We had friends visiting from the USA and were thinking of somewhere to go for lunch in the Marais. I am not often in that area so I didn’t have a lot of ideas. We decided to give the restaurant l’Alivi a try as I had been to their newer restaurant, Chez Minnà, and really enjoyed it. Both restaurants are Corsican and run by Saveriu Cacciari, the nephew of l’Alivi’s founder, Alain Cacciari.
L’Alivi has a traditional decor with wood beams, stone walls, tiled floors and more, offering a very inviting atmosphere. They also have a terrace if you prefer outdoor dining.
We started directly with some Corsican wine as we perused the menu. One of our friends is vegetarian and there were several options for him. To start, we shared a bruschetta with pesto, tome cheese, tomatoes, coppa ham and salad, a Corsican charcuterie plate, a wild boar terrine and a smoked burratina. They were all very good, but my favourite was the terrine.
Our main courses were harder choices as everything sounded delicious. In the end, we chose the cannelloni au brocciu (a Corsican cheese), the largest côte de cochon rôtie (roasted pork chop) that I have ever seen, a quasi de veau roti à la Bonifacienne (roasted, cheesy eggplant) and a gigot d’agneau au casanis (pastis) with sautéed rosemary potatoes. None of us made a bad choice!
To finish off your meal, they have a few Corsican desserts as well as a café gourmand and a Corsican cheese selection.
You might get a spot at lunch without a reservation, but I would highly recommend booking a table for dinner as it gets very busy – especially since they often have music once a week. For lunch, they offer a two-course meal for €25 or a three-course meal for €31. The food is made with fresh products and plated with care – definitely a good price for lunch considering the quality of the food.
Restaurant l’Alivi has been open since 1996 so it has stood the test of time and was a great find with pleasant, efficient service. We are looking forward to checking out their new place opening in September 2019!
Open Monday-Friday 12:00-14:30 & 19:00-23:00, Saturday-Sunday 12:00-16:00 & 19:00-23:00
Address: 27 rue du Roi de Sicile 75004
Telephone: 01 48 87 90 20
Website: www.restaurant-alivi.com
Gail Boisclair is a transplanted Canadian who fell in love with Montmartre and has been living there since 2001. She is the founder of Perfectly Paris (www.perfectlyparis.com), a furnished apartment rental company specialising in Montmartre and the surrounding area (8th, 9th, 17th and 18th arrondissements).
