIRONMENT First of all, let me say that the restaurant is tiny and on the verge of being claustrophobic. It's so narrow that people had to squeeze past us to try to get to the back of the restaurant. The music here is so loud, I had to yell to the waiter and vice versa. We both had trouble hearing each other. The waiters are also all behind a narrow counter/bar, and there is very little seating in this tiny restaurant, so we ended up standing the whole time. As soon as you walk in, you are bombarded with dozens of pictures of food hanging from the ceiling with their prices. There is no menu. The problem with this is, 1. it is extremely overwhelming, 2. you have to guess what the dish is, 3. when you do want to order it, its all in French. It would be a lot more helpful if they labeled each of the pictures of the dishes with a number, so people could just say - Number 12, 24 etc. It seemed that most of the diners there were not French anyway. SERVICE I get it, service in Europe moves at a slower pace than the rest of the world. But in this restaurant, it was particularly hard to get their attention. It might be because they were understaffed (two waiters for the whole place), but regardless, it was a nightmare to try to get our food. I felt like I was lining up at a food drive, begging to be served. Once I did get their attention, I will say they were decent. I'm not saying they were the friendliest people who offered great service (far from that), but they weren't terribly mean. The service was very slow and it was incredibly hard to get their attention. FOOD The only thing here that was decent (out of like 5 dishes we ordered) was the dozen oysters which were on the verge of being lukewarm. I also ordered some noodle dish with soup (super bland, tasted like noodles in plain water), and asked the waitress to just serve us 3 dishes she recommends. One of the dishes that was incredibly DISGUSTING was a certain type of clam. I love seafood, oysters, clams. They were super smelly, like feet. It was the smell of gone off seafood. It was inedible. read more

SUPERB SERVICE...!!! Cool, casual, and cosmopolitan. FIVE STARS from me... They guys working there were cheerful, friendly, and helpful. They spoke excellent English with us and got us our food quickly with adept professionalism. The joint is cool and filled with French, Japanese, American and other worldly types who are in the mood for a casual but unique tapas meal. I highly recommend and would gladly return. I am not a huge tapas fan, in general, but this was very good - I give them five stars because of the service. read more

See all

The food was all absolutely amazing and our server, Luis, was the best server I think I've ever had. The ambiance was really open and vibrant as well. Overall, best restaurant I've eaten at in Paris in my entire trip. read more

Killer food. Non-French vibe (standing to eat??? Unthinkable). Great deal. Stop reading this you dumb dumb and come eat here. ALSO: take and eat bread and butter until you pop. read more

From the brilliant minds behind adjacent Le Comptoir du Relais and L'Avant Comptoir comes L'Avant Comptoir de la Mer, a small plates standing-only seafood restaurant with a bustling, yet casual vibe. I peeked inside Friday night after our dinner reservation in the 7th, and was kinda intrigued by this newbie. My husband and I decided to come back Saturday afternoon for oysters (they open at noon) before our Saturday evening flight back to New York. We basically opened the place at 12:05pm, which was great since I can barely squeak by in French (my father made me take Spanish in high school, despite my severe Franco leanings). The hurried vibe and frenetic patrons were gone, so we could calmly review the menu options on placards dangling above us, and then order with the kind bartender. We chose to split a simple half a dozen Belon oysters, which amazingly came with thick rustic bread and a giant communal slab of sea salted butter. We also got 2 tiny piggy sausages, again complimentary. The Belons were fabulous, and paired perfectly with reasonably priced champagne. As my husband and I left for a formal lunch at Le Comptoir du Relais next door, the room began filling up more and more, as other patrons ordered luxurious assortments of oysters, creative small plates, and Saturday afternoon intoxicants. read more

L'Avant Comptoir de la Mer - Champagne and Belon oysters - Seafood Near Me - Paris, 75

See all

This place is an interesting tapas bar, known for its big, community ball of French butter that's deliciously spread on slices of bread and their hanging menus that may cause a chink in your neck if you take too long deciding what you want to eat. We had a ton of orders, but my favorites were definitely jambon (yes!), carpaccio de boeuf (thin, raw beef slices), cod croquette (creamy and delicious- no strong fish smell), raw salmon salad, and duck pate. It was fun mixing and matching food toppings on my bread. read more

See all

I wish I live in Paris to eat here everyday! I love the environment, process to order and of course... the food. My recommendation if you're just some how trying one item: the coquet lait coco will be the one. The other items I ordered were huitre oiseille (oysters), salmon tartare, Mayo Comptoir (looks like devil eggs... but it's so much more). read more

L'Avant Comptoir de la Mer - Coquet lait coco - Seafood Near Me - Paris, 75

See all