Spider bites

Tarantula Paris (11th arr)

RESTAURANTS • FOUND Table

The room at Tarántula feels familiar for the 11th. Dim lights. A low hum of conversation. Music at exactly the right volume. That relaxed, slightly groovy atmosphere Paris does so well. And then the food arrives — which is when it becomes clear this isn’t just another good neighborhood spot.

The flavors are layered, deliberate, with the clarity of thought put into composing them you can taste. A taco that starts rich, turns slightly sweet, then finishes with heat — like the tacos cantineros — makes it clear, very quickly, that you’re in good hands.

The grilled onion comes recommended for good reason. It’s a single onion split in half and deeply caramelized, resting in an intense, beautifully complex pepper sauce. It’s surprising and incredible.

Then the chicharrón: crisp, generous, deeply satisfying, served with soft flour tortillas, warm and freshly made. The demi coquelet follows, slow-cooked with Japanese chili butter, rich and balanced, paired with fragrant corn tortillas. And somehow, that’s the moment. The tortillas. That’s when it clicks.

Finding good Mexican food in Paris still feels like a small miracle. Tarántula delivers, and not in a way that’s adapted or softened for context. It is confident and assured, thanks to chef Emmanuel Peña, formerly of El Nopal and a native of Monterrey, Mexico, who clearly knows what he’s doing.

What lingers most, though, is the room itself. Over the course of the evening, languages drift through the space. French. English. German. Italian. Hebrew. How did everyone find this place? The answer feels obvious: When something’s this good, word travels. Across neighborhoods. Across cities. Across borders. –Sam Brenzel

→ Tarantula Paris (11th arr) • 13b rue Keller • Tue-Wed 18h-00h, Thu 18h-0h30, Fri-Sat 17h-01h30 • Book.