Chef Wim Van Gorp, a Ducasse and Vongerichten veteran, brings his skills to bear on classics like oeufs mayo, pot-au-feu, chicken with morels, boeuf bourguignon, and riz-au-lait.
Laurence Mahéo – a fashion designer – took over the family oyster business a few years ago, and her Gavrinis have been served at some of the city’s top tables. Now she has a table of her own, offering not only her famous bivalves, but a wide array of fruits de mer, some raw and some delicately cooked (with a light Japanese touch) in an airy blue and white room that will take you from Batignolles to the Brittany coast.
With a minimum lunch bill of 35€, and dinner menus at 50€ and 77€, is this really a bistro? Maybe not, but this offshoot of gastronomic sibling Agapé, showcasing chef Katsuaki Okiyama’s precise, balanced and modern cooking, has been widely praised, in spite of prices that are, as Gilles Pudlowski puts it, “pas forcement tendres.”
This seafood restaurant Rech, around since 1925, is now part of the Alain Ducasse bistro collection.
Now with two locations, Le Garde Robe rests comfortably within the current Paris bar à vins format. Natural wine? Check. Charcuterie? Check. Cheese? Check. The prices are gentle and, at the location in the 1st, a gregarious crowd spills onto the sidewalk in warmer weather. A good choice if you’re feeling peckish but forgot to make plans. Bottles to go, as well.
High tables and stools give this small modern bistro near l’Etoile a convivial, bar-like feel. The warm lentil salad with lardo di colonnata is not to be missed.
“Challenging” might be an apt word for La Bigarrade. For one thing, it remains one of the most difficult reservations to secure. But more than that, young chef Christophe Pelé’s cuisine is experimental and spare, sometimes audaciously minimalist. Many love it, others are not convinced.
Le Bouchon et L’Assiette offers more proof that there’s plenty of good cooking to be found outside the city center.
Guy Savoy’s excellent service and reliably fine food have fostered a loyal local and international clientele. Though perhaps not as innovative as some of his other three-starred colleagues, Savoy’s influence cannot be denied. A classic. Note: In 2011 he’ll be relocating the the Left Bank.
Precise, direct and a little expensive, this was one of the most talked about openings of Spring 2010. The luxe, insulated room is all black and white, but Simonin’s cooking is full of color (see for example “Les Legumes”, an artfully constructed composed salad, or the playful desserts). Lunch menu, 38€. Grand tasting, 130€. À la carte, somewhere in between.
Offering modern French cooking in a lovely 30-seat dining room: Les Fougeres manages to be elegant without being stuffy.
Claires and Belons are on the menu at this sleek address in the 17th.
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