The uncontested king of the small Rue du Nil with his restaurants Frenchie, Frenchie Bar à Vins, Frenchie Caviste and Frenchie To Go, Greg Marchand still reigns imperially at the mother house (exposed stone walls, wooden rafters). The proof could be found on the “small” lunch menu, just the other day: delightful shiitake mushroom and smoked ricotta agnolotti with irresistible baby chanterelles, redcurrants, black garlic and coffee oil, all intensified by a rich mushroom reduction; a cheeky trio of zucchini (sautéed rounds, zucchini blossom tempura and a coulis) swimming alongside smoked Atlantic monkfish tail that was all pearly white and covered in a coconut/green curry/kaffir lime sauce that we would happily drink as a soup! Before a banoffee pie that was given a superb Frenchie twist: a crispy chocolate and pecan crumble coated with dulce de leche mousse and paired with an intense banana sorbet. Well done! // G.D.
FEELING THIRSTY? There’s a long selection of organic and natural wines to suit all budgets: an Alsatian Riesling from Les Mann (€11), an Urfé white from the Domaine des Pothiers (€27 a bottle), an Hautes-Côtes-de-Beaune red from the Domaine Billard (€44), a Marsannay red from René Bouvier (€67)… Or even a Montrachet from the Domaine des Comtes Lafon (€1,550).
PRICE: Menus €55 (lunch) and €95 (five courses).
