Yatta! This Japanese-style bistro in a tiny Bordeaux space seats 16 lucky guests. Running Maison Musubi (“connection” in the language of Bashō) is Japanese chef Ayako Ota (who used to run Miles, Mampuku and Massa), whose bento boxes brought out by her partner Marie-Pierre Munoz garner many “ohs!” and “ahs!”. The other day, seated at the ornate counter, we had some majestic kare raisu, the famous Japanese curry, made with seasonal vegetables (squash, potatoes, pickled enoki mushrooms) and a marinated egg, served alongside two small bowls: grated carrots and radishes in a peanut sauce in one, sweet and sour white cabbage salad in the other… Unless you opt for the lunch box, which contained stewed chicken with salted plums and mirin the day we went – a delight for your taste buds! All followed by an airy chiffon cake infused with hojicha tea and buckwheat, topped with a silky white chocolate cream, or a pair of classic dorayaki flavored with matcha cream and azuki bean paste. In short, the ultimate izakaya experience! // Raoul Taburin

FEELING THIRSTY? French-Japanese beverages: Mariage Frères green tea (€4.50), amber buckwheat ale from the local Azimut brewery (€6 for 330 ml) and artisanal sakes selected by Marie-Pierre, including a Kyoto Kocon sake produced by Sawaya Matsumoto (€5 a glass, €59 a bottle).
PRICE: Set menus €17-19 (desserts included).