Chez Luma

In fall 2022, Damien Bouchery handed over the keys to Fauvette to two childhood friends from Montreuil (93), Marius Junot, a former mixologist at Chez Ta Mère in Ixelles, and Luka Greiner, who’s worked in kitchens in Paris (Dersou) and London. Renamed Chez Luma (a mix of their two names) and given a serious remodel, this bistro gets straight to the point – good food, good wines, warming guests up heart and soul. Take the night we went, seated among 20 other lucky guests, around vintage tables in the dimly lit space: a dashing bluefin tuna tartare under a snowfall of citrus granita, or clams and mussels bathed in a marinière sauce pimped with charcuterie and dill; bistro-style slow-cooked pork loin, shredded like pulled pork and served with sautéed potatoes, pork drippings and a cabbage-arugula salad; then a lovely little almond crumble with tapioca and citrus jelly for dessert. All that prepared as a two-person team: what more could you want? // Ringo de Balmalon

FEELING THIRSTY? Naturalist bottles without boundaries that you can pluck from the shelves: Cullerot, a Spanish white fermented in amphora from Celler del Roure, a Cairanne from Richaud (€7 and €7.50 a glass), an Austrian skin-contact white from Meinklang (€37), Cuvée du Chat, a Beaujolais from Jean-Claude Chanudet (€41)…

PRICE: À la carte €37-43.