Café Les Deux Gares

Say goodbye to Au Train de Vie and hello to the Café Les Deux Gares! While waiting for the hotel of the same name to open back in September of 2019, Adrien Gloaguen, the boss of the Touriste group (the hotels Panache, Bienvenue, Beaurepaire, etc….), entrusted this old bistro located above the Gare de l’Est train station to Frédéric Lesire, a former bar manager. He turned it into a well-oiled machine (an ornate bar, blond wooden tables, Thonet chairs), where Jonathan Schweizer (ex-Sauvage) and Federico Suárez (ex-Loca) send some striking plates out of the kitchen. The night we went: incredible whelks with an herby mayonnaise; outstanding Albacore tuna from Saint-Jean-de-Luz served raw with quartered apricots, spring onions and a nasturtium oil; ultra-tender Iberian pork with roasted heirloom carrots, raw and confit redcurrant berries; before a refreshing lovage sorbet served with meringue and strips of cucumber. It’s worth noting that the weekday lunch menu is full of exciting possibilities (ex.: leeks in vinaigrette with gooseberry; cod with pil-pil sauce and pointy cabbage; fleur de lait and olive oil ice cream) and that you can also order a coffee or a snack at any time of day – anchovies in oil, pâté en croûte, deviled eggs… // Anna Samaha

FEELING THIRSTY? 100% natural wines: a Rhone Gamay from Michel Guignier (€5.50 a glass), a Roussillon Syrah from Pierre-Nicolas Massotte (€28 a bottle), an Ardèche Viognier from the Croiziers (€37)…

PRICE: Set menus €18-23 (weekday lunch), plates €6-20 (dinner and Saturday lunch), snacks €5-10.