Armada

Hit the cobblestoned streets of the Vieux-Lyon neighborhood, push through Armada’s windowed front door, and get ready to fight. Running this two-story bistro, Rebecca Guyon and David Tapiero (the duo also behind Le Petit Bouchon de la Place), Thibault Martel and Baptiste Rivière (chefs who sharpened their knives at Frenchie in London and Têtedoie in Lyon) honor their battle cry: “cheeky cuisine and naughty wines.” Fired out of the open kitchen the night we went, and savored under glowing neon lights: swordfish crudo intensified by geranium, jalapeños and punchy fish roe; kingfish (a type of mackerel from the Indian and Pacific oceans) cooked on a Japanese barbecue, with grilled corn, peppers and a flavor-packed XO sauce; sardines and palourde clams in a marvelous tomato jus; impeccably made spaghetti al ragù, with perfectly stewed beef cheeks, all topped with garlic-parsley crumble and croutons…. A precise march in formation all the way through dessert: chervil sorbet with lemon cream and brioche, which had us shouting victory! // Pipi Johansson 

FEELING THIRSTY? : An army of natural bottles: an Alsatian skin-contact wine from Sons of Wine (€8 a glass), Blanc de Zinc, a Occitan sauvignon produced by Muriel Zoldan (same price), or Les Moulins, a saumur from the Domaine Guiberteau (€45 a bottle). 
PRICE: : Plates €12-45.