Rest in Peace, Le Petit Canard

Back in 2014 a couple of co-workers and I were in Paris to attend a local JavaScript conference. While planning the trip I had stumbled upon a nice little restaurant specialized in duck meat: Le Petit Canard. This all sounded nice and so I booked it for our first evening in town which was incidentally also my birthday.

Turns out, that tiny little restaurant with just a handful of tables offered some of the best meals I’ve ever had! That night put the restaurant on my must-go list for future trips to Paris. Sadly, I only had two opportunities but over the years I had (or tried) “Aiguillettes” (sliced duck breast with various sauces and vegetables), “Magret” (duck steak), and their plate of cooked duck meat as appetizer.

Sadly, this July and after 20 years Le Petit Canard closed its doors. While planning an upcoming trip to Paris I found this notice on their website:

On July 30, 2022, le Petit Canard will permanently turn off its burners, after 20 years of “service”. We are off to new adventures. Thank you to the 250,000 people from all over the world who trusted us and whom we fed throughout the years… Thank you to the different actors of this fantastically successful adventure, waitresses, waiters, cooks, suppliers, winemakers and especially to Gilles, the brother-in-law, who runs the farm LA MERE GAUD, always attentive to the well-being of his ducks, and thanks to whom we were able to offer first choice dishes.

And as we say in French: SO LONG !

I had wanted to make up for my missed birthday party last year with this a trip to Paris and Le Petit Canard this year. Turns out, this won’t be possible anymore.

Big thanks to the crew there for two special evenings and all the best wishes for your future endeavors. Perhaps a new restaurant that also has duck steak again? 😋