It’s (almost) all change in the 9th arrondissement. Belle Maison, the maritime darling of the Pantruche galaxy (Le Pantruche, Coucou Café, Caillebotte, Café Mirette) has changed tack and now sails under a new name: Le Savarin. A portmanteau of savoureux (“delicious”) and Rue de Navarin? A nod to the cheese, the dessert or the legendary French gastronome? Take your pick. As for the decor, it hasn’t budged an inch (nautical wall tiles, crisp white tablecloths, globe pendant lights, big communal tables upstairs), nor has the dream team of Franck Baranger, Édouard Bobin and Nicolas Chatelain. The other day at lunchtime, they delivered an effortlessly cool take on “home-style cooking,” the sort that sneaks up on you and refuses to let go: daikon radish cannelloni stuffed with crab, slicked with a delightfully exotic tom kha kai coconut sauce; beautifully chunky hand-cut steak tartare, inevitably paired with first-rate fries; and to finish, an ultra-creamy vanilla flan that hits all the right nostalgic notes. Next time, we’ll be tempted by the set lunch menu (that day’s special: rockfish with ricotta gnocchi and grilled red endives in bouillabaisse sauce) or perhaps the more ambitious monkfish vol-au-vent waiting patiently on the à la carte menu. · Omar Ciboulette
FEELING THIRSTY? A short, but sharply curated wine list (around 40 labels): a viognier-marsanne-roussanne blend from Maison Stephan in the Rhône (€11.90 a glass), L’Exception, a côtes-du-roussillon-villages red from Domaine Vaquer (€51 a bottle) or the stellar El-Hem by Gilles Berlioz in Savoie (€105).
PRICE: Dish of the day €18, set menu €23 (weekday lunch), à la carte €36-56.
Save this spot in the Fooding app, available on iOS! Download it now in the app store.




















