Chinaski

Raw steel, immaculate walls, timeworn wooden tables, Malo ceramics… Despite what this restaurant’s name might lead you to believe (a reference to “dirty old man” Bukowski’s alter ego), this place is quite tidy! In the dynamic trio Margaux Thirard, Amaury Guyot and Arthur Touré-Pirot’s café/restaurant, all of whom used to work at Dersou, the new chefs Mathilde Maroussie (ex-L’Assiette and Bambino) and Sophie de Laitre send out good vibes and flavors from the big open kitchen. Served à la carte the night we went: steak tartare perked up with the addition of parlourde clams and ticked by a thin slice of pickled celery; fantastic monkfish tempura with bok choy and Romanesco cabbage, all dressed in a sorrel sauce and paired with a balsamic damson plum condiment; before a generous chocolate peanut butter and hazelnut swirl brownie, flirting with miso caramel. Noticed on the next table over: beautiful teriyaki pork belly served with roasted carrots, Padrón peppers and pomelo; a cheese plate (bleu d’Auvergne, saint-nectaire and lingot du berger) whipped up with a delightful beetroot/white chocolate/timut pepper condiment. // Vic Beretton
FEELING THIRSTY? Natural and organic wines chosen by Arthur Touré-Pirot: Dilemme, a pet’ nat’ from Les Pierres Écrites (€8.50 a glass), a Sylvaner produced by Armand Gilg (€54 a bottle), L’Échappée, an Anjou chenin from the Domaine Fief Noir (€41), Chant du Monde, an AOC Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame produced by Emmanuel Haget (€56), or maybe even a Serbian wine like Poema, a 34-day skin-contact Riesling made by Estelle and Cyrille Bongiraud (€62).
PRICE: À la carte €49-57.