You’ll learn, taste, laugh and have fun, all while resting your feet from all the Paris walking you’ve done.

Just 5 minutes from the Louvre in a beautiful setting, come join us and experience wine in a whole new way! Make your reservations now!

Details and reservations >>

Cool beans, huh!!

I wanted to take this opportunity to say hey and apologize for not posting much lately. These past few months have been a real whirlwind for me. But they’ve been fantastic (opened this new wine bar, filmed a wine TV show, and – last but not least – got married!).

I feel truly blessed and know that a lot of the good things that have been happening to me, I owe to you – the readers of this blog.

Hopefully, I should be back online more in 2013 with a new blogging project. I have also been working on my next book, which will be a wine book (with a twist) – really excited about that as well.

OK – enough about me. I hope you are all doing great.

A bientôt!

Olivier

Other recipients include Le Plaza Athénée by Alain Ducasse, Taillevent or La Tour d’Argent, making O Chateau one of the only non-Michelin starred restaurants to receive this distinction.

We are thrilled and truly honored.

Provinciaux deem that Parisians are below normal.

Parisians on the other hand know full well that they navigate far beyond the norm.

Such a striking opposition lies in the very definition each have of “the norm”. While outside Paris, the norm has to do with a set of values and behaviors, in Paris, it has to do with the populace: Parisians don’t see the concept, they see the numbers.

No matter how sorry the lifestyle of the Paris people may be, most will develop advanced reality-dodging strategies to convince themselves that they are not a part of the populace (“C’est tout petit mais le séjour est super lumineux“, “Le quartier est génial. Bon, faut pas rentrer seule le soir bien sûr, mais sinon c’est top”…)

The ultimate destination of their dodging artifices is to be found in the realm of culture. Thankfully for Parisians, while there is no such thing as a pseudo lifestyle, there is no shortage of pseudo-culture for Parisians to hope to harness their above-the-normness to. So Parisians tap endlessly into this fantastic source of easy differentiation. Conveniently enough, the more petty, the more superficial the artifice, the more differentiating.

But a city of impoverished wannabes gets the cultural and intellectual life it deserves: that of followers. The city of avant-garde, cultural boldness and creative brilliance is now populated by a militia of unsuspecting but zealous agents of cultural destruction. While Parisians no longer have the talent or the guts to truly think, act and invent accordingly, they have gained much comfort, even pride, in the thought of continuing, of adapting, of imitating. They don’t rebel, revolt or revolutionize, they reinterpret. What makes the norm is never questioned, instead, the dominant way of acting and thinking is always accepted as irremediably evident and thus only marginally adapted, harmlessly amended.

The adjective that epitomizes this evolution the most is “décalé“. Coolness in Paris lies in being off-beat. Everything can be décalé: a decor, a meal, a personality, a look, an idea, etc. Visitors ought to be cautious not to be push it however: being off-beat is utterly cool in Paris but questioning the beat shall be judged as extremism (or, if you’re white, as racism, even if the topic tackled has nothing to do with races).

All the freedom, identity and intelligence Parisians need lie in that tiny space between the norm and the “décalé“.

Parisians whom, as most Western urbanites, view themselves as educated, are oblivious to their staggering adoption and strict observance of this new norm: they are free and having fun.

Provinciaux are right: having turned into such unsuspecting tools, most Parisians are indeed far below the street smart common sense levels of normal people. Parisians on the other hand are not, as they like to believe, above the norm. They are merely the first victims and yet the relentless advocates of that new insidious and gooey norm they furtively carry.

The population of this brave new city sets an example that should pervade – normalize if you will – the rest of France and soon enough turn into the brave new country it ought to be: fully in-line and fully décalé, that is.

Sound like a Parisian: “Non, le truc était hyper décalé, vraiment, excellent!”

Useful tip: Impress your French friend by translating “let’s go” by “on décale”. (Neat argot for you!!)

Our clients appreciation for the service we provide is our greatest pride.

Thanks to each and everyone of you.

If you want to join the fun, and support O Chateau, you may book your tasting here, your day trip to Champagne here, your Champagne cruise here, or learn more about our wine bar & restaurant here.

O Chateau Valentine’s Dinner
75 euros/person
(13 euros extra for the Cheese course option)
- Entrée -
Poached salmon and ginger
Wine pairing : Vouvray 2009 – Clos Baudouin – François Chidaine
- Plat -
Pink veal, cream and tomato risotto, asparagus and bacon
Wine pairing : Vosne Romanée 2008 – Domaine des Perdrix
- Cheese -
(option)
Truffled Brie, Comté and Aged Saint Nectaire
Wine pairing : Crozes Hermitage 2009 – Clos des Grives – Domaine Combier
- Dessert -
Chocolate Strawberries
Wine pairing : Champagne Rosé – Eric Phélizon

Our whole place will be dedicated to love that night, but we will have a limited seating. So make sure to book your spaces in advance !
The service will have 2 settings : first one starting at 7PM, and second one at 9PM…. but feel free to join us before at the bar to experiment our special Rose Cocktail, or maybe just a glass or Champagne.

For booking shoot us an email at reservation@o-chateau.com with you name, contact phone, number of people attending the dinner and your preferred time of arrival. You can also give us a call : 0033 (0) 1 44 73 97 80.

“Hilariously perceptive”

“Extremely funny and intelligent” - France 24

“Hysterically funny” – Girls’ Guide to Paris

“Extremely well written and witty” – Paris Missives

“One of the funniest books I’ve ever read and one of the cleverest concerning the French. I give it my highest endoresement” - John Talbott

Do you have your own copy already?

Order it on Amazon and/or get it signed at O Chateau by Olivier Magny.