Schwartz Deli, located in the heart of the French capital has been the talk of town for the past two years, saying that it's the one and only place in Paris to have a good burger. Every time I ask where I can go to have a good burger, friends say, of course, Schwartz Deli, located at a walking distance from the Trocadero. But is it worth the 30-minute wait in a line?
It's one of two:
Or the French know nothing about burgers, or this place has created some strong advertising campaign aimed at hypnotizing people into believing that it's the best... I went to Shwartz and was not impressed at all. Starters, burgers and desserts are average.
Opened two years ago Schwartz, the American style diner serves a large variety of:
salads, plates, soups, sandwiches, meat, extras, burgers, pastrami, fish, sandwiches, fries, eggs, desserts.
We reached at 07:50pm and had to wait in line for 30 long minutes to find a table.Wow! The food must be amazing... My adrenalin was rising and anticipation was building up inside me as I was expecting to eat the best of the best. During the 30-minute wait, I had the chance to appreciate every single detail of this beautiful place:
- Clear and big, a menu is installed out on the facade to prepare yourself for the order
- A Schwartz's Deli carpet welcomes you
- A parquet wooden floor adds a touch of warmth
- An American diner ambiance
- Square tables covered with red and white plastic covers
- Grey metallic chairs surround all the tables
- Black lamps pending from the ceiling like New York billiard bars
- The facing wall is covered with red brick and decorated with colourful posters
- The side wall is more of an industrial brick one covered with white cement
- A bottles library marks the stairs down to the toilets
- "Eat" is written in red on the white wall behind the bar
- Written over the door:"The best place for the best sandwich pastrami"
- In the middle of the restaurant, stands a pole surrounded by a high table and its stools
- A bar prepares the drinks
We sat down, surrounded with customers on all sides. You feel the busy buzz you would encounter in all French brasseries. We were then handed a nylon menu. Ketchup and mustard in plastic bottles, salt and pepper shakers already placed on the table and the cutlery ready. My first impression: The menu looks cheap and the most important thing in a diner and that is the appetizers is not present in here. You would have to go to the second page to find three fryers choices only.
We Ordered:
- Yankee Burger (Ground beef, cheddar, caramelized onions, mushrooms, turkey bacon) 16,50€
- Cheese Burger (Ground beef, cheddar, tomato and salad) 14,00€
- Onion Rings 5,50€
- Mozza Sticks 7,50€
- Cheesecake Strawberry (100% cream-cheese, strawberries and red fruits coulis)
The Food described:
- Mozzarella sticks, served in sticks are too Deja Vu. An acceptable taste but their shape looks like the frozen commercial ones
- The onion rings are good even though a bit oily
- To start with, the burger is too big and doesn't follow any standards: It cannot be eaten either with a fork or with your hands
- The bread is dry, not juicy and non fluffy soft: I didn't like it
- The meat, a 280g? What for? Overdoing things spoils them. A 220g would have been enough
- This 280g is too fatty with its crunchy chunks of fat although it is dry
- Imagine such a thick and big meat, dry from the inside making it unpleasant to chew. Bizarre non?
- My Yankee burger had caramelized onions as stated on the menu, adding to that normal green onions which were not written. Caramelized + Fresh onions? In a same sandwich? Too much! The Yankee Burger should be renamed "The Onion Burger"
- The burger as served without sauce and since the meat originally is dry, you receive a dried bread and a dried burger. Some sauce, cocktail for exemple should be added in the kitchen so it gets absorbed by the bread to make it enjoyable and fluffy
- The bacon used, turkey it is, is not suitable for burgers. Ham is the best. The one I ate is chewy, undercooked and spongy. Bacon in a burger should be well cooked and crispy and easily breakable with your teeth
- Wouldn't American sweet pickles have added a fine flavour to the burgers?
- French fries are the only enjoyable thing as they are cut into special banana-like style which are tasty eaten hot only
- As for the coleslaw: Disgusting! It is pure mayonnaise, large pieces of cabbage and a stingy portion
- The dessert: A Disaster! Was that a cheesecake I ordered. You will think eating a Philadelphia cheese sandwich. A thin close to nonexistent layer of soaked biscuit, with a box of Philadelphia cheese over it, added as is, then another layer of pure white cheese. Strawberries on the side. So tasteless! Should I remind you of what a cheesecake is? A thick and crunchy digestive biscuit covered with soft and melting layer of cheese -prepared for dessert- and covered with the sweetness ingredient.
So, unfortunately, nothing impressed me. Nothing made understand why people like it so much. I was not convinced.
The pluses:
- A nice ambiance well enjoyed
- The decoration is beautiful. Don't forget to check out the restrooms
- The plates are generous and the prices acceptable
- Eight pieces of mozzarella sticks in a single plate: I appreciated that
- Waiters are welcoming and always happy
The minuses:
- Menus are cheap
- Food is not as good as it should be
- I didn't like their cheap red plastic fryers baskets
Bizarre kind of experience: When you expect so much and receive nothing. I would love to hear your feedback if you have already tried Schwartz's.
