Wheat-toned arches, rough stone walls, waxed concrete floors, chestnut wood tables, baby blue chairs and a dead tree in the middle of all that…. If the decor is unique, the high-flying surprises from the open kitchen of Louis Festa, a 24-year-old Parisian who was trained at the École Ferrandi and then worked at Sola and Qui Plume la Lune, are even more so. The other day at lunch, he prepared a delightful trio of black beluga lentils as a mousse, a risotto and a crisp; a deeply flavorful Limousine flank steak from the village butcher, perfectly cooked on the barbecue, glazed with a yuzu-soy sauce, and paired with beets from the Marcel farm in Saint-Aquilin (prepared as both a jelly and smoked) and an incredible jus de viande, all electrified by a fennel vinegar jelly; before the more refined conclusion, a cheeky vanilla whipped cream draped atop puffed meringue, all caressed by raw figs, slow-roasted figs and honey-fig coulis. Incredible! // Gérard Roubeix
FEELING THIRSTY? A beautiful collection of bottles, some of which are from low-intervention winemakers, assembled by Cerise Gicquel, the boss’s partner: a 100% Syrah Côtes-du-Rhône from the Château de Saint-Cosme (€8 a glass), Truculence, a Bergerac blanc from Barouillet (€41 a bottle), Les Grézeaux, a Chinon from Bernard Baudry (€40)…
PRICE: Set menus €25 and €30 (lunch), €49 and €59.
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