Café des Ministères
At Café des Ministères the vol-au-vent is lined with sautéed spinach under the veal sweetbreads in cream, so the puff pastry stays crisp.2
Why go
Roxane and Jean Sévègnes took over a seafood bistro on rue de l'Université, by the National Assembly, and had it running by May 2019.10 She runs the room and he cooks. Jean Sévègnes had worked at L'Ambroisie under Bernard Pacaud, for Alain Ducasse and as Hélène Darroze's corporate chef.4 Pierre Gagnaire, who first won three MICHELIN stars in 1993, named the room among his Paris favorites in February 2024: For an irresistible vol-au-vent, I head to Le Café des Ministères.
He goes also because it's run by a lovely couple of restaurateurs, who are as talented as they are likable.
1
The vol-au-vent is the dish to book for. In a review dated 2024, Le Fooding had a light and airy vol-au-vent, generously filled with veal or lamb sweetbreads, free-range chicken, spinach and a sublime truffle jus: truly superb!
3 Thierry Richard of Les Hardis had a spring version with green asparagus and morels in May 2019 and called it generous, tasty, rustic and refined
(généreux, savoureux, rustique et raffiné
).10 The owners told American Express, in a 2022 brand partnership feature, that they serve nearly a hundred a week.8
Le Fooding was plain about the rest of the card: There's nothing too revolutionary on the menu, but the Ducasse-trained chef's dishes have plenty to put you in a good mood!
3 Gault&Millau wrote in 2026 that political life could not do without this outpost, which has long revived journalists and ministers' staff
(La vie politique ne saurait se passer de cette antenne qui requinque depuis des lustres journalistes et membres des cabinets
).5 Paris by Mouth rated it great, with three stars, in December 2022.7
Order this / avoid
- Order: the vol-au-vent that Pierre Gagnaire and Le Fooding praised, at 45 euros on the menu Gault&Millau printed in 2026.5
- Order: the gras double (beef tripe) in sauce basquaise (a Basque-style sauce), as a starter or a main. Le Fooding, 2024:
astonishing 'gras double' beef tripe in a sublime sauce basquaise.
3 - Order: the calf's head with ravigote for the table. Gilles Pudlowski, March 2022, found it
served with its broth vegetables in its cast-iron pot in a gargantuan portion (enough for three, and at €25 it's philanthropy)
(servie avec ses légumes du bouillon dans sa cocotte en fonte dans sa portion pantagruélique (il y a pour 3 et à 25 € c'est de la philanthropie)
).4
What locals & experts say
- The MICHELIN Guide inspector, March 2025:
The vol-au-vent with sweetbreads, poultry and truffle jus, as well as the stuffed Pontoise cabbage (French champion in 2022) have put this place on the map: book in advance!
6
Good to know
- Booking: book on cafedesministeres.fr.9 Emily Monaco of The Infatuation:
Online reservations open 21 days in advance—at noon for lunch bookings, and 7:30pm for dinner and the waitlist is worth joining: we know from experience that spots do open up.
2 - When: in September 2026 it served lunch Tuesday to Friday and dinner Monday to Thursday. It shuts at weekends.9
- Price: on the menu Gault&Millau printed in 2026, the pork and chicken-liver terrine cost 12 euros, the calf's head 23, the flan 10 and the profiterole 13.5
- MICHELIN: in the selection, with no star or Bib Gourmand, in 2025.6
Verdict
should-visit — Go for the sweetbread vol-au-vent from a cook who worked at L'Ambroisie, and add the tripe. Le Fooding found the rest of the card familiar but cheering. Tables open three weeks ahead, and there's no weekend service.