L'arbuci is on rue Buci (say it with me, r. buci...get it?) in the bustling centre of nightlife in the St Germain area. We were out on a Friday night, in search of good food and jazz, and ended up here, attracted by its swish and stylish appearance, with an open terrace and contemporary decor. As it turns out, it also hides a jazz bar downstairs, which is where we booked our table.
We arrived and were ushered through the restaurant, where you can see the food being prepared in the kitchen, and down the stairs into the basement jazz room, an atmospheric room with a sunken seating area of leather armchairs and tables, mildly erotic jazz-themed photos on the walls, and constantly changing mood lighting. We ordered two glasses of champagne, which came with olives, to enjoy whilst we made our decisions.
On to the starters, which arrived (nay, were presented) on glass platters, beautifully arranged and decorated. My thick, juicy marinated salmon came in its own little kiln jar with al dente charlotte potatoes and pesto toasts, and his carpaccio of beef with minced mushrooms, herbs, and Parmesan was very tender and tasty, but, being picky, the Parmesan was a little overpowering and the salt crystals too large.
Our bottle of very nice white Saumur arrived and was placed in an ingenious ice bucket that hung on the edge of our neighbouring table. Not for too long, though, as our glasses were topped off regularly.
So far, so good, and then it got better. My sesame-crusted seared tuna and watermelon arrived, cut into even sized squares, arranged in a chessboard square, and dressed with basil oil. It tasted as good as it looked: the tuna was "blue," as requested, yet could still have been cut with a fork. Hubby's rack of herb-and-spice-crusted pork was a lot like Chinese honey ribs, and although fiddly, was delicious and served with wok-cooked vegetables.
On to desserts, which let the side down slightly. The moelleux au chocolate, served in its own little cup with a little vanilla milkshake on the side, was rather too runny, though delicious. The strawberry soup that arrived for me was not my choice - and was also far too sweet, so I pointed out the error, and after a short delay, my rhubarb and strawberry tartelette arrived, which was again far, far too sweet, though the pastry was lovely.
We rounded off with two lovely espressos and sat back to enjoy some quality jazz—a four-piece band with female vocalist that rocked!
The staff was the best we found in Paris, very efficient and helpful, no hanging around for anything, everything dealt with properly. The dishes were beautiful, the portion sizes just right, and the bill came to 131,70E (dining entitles you to free attendance to the jazz).
Not cheap, but more than worth it, as we had a perfect night.