Cavalier

Setting off at a full gallop until the break of dawn, Cavalier isn’t interested in your typical closing time hours! This loooong space is split down the middle, to better highlight its hybrid nature: to the left, a terra cotta wall, backlit bottles and a marble counter provide a nocturnal cocktail bar atmosphere; to the right, there’s a sleek restaurant mood with high barstools and shared plates. In the kitchen, you’ll find Italian chef Michael Aldibek (ex-Soces) confidently holding the reins: buonissimo and perfectly creamy vitello tonnato, with the addition of caper leaves pickled in vinegar; refreshing amberjack crudo balanced out by a tomato dashi, rounds of Red Meat radish, nasturtium leaves and a parsley jus; crispy breaded veal brains dotted with aioli, a granny smith jelly and fennel fronds; comforting (but perhaps a little invasive) namelaka cream, aka an ultra-unctuous cream made here with goat’s cheese and lemon marmalade, plus an amaretto reduction. From 10:30pm to 5 o’clock in the morning, the menu takes it down to a trot with charcuterie and cheese platters, Blainville oysters, pickled vegetables, taramasalata, whelks… // Eric Taylor 

FEELING THIRSTY? : Prune Moirenc, the stable manager, is also the house sommelier: an Alsatian Pinot blanc from Charles Frey (€7.50 a glass), a Muscadet from the Domaine de l’Écu (€35 a bottle), a Rhone red from the Domaine Gramenon (€44)… And to get your foot into the saddle, cocktails shaken up by Léo Nicaud and Anthony Rostoucher – like this Old Fashioned made with shiso and miso (€14).  
PRICE: : Plates €9-23, snacks €5-12.