At his tiny Dijon bistro (fifties-style upholstered banquettes, old-fashioned light fixtures and mirrors, bouquets of dried flowers), Hugo Schneider is setting the plant-based food world ablaze. After moving here from Lille, where he did a few stints in the kitchens of Bloempot and Monsieur Jean, the Viking chef is striking his vegetables with an intense bolt of lightning, for everything from the appetizer to the dessert course, resulting in some unabashedly delicious compositions. The other day at lunch, his menu featured street-food-inspired zucchini and mushroom rolls with a charred zucchini jus and a crumbled hard-boiled egg, paired with an addictive mushroom mayo; tarragon mashed potatoes like your grandma might make, with braised sucrine lettuce, pickled red kuri squash and a crimson crater of red wine reduction and chard jus, which had us licking the plate clean! Before a creamy arugula mousse with peeled and diced tomatoes and an oat-buckwheat strudel. At night, make way for the tasting menu where you’ll come across dishes like leeks mimosa with blackberries, chard pressé or a turnip top sorbet. Hot tip: head to the once-a-month brunch (the first Sunday of every month), and devour treats like beetroot butter brioche and scrambled eggs with juniper caramel. // Thomas Jossin
FEELING THIRSTY? A naturophile wine list crafted by Emma Wise: a Gamay from the Loron family (€5 a glass), an Arbois macerated wine by Alice Bouvot (€38 a bottle), a Côte-de-Beaune white from the pioneer winemaker Emmanuel Giboulot (€45)… Not to mention the house’s emblematic beetroot kir cocktail (€7).
PRICE: Lunch menus €25, dinner menus €50 (10 courses). Brunch €30 (the first Sunday of the month).
