Flamme

This place was briefly named Saussice before becoming Flamme, keeping the same stylish typography designed by Bureau Wolewinski, the same decor (original tiling, 70s furniture, a windowed wine cellar, Saucisson and Chipolata jugs made by Éléonore Joulin), the same spirit, and the same bosses (Hanna Deroover and Bénédicte Bantuelle, the duo behind La Bouche creative studio), minus the deli counter selling sandwiches. In the cold room, expect vegetables from the local Terroirist cooperative and meats from Dierendonck, while in the kitchen, open for all to see, there are flames, charcoal and a smoker oven. The lunchtime menu put on a fine demonstration: beetroot doused in a Béarnaise sabayon and dill, mopped up with a big chunk of Boulengier bread; roast pork shoulder, mashed potatoes, pickled onions, herb salad (cilantro, dill, tarragon) and tasty cooking juices drizzled on top; and an already renowned (Japanese-style) French toast with roasted apple, caramel, fresh cream and hazelnuts. In the evening, don’t miss the Menapii pork sausage with gravy; BBQ sea bass, leeks and wasabi; sweetbreads and burnt onions… What else? A cool playlist, easy-going staffers… Basically, all good stuff! // Ringo de Balmalon

FEELING THIRSTY? Essential cocktails (gin and tonic, espresso martini, negroni at €13), well-chosen wines served by the glass (Crémant d’Alsace Extra Brut from Rieffel; Olympe, a white Chitry from Olivier Morin; Kezako, a Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil from Sébastien David… from €7 to €10) and local draft beers (Illegaal or Ermitage breweries, from €4.50 to €5).

PRICE: Plates €9-28.