Don’t judge this place by its name: you won’t find the petit jaune and soggy peanuts here! On the contrary, Pastis is a stylish cavern (stone, iron, blonde wood and smoked glass), where the gastrolopiths come to rub shoulders with Daneil Lutrands’s (ex-Bras in Laguiole) beautiful compositions. The other Saturday, the sizzling lunch menu (€38) featured three flaming courses: saintly zander immolated in the pan, served atop a pile of roasted asparagus, a dollop of turmeric cream and a herby smoked orange emulsion; a choice cut of roasted duck in its juices that had us speechless, with vegetal notes from a rare celtuce (celery lettuce) and toasted buckwheat; andflavorful strawberries with a cloud of white chocolate, muesli and matcha-cardamom ice cream. // A.A.

FEELING THIRSTY? There are cool food and wine pairings at €20 for three glasses – the day we went, it was a Sauvignon from New Zealand, a very fresh Minervois, and a curious wine liqueur… Or dig into the very long wine list: a Cévennes white from the Domaine de Gournier (€18 a bottle), a Pic-Saint-Loup from L’Ermitage (€65), etc.

PRICE: Set menu €25 (weekday lunch), menus €38 (lunch and dinner) and €56 (dinner).