Cock-a-doodle doo! Sven Chartier, the prodigious chef of the now-closed Saturne, has definitively flown the coop in the capital to build a new nest in the Perche region. That’s where he and his ever-faithful partner Marianne opened up Oiseau Oiseau, a warm restaurant with a full wooden look (wooden rafters, a branch-like chandelier, a wood-burning stove) where the cuisine is prepared using whatever’s growing in their garden or in those of local producers. The day we went for lunch, the Arpège-trained chef whipped up all of the following: a striking pâté en croûte with foie gras, smoked eel and figs; delightful pork belly paired with perfectly roasted vegetables (red cabbage, squash, beets, turnips) and served with homemade sourdough hemp bread – just incredible; followed by a sensational chocolate tart with hemp-vanilla ice cream and a cheeky hemp praline. Other mouthwatering options included raw scallops with saffron and lemongrass from the garden, a foie gras / duck / black trumpet mushroom pithiviers, or a slow-roasted apple tart with quince sorbet and Italian meringue. // Albert Gredinbar
FEELING THIRSTY? These two songbirds have plenty of options to quench your thirst and serve around a hundred well-traveled bottles, sourced from Georgia to South Africa via Spain (a white Catalan Celler Credo at €7 a glass) and France – an Auvergne Pinot from Tricot (€32 a bottle) or a Burgundy red from the Domaine des Mont Luisants (€110).
PRICE: À la carte €40-50.
