Chapter 03 · De Pijp · Oude Pijp / Frans Halsbuurt

Café Caron

The Caron family's French restaurant in De Pijp: a short seasonal menu, oysters at the bar and three courses for €57.

Brothers Tom and David Caron opened Café Caron in De Pijp in 2016. Their father, Paris-born TV chef Alain Caron, is culinary adviser; the chef is Elmer Polman. The seasonal menu is short, with oysters at the bar from €4, five starters and four mains covering fish, meat and a vegetarian plate. Order à la carte or take three courses for €57. Gault&Millau gives it 14/20 in 2026 and calls the dishes distinctly French. Michelin awarded a Bib Gourmand in 2022 and dropped it in 2024; the restaurant is still in the guide. Guests score it 4.6 out of 5 across 934 reviews and keep naming the poached egg starter. Service splits them: 8 of the 15 latest reviews call it rushed, inexperienced or sloppy, 6 call it warm and attentive. Guests also mention tables turned in shifts, a busy, loud room and pricey wine. The family's Petit Caron is next door.

Card only, no cash. Lunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 to 14:00: Saturday is a set menu (two courses €42, three €57), Sunday a roast served on big sharing platters.

What to order

Full menu

Poached egg starter€16
A starter guests often name as their favourite; now with mushrooms, chestnut and savory, truffle €7.50 extra.
Black-leg chicken€30
With saffron, antiboise and courgette flower; one of the two mains on the set menu.
Hake with bouillabaisse€30
With fennel and seafood; the set menu serves the same garnish with redfish.
Boudin noir€17
Black pudding with potato, radicchio and sauce charcutière.
Three-course menu€57
Two starters, two mains, three desserts; cheese costs €1.50 extra.