After streaking through the kitchens of Fulgurances, David Toutain and Mirazur, red-hot Uruguayan chef Nazareno Mayol Curti has now entered orbit at Eme. At his side, Mara Ballester (formerly with the Bras family and Albert Adrià) brings dazzling light to the minimalist-chic capsule (matte wood furniture, muted walls, low lighting), punctuated by flashes of color from a handful of her paintings and a gently swinging jazz soundtrack. That lunchtime, the five-course menu sent us into near-zero gravity. Launch sequence: a quintessential black garlic chicken-skin wafer wrapped in a shiso leaf, paired with a deep mushroom broth; delicate scallops floating in an almond milk(y way), joined by cauliflower puree sharpened with a tang of makrut lime; a comforting constellation of Brussels sprouts petals and paper-thin chestnut rounds, held together by a wonderfully smoky curry sauce… Then the apogee came with three cuts of duck (heart, leg, breast) arranged like a miniature solar system, complete with orbiting satellites (parsley and parsnip puree, caramelized sorrel leaf, bread miso, chimichurri, roasted sunchoke), enlivened with a bright, vinegary gel and rustic bread slicked with barbecued duck fat, which was worth the journey alone. And for re-entry, as hushed as the dining room itself, spelt in a variety of forms – ice cream, soufflé and espuma – coiffed with kombu seaweed. · Sugar Kane

FEELING THIRSTY? Good, clean, straight-shooting wines keep things gorunded: La Varenne du Poirier, a chenin from Les Grandes Vignes (€13 a glass), Quintaine, a viré-clessé from Domaine Guillemot-Michel (€70 a bottle), a gamay from Nicolas Jacob (€95) or beautiful sparkling wines from Jacques Lassaigne (€90-€150 a bottle). Alternatively, there’s Archipel fig leaf kombucha (€7 for 330 ml).

PRICE: Set menus €75 (lunch, five courses) and €115 (nine courses).