When it comes to cooking, dynasties and family affairs, François Pinault managed to convince ascetics Michel and Sébastien Bras to prepare the menu at the Palais de la Bourse where his contemporary art collection is displayed in a stupefying new concrete creation by architect Tadao Ando. The luminous restaurant, with interiors by the Bourellec brothers (hemstitched curtains, metal chairs), takes the breath away from the beautiful crowds who enjoy gazing out at the Church of St. Eustache and La Canopée. The two great chefs pepper their cuisine with plenty of healthy grains, cereals and legumes, which the building used to store in a previous life. On the €78 tasting menu the day we went for lunch: an oat cracker made with buckwheat butter under a Pollockian radish sprout composition; a rich and peppery mushroom broth; chewy wolfish tartare with a Fauvism summer vegetable vinaigrette; rustic, pan-fried, meunière-style hake in a toasted butter sauce that was rich in buckwheat, and pointy cabbage with kasha; grilled chicken breast with its juices, plus a striking liver condiment with Béarn beans and roasted turnips, and a round of pan-fried aligot; Laguiole, Roquefort and goat cheese paired with granola and a seed praline. For dessert, a constructivist folly for Sisyphean pleasures: a light chicory mousse, aquafaba meringue and a kasha tuile with pea shoots. // Renaud Fuego
FEELING THIRSTY? Nature’s bounty! Expect great wines from Pinault’s personal collection (including a 1985 Château Latour for €1,600) and exclusive vintages from some of the great winemakers: Grains de Chardonnay from Jean-Marc Roulot in Meursault (€15 a glass), Grains d’Abouriou and Cabernet franc from Élian Da Ros in the Marmandais (€42 a bottle), Grains de Piquepoul blanc from Anaïs Ricôme in the Languedoc (€36)…
PRICE: Tasting menus €54 (lunch), €78 and €98, à la carte €63-110.
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