Regain

After rubbing shoulders with the finest international chefs at the culinary incubator À la piscine, Benjamin Sanchez dove into the deep end and opened Regain with his sidekick Thomas Rolland – ex-À la piscine as well. The spot in question? A bistro tucked away on a windowed street corner (unfinished walls, globe light fixtures, tonal décor with polished wood and light leather), where the duo can be credited with blowing a light Mediterranean breeze through the space. The night we went, the spellbinding five-course menu featured all of the following: a pissaladière prelude made with grilled onions, anchoiade and slow-roasted bonito in a rich fish head broth; generously portioned and flavorful sushi, with Camargue rice and juniper-smoked white asparagus, plus plenty of mustard and spruce honey sugar; chickpea fritters topped with an incredible hummus paired with panoufle, or lamb crackling; lamb saddle that was pink in the center, paired with chickpeas, nettle pulp and a jus seasoned with Vadouvan Indian spice blend; before a tantalizing blackcurrant sorbet with goat cheese, pain de Gênes and fig leaf oil, followed by a lovely apricot sorbet with a delightful roasted apricot under a hay-infused milk emulsion… // Damien Sorin

FEELING THIRSTY? Lolita Chevreau (ex-Les Apothicaires) runs the rather tame wine collection: a Savoie Jacquère from Giachino (€6 a glass), a Bourgogne-Épineuil from Gruhier (€7), a Cairanne red from Richaud (€32 a bottle), a Bourgeois-Diaz Champagne (€66), a Pouilly-Fumé from Dagueneau (€88)…

PRICE: Menus at lunch €25, dinner €39 and €47 (5 courses).