My first trip to Paris and I had to try frogs legs, so I headed to the most famous restaurant in Paris for frogs legs, Roger la Grenouille (Roger The Frog), in the charming Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood (in the 6th arrondissement). Scant information on its history is available online, but I found out that it originally opened in 1930 by Roger Spinhirny in a cobbler’s shop. Over the years it became very famous and popular, hosting the Queen of England, popes, prime ministers of France, and famous entertainers.
The decor was homey and classic with lots of good clutter: hanging pots and bottles, plenty of photos, art, and clippings on the wall to look at.
I went for lunch to save a lot of money. There is usually a reasonable two or three course prix fixe meal at Parisian restaurants during lunch. Here a two course meal was 19 € (for an appetizer and main or a main with dessert) and a three course meal was 25 €. There was an amouse bouche of salmon mousse that was very good.
salmon mousse
My starter was a delicious savory foie gras crème brulée.
foie gras crème brulée
My main course was battered and fried frogs legs with fried plantains and manioc root. The frogs legs tasted like chicken. No, really, they did! The small bones are a little difficult to manage, but I enjoyed them. They also serve frogs legs prepared in other ways (not fried) for dinner, but it’s quite expensive so it would be a waste if you didn’t like them.
fried frogs legs with fried plantains and manioc root
Roger la Grenouille
26-28 rue des Grands Augustins, 75006 Paris – France
Tel : 00 33 (0)1 45 72 07 14
Open for lunch Tues-Sat 12:00pm-2:00pm; dinner Mon-Sat 7:00pm-11:00pm; closed Sunday
