Camille Machet and Victor Vautier (ex-SAaM) run this naturophile cave à manger just a few meters away from the legendary Verre Volé wine bar along the Canal Saint-Martin… In the stripped-bare walls of this former wig shop, the new chef Mathias Silberbauer – who’s been running things since September 2020 and has an impressive resume to his name (ex. – Pure & V, but also Relæ, Manfredset and BÆST in Copenhagen) – sent out some good and some very good dishes the night we went! A striking Basque country steak tartare with delicious late-season cherry tomatoes and tarragon; crisp fennel with an addictive smoked taramasalata for dipping; tender roasted peppers tucked into creamy stracciatella, pimped out with browned butter and sage; wonderful breaded monkfish katsu sando sandwich with tonkatsu and chopped cabbage; and a sublime pollack sashimi sprinkled with satsuma mandarin kosho (a Japanese condiment made from chili, salt and Japanese mandarins in this case), before a fig semifreddo. // G.LeP & G.V.
FEELING THIRSTY? Bottles galore! Served by the glass, there’s a red from La Ferme du Cade, Toujours Plus from 2019 (€6 a glass) or a white from Les Vignes du Maynes, a Macon Cruzille (€8 a glass); and by the bottle, a Valentin Valles red, Rollier 2018 (€35 a bottle) or even a Zillinger white, Numen Muskateller 2017 (€60 a bottle), unless you’d prefer an IPA Basqueland (€7 for 330 ml), selected from amongst a dozen craft beers.
PRICES: Plates between €6 and €18 and shared dishes between €30 and €40.
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