Huthopi

Huthopi for Hugo Lafont, Thomas Cuny and Pierre Le Lard… A rather silly name for some seriously impressive cuisine! That of three childhood friends who each boast a brilliant CV (stints at Le Meurice, Laurent, the Plaza Athénée, among others), who took over what used to be the restaurant Adria, orchestrating a six-handed concerto of flavor from their open kitchen. Take the day we went for lunch as an example, where the trio set things ablaze both figuratively and literally (our cashmere scarf can attest to that): masterfully cooked razor clams en marinière with crisp baby broccoli, all hidden under a broccoli-almond espuma and a thin slice of noir de Bigorre pork belly; hanger steak that melted on the tongue, paired with silky potato mousseline and a fantastic chimichurri that had us begging for seconds; before a delicate cream puff filled with a pear and Iranian black lime brunoise, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. At night, the threesome get mouths watering even more intensely: gyoza filled with Black Tiger shrimp; duck breast with Hungarian blue squash and chestnut cream; grapefruit, marigold and licorice pavlova… // Gwen Jacquère 

FEELING THIRSTY? Pierre, who used to work at Clown Bar, smartly enlisted help from his old colleagues when building the wine list, which resulted in a collection of around 40 natural wines, many of which are vintages: Les Grelots, a 2016 Ardèche red blend produced by Sylvain Bock (€7 a glass), Eichberg, a 2011 Riesling grand cru from the Domaine Schueller (€68 a bottle), DH, a 2014 Burgundy Chardonnay from the estate of Yann Durieux (€140)… 
PRICE: Set menus €36 (lunch) and €70 (dinner), à la carte €60-68.