Pizzeria d’Auteuil

In the tony and bourgeois 16th arrondissement is one of the best restaurants in all of Paris for accommodating the whole family, offering classic Italian pizza cooked in a wood-burning oven and other excellent Italian cuisine, including veal and pasta. Perfect for young ones, the restaurant is a rarity, as it opens at 7:00 for dinner (pizza orders only; other dinner orders are taken at 7:30 or later), and is usually filled up by 8:00. Pizzeria D’Auteuil is always busy, with tables of parents, grandparents and little tykes – some even playing their Gameboy – happily sitting together as a family enjoying a not so quiet meal at this lively little bistro that is a fan favorite in the neighborhood.

The pizza is very good – clearly among the best in Paris – and the restaurant has a certificate of authenticity from the Italian government that its pizza complies with all the requirements to be considered authentic Italian pizza. One pizza is enough for two small children, and at prices beginning under 11 Euros a single pizza for two children can be cheaper than a meal at McDonald’s. The menu caters to adults as well, with a range of entrées and plats, including fritto misto (vegetables and calamari fried in a light batter sauce), aubergine parmesano (an eggplant parmesan dish similar to lasagna but with no pasta), and a host of excellent pasta dishes, including a very good carbonera and fettuccine with mushrooms. The restaurant offers a range of other meat and fish dishes, including several variations of veal – with cream and mushrooms (with a side of fettuccine with cream sauce) and veal parmesan, both excellent values at around 15 Euros.

Desserts will win over children, with a selection of ice cream sundaes served in a high martini glass, topped with either chocolate or raspberry sauce. The fondant au chocolat (gooey chocolate cake) is also rich and delicious. We had a delicious cheesecake that was as close to a real New York cheesecake as possible in Paris, drizzled with a tasty raspberry coulis. The tarte meringue citron is excellent.

The restaurant is also unique in that it offers only Italian wines. What is surprising is that top bottles are also offered (at a price), including Super Tuscan Tignanello, but other wines at better values (under 40 Euros) are also available for just an ordinary night out. A few wines are also available by the glass at moderate prices (4-6 Euros).

In short, if you desire a restaurant for children that caters to locals, (which means that the food has to be consistently good and decently priced), Pizzeria D’Auteuil is one of the few worthy and reliable restaurants that meets all of this criteria. The service is brisk but friendly, and many of those on the staff speak or understand English. When we brought our yellow labrador puppy – Cosmo—with us for dinner, we were an immediate hit, not only with the waitstaff, but the customers as well.

Always busy, no reservations are accepted so it is best to show up by 7:30 for an evening meal if you want to be certain to secure a table. Although the restaurant opens at 7:00, few people show up before 7:30 and no dishes (besides pizza) can be ordered until after 7:30 (the staff are firm about this).

Open seven days a week.

Telephone: +33 01 42 88 00 86

Address: 81 Rue de La Fontaine, 75016 Paris

Recent Posts