After stints in the Savoie, New York and then London (at Mourad Mazouz’s Momo), chef Matthias Leuliette finally settled down with his knives in tow in the heart of Biarritz’s Saint-Charles neighborhood. Where did he wind up exactly? At this tiny bistro with loads of style (rough concrete walls, tables with drawers, a Pita chandelier), where he whipped up a perfect menu the night we went: a light omelet soufflé with truffles and horned melon from Maison Balme; a crispy Christian Aguerre Grand Roux corn talo fritter stuffed with Ossau-Iraty cheese and piment d’Espelette; a delicious pork trotter topped with pickled mustard seeds and a jellied jus de cuisson; a small slab of Landes foie gras paired with kumquat and Timut peppercorn; a lovely spider crab tartlet (that was a little too lemony) with katsuobushi shavings; an incredible large French fry stuffed with mussels marinière and paired with oyster leaf; scallop cooked in the shell with buttery wood ear and shiitake mushrooms; a rich veal fillet from the Ferme Kitteria, cooked medium-rare over hay and surrounded by celery (prepared as both a purée and a millefeuille), pickled pear and a reduction; before the improbable finale, an oyster with honey on a seaweed shortbread crust, imprisoned inside a blown sugar shell with orange sorbet. One tiny complaint? The portions were a little on the small side… // Gérard Roubeix
FEELING THIRSTY? A natural wine list concocted by Hubert Lauriot Dit Prévost, the owner of the wine shop Retour Verre le Futur: a Bergerac pet’ nat’ from the Domaine Barouillet (€7 a glass), a Cahors from the Domaine La Calmette (€42 a bottle), a Chablis from AMI (€49)…
PRICE: Tasting menu €58.
