Tuscan-born chef Michele Farnesi – Passerini’s former sous-chef during the Rino period – found the ideal spot to bring his instinctive cuisine to life in the Ménilmontant neighborhood. At his bistrattoria with country accents (old hardwood floors, an ornate bar), his €42 tasting menu sent shivers of pleasure down our spine the other day at lunch: as a prelude to the meal, a perfect cod beignet over a bed of zucchini dressed in ponzu sauce (vinegary soy sauce and yuzu juice); followed by, en primi, vivifying linguine with meagre, fresh herbs and lime; a sublime pork loin cooked to perfection with broad beans and peas in a divine reduction, plus sea beans and clams; before a flavor bomb of a dessert,: strawberries, sesame praline and a fermented milk and fig leaf espuma. At night, Michel serves a tasting menu: artichoke tortellini à la romaine, guazetto with mussels, bottarga and preserved lemon; black mullet with pollen-infused hollandaise sauce, green asparagus and agretti; pigeon with white asparagus, hazelnuts and tarragon. For dessert, there’s maritozzo or brioche with cream, pistachios, rhubarb and purple shiso… Nothing short of a feast! // Louise Delange
FEELING THIRSTY? A wine list that travels up and down the Boot: Langhe Bianco, a Piedmont timorasso from the Domaine Pricipiano (€59 a bottle), H’Ama, a Tuscan trebbiano from the Valle del Sole (€64), a Lambrusco maestri from Emilie Romagne produced by Podere Magia (€60), a montepulciano from Abruzzo by the Torre dei Beati winery (€72), along with wines by the glass (€7-15).
PRICE: Menus €21, €28, €35 and €42 (Thursday and Friday lunch), €59, €80 and €92 (dinner and weekends).