Can you make a reservation at Clamato?
No: Clamato takes no reservations, so the only way in is to arrive before it opens at noon or 19:00 Paris time and wait for a seat. The Clamato site says it in two words, sans réservation, and gives no booking link, no phone booking and no waitlist. If another site offers you a Clamato booking, skip it: the restaurant itself doesn't take one.
That makes it the opposite problem to Septime, the restaurant it shares an address with. Septime is a booking race three weeks out. Clamato is a timing question on the day, and a good one to have, because it is open every day of the week.
What are Clamato's hours and prices?
| What | The rule |
|---|---|
| Open | Seven days a week, noon to 14:30 and 19:00 to 22:30 |
| Reservations | None. Walk-in only. |
| Address | 80 rue de Charonne, 11th arrondissement |
| Phone | +33 1 43 72 74 53 |
| Small plates | Tuna rillettes, a spread of cooked tuna, 7 euros. Tarama, a spread of smoked cod roe, 8 euros. Cockles or whelks, 9 euros. |
| Shellfish | Three sea urchins 15 euros. Six Kumamoto oysters 23 euros. A mixed shellfish platter 65 euros. |
| Larger plates | Black mullet ceviche, raw fish cured in citrus, 14 euros. A whole sea bass from the Île d'Oléron with béarnaise, a butter sauce with tarragon, 39 euros. |
Those were the prices on the menu excerpt on October 29. The kitchen writes the menu each day from what the boats bring in from Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Concarneau and the Île d'Yeu, line and pot caught, so expect different plates on the day.
What time should you arrive at Clamato?
Be at the door 15 to 20 minutes before opening, at about 11:45 for lunch or 18:45 for dinner. The first seating fills from the line, and once those tables are taken you wait for a party to finish. Arriving at 20:00 on a Friday means a long wait with no promise at the end.
The quietest windows are a weekday lunch, especially Monday, and the later part of lunch after about 13:45, when the first tables turn and the kitchen is still serving until 14:30. On Saturday and Sunday Septime is closed, so its regulars have one less option on the street. I'd treat a weekend dinner as the hardest seat of the week.
Go as two. Small plates make Clamato a meal for sharing, and a pair fits into a gap at the bar that a party of five does not. With four or more, split up or pick lunch.
How much should you order at Clamato?
Three to four plates per two people, plus oysters or the shellfish platter if you want a full meal. At the prices above, two people eating well with a bottle of wine will spend around 120 to 180 euros. The whole sea bass at 39 euros is a main for two with a side.
Order in rounds. Start with the cold plates and oysters, then add one cooked dish once you see how the first round lands. A menu that changes daily means the dish someone wrote about last month may not be on it, so order from the board, not from a list you brought.
What should you do if the line at Clamato is too long?
- Ask at the door how long the wait is, and wait over a drink nearby. Ask at the door how long the wait is. If it is under an hour, it is worth it on a night you have nothing else booked.
- Go to Septime La Cave. Septime La Cave, the wine bar at 3 rue Basfroi, a few minutes' walk away, opens every day from 4pm to 11pm and sets out a short board of cold plates such as charcuterie and aged Comté cheese, 5.50 to 12 euros. It works as a wait or as the dinner.
- Come back for lunch. Clamato is open at noon every day, and a weekday lunch is the easiest seat it has.
- Book Septime instead. If you would rather have a set table, Septime releases dates every day at 10am Paris time, three weeks ahead. The Septime guide has the release rule.
Where does Clamato fit in a Paris trip?
Because you can't book it, Clamato is the flexible meal on a trip: keep one evening loose and decide on the day. It is a short walk from the Marais and Bastille, so I'd pair it with an afternoon in the Marais and walk east at 18:30.
The four-day Paris itinerary leaves room for a meal like this, and the Paris booking order guide covers the tables and tickets that do need booking weeks out. The where to stay in Paris guide covers the Marais as a base within walking distance of rue de Charonne.