Au Top: a hanging garden above the Marais
A place worth seeking out
Nothing announces Au Top from rue Vieille-du-Temple: you have to cross a cobbled courtyard and then take a lift, at the back on the left, which goes up to the building's top level. Up there, Jean-Philippe de la Perle's restaurant is arranged around a long green marble counter and an open kitchen, surrounded by picture windows and planters filled with ornamental grasses and clusters of flowers.
The rooftops of Paris all around
The panorama sweeps almost all the way round the horizon: the colourful pipes of the Centre Pompidou on one side, the domes and bell towers of the historic centre on the other, as far as the area around Notre-Dame, above a sea of zinc roofs. In winter, the dining room is enclosed beneath a retractable roof, with sheepskin-covered banquettes and a wood fire behind the bar; when the fine weather returns, the glass panels slide away and the space opens onto the terrace.
Wood-fired cooking and house cocktails
The menu puts the spotlight on meat and fish grilled over a wood fire and embers: grilled octopus, bone marrow, sea bass crudo, Kobe beef or rib of beef to share, with starters at around €22 to €26 and mains from €29 to €60. At the bar, signature creations accompany the aperitif, and DJs sometimes take over in the evening. The venue can be hired for events.
Practical information
Open all year round, in the evening from 6pm on weekdays and from noon at weekends (check closing time with the venue before you go). Book online on the website or on 01 43 56 50 50. Entrance at 93 rue Vieille-du-Temple (Paris 3rd arrondissement): lift on the left at the back of the courtyard. Saint-Sébastien – Froissart metro station (line 8) is a few minutes' walk away.
