Artefact

There’s a hint of the new Nouvelle Vague movement in Rouen’s old town, where on the ground floor of a medieval house, daydreaming students jot down their thoughts while contemplating the gargoyles adorning Saint-Maclou Church and the hypnotizing patterns of a slice of vegan banana bread. Such is life in this caffeine-fueled eatery run by chef Marie-Sophie René (ex-Prélude Café in Rouen), which she opened in collaboration with her partner Sébastien Chivot (chef at the Boutique du Boeuf Normand in Mont-Saint-Aignan) and Clément Hu (owner of the aforementioned Prélude Café along with I/O Café in Paris). It’s the perfect spot for a quick lunch or a solo outing in a space decked out with beautiful second-hand wooden furniture. Featured on the menu the day we went for lunch: soy sauce eggs topped with a dollop of mayonnaise, a beef meatball plated over creamed corn, and a tantalizing hot dog topped with kimchi and raclette cheese, all of which are even better with one of the specialty coffees from Bordeaux-based roasters Oven Heaven. What’s more, there are a few plates at breakfast (including a sensational English breakfast), plus snacks and pastries all day long – melty grilled cheeses, homemade pâté en croûte, brioche buns of the moment, orange blossom rolls… // Pascal Diagonale

FEELING THIRSTY? : Coffee prepared any way you like (cappuccino for €5, flat white for €6, slow extractions from €6 to €8, depending on the method used), a selection of clean wines (La Soif Du Mal, a Roussillon white produced by Les Foulards Rouges at €6 a glass, a Pierre François pineau d’Aunis from the Vendôme winery Domaine Colin at €26 a bottle), or hard apple cider on tap from La Ferm’Entente in Saint-Aignan-sur-Ry (€3.50 for a half-pint).
PRICE: : À la carte €27-33 (lunch), breakfast plates €9.50 to €12, snacks €7-12, pastries €4.50.