After conquering the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, my cousin and I were famished. We decided to look up the Portuguese restaurant that she mentioned called Pedra Alta.
Pedra Alta translates into “high stone” in Portuguese, which is where Pedra Alta originated from. The “high stone” at the seaside marks a natural fishing zone. After a hard day of work, fisherman gathers at this small restaurant at the port for dinner. Little by little, everyone in the village started to appreciate the traditional cuisine served at the restaurant. Pedra Alta is thus born, to enrich plates with the harvests of the sea.
There are 13 Pedra Alta outlets in France and 3 outlets in Portugal. The outlet nearest to us was the one at Champs Elysees, so we decided to go there.
It was a weekday yet there is still a long queue outside the restaurant. It’s not surprising, given all the rave reviews Pedra Alta has received on TripAdvisor.
Don’t just wait in line blindly, try to catch the staff who comes out time to time. The staff will give you a queue ticket like this.
The restaurant is decorated to resemble a fishing boat, complete with orange life floats that separate the dining areas. The walls are adorned with photographs of the sea and fishing vessels.
At Pedra Alta, it’s all about seafood. A huge red lobster is featured on the cover of the menu and the menu is shaped after the lobster. That is how much emphasis Pedra Alta puts on its seafood.
After ordering, you are presented with two pieces of sourdough bread. The bread are home-made and they are still warm to the touch. It’s the perfect way to start a meal.
I love fresh oysters so I decided to start my meal with 5 pieces of Huitre [1.47€ per piece]. The oysters are freshly-shucked, the flesh is crunchy and salty. If you intend to order a lot of oysters, go for the Plateau De Huitres [32.90€ for 24 oysters].
According to the staff who served us, Cataplana De La Mer [78.96€ for Half Portion (1-2 person), 112.80€ for Full Portion (3 person)] is the best-seller here. Even though the menu says that the half portion is meant for 1-2 persons, it is probably enough for 3-4 people. The half portion has 200 grams of prawns (20-30 prawns), 500 grams of lobster, 2 giant shrimps, 250 grams of squid and 600 grams of mussels. All these are served alongside a giant plate of french fries and a pot of seafood porridge. The seafood are very fresh and delicious. The porridge is cooked with seafood broth which is very tasty, there are even pieces of mussels inside.
Try as we may, our small Asian stomachs cannot finish all the food and we ended up taking away half of the food which became our next meal.
If you are ever looking for a place to have a seafood fiesta, I highly recommend Pedra Alta. Not only are the seafood of high quality, the portions are huge and staff are very friendly. Communication can be a bit of a challenge if you don’t speak any French or Portuguese, but pointing and gesturing is accepted here.
Pedra Alta (Champs Elysees)
Address: 25 Rue Marbeuf, 78005 Paris, France
Telephone: +33 1 40 70 09 99
Opening Hours: Daily 12pm – 1am ”