It’s been quite a trip for Ernestine! After two years in Kyoto (Motoï) and Melbourne (French Saloon), sommelier Célia Picoulet (ex-Ducasse) and chef Robin Cannard (ex-Ducasse as well) have teamed up with the former’s butcher/charcuterie producer brother Adrien Picoulet for a concept centered around “ingredients from here, techniques from elsewhere.” In this beautiful and entirely wood-clad bistro (the floors, tables and bar), with old-fashioned mirrors, cast-iron details and exposed light bulbs, we encounter products made by local producers – lamb and chicken from the Bouscarel farm, pork from the Dale family, vegetables from Mathieu Poirié, etc. The day we went for lunch, seated on the terrace, in addition to the famous pâté en croûte with homemade kimchi, the menu was rather fish-forward: a tartlet topped with tender smoked trout from the Blagour River with flavorful trout roe, creamy taramasalata and pickled watermelon with fresh basil and dill oil; heavenly mi-cuit otoro from a 120-kg line-caught bluefin tuna, cut up using Japanese techniques, and sweetened by some lovely fennel compote, with some decorative zucchini cooked al dente and a zucchini-basil pesto; followed by an exhilarating tonka bean pudding with a praline center and hazelnut crisp. // Tsampa
FEELING THIRSTY? : Head to natureville, with Célia steering the ship via her vagabond nose: Le Petit, a Quercy red from Kévis Barbet (€4.50 a glass), Müller Thurgau, a lively, floral white from the German winemakers Daniel and Jonas Brand (€35 a bottle), a velvety, elegant wine from the Domaine Mosse (€39).
PRICE: : À la carte €36-40.
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