Pépin

Looking for a hotel bar near Les Guillemins station? Pépin has you covered – all shiny and new, it’s outfitted in chrome and concrete, nestled inside the Yust Hotel. On one side, there’s an impressive bar where the bartender serves pitch-perfect cocktail classics (Espresso Martini, White Negroni, Mezcal Margarita). On the other, a rather sophisticated dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows provides the perfect backdrop for dishes by culinary globe-trotter Justin Wansart – ex-L’Essentiel in Temploux and Yves Mattagne’s Sea Grill in Brussels, for whom he also worked in Thailand. This time round, the chef fielded an all-star team of flavors: glistening glazed sweetbreads; a superb Caesar salad split across two small plates – crispy cos lettuce on one, Coucou de Malines chicken fillet and beautiful Cantabrian anchovies on the other, all buried under a mountain of Parmesan; tenacious beef tartare served with chunky fries and an endive salad; tempting pasta al ragù, simmered to perfection; and freshly churned vanilla ice cream topped with ganache and a chocolate crunch to finish. // Vincent Shogun

FEELING THIRSTY? In addition to the various cocktails (Sarrasin Sour with pear-buckwheat peket, spiced rum and lemon juice, €10), there’s also a well-balanced wine list: Les Hermines Chenin from Nicolas Reau in the Loire (€44 a bottle), Virose, an Alsatian orange wine from Léo Dirringer (€49), and Juju, a Corbières red from Alexandra and Olivier Mavit (€8 a glass).
PRICE: Tapas €6-28, mains €17-42, desserts €12.