When you have some of the world’s most discerning fashion designers such as Marc Jacobs and Christian Louboutin as your regular lunchtime crowd, and keep an open reservation for Penelope Cruz whenever she’s in Paris, then you must be doing something right. When husband and wife-team, Alicia and Jacques Fontanier, decided to open Ferdi in 2004, they wanted to open a "strictly non chichi” home-away-from-home for Parisian locals to drop into for homestyle comfort food and very, very good mojitos. Named after their son Ferdinand, you’ll feel like you’re being welcomed into their personal home with charmingly eclectic decor featuring their sons’ old toys, much-loved second hand furniture, and a warm, intimate ambience. While Alicia is not a professional chef, she cooks from the heart and sticks to the favourites that she knows well. The signature lavish hamburger literally oozes with gooey-cheese, the ceviche is exquisitely tangy and the empanadas perfectly crisp. The sign on the door says it all, "Good food takes time. We have the food. Do you have the time?" Bookings essential.
