Ever since he moved Gaya to Rue de Saint-Simon, the old seawolf named Gagnaire has held course at his restaurant with lots of brilliantly briny ideas. Seated in a space adorned with fine woods, light fixtures with golden scales and Carrara marble under your elbows, all the big fish of the Left Bank delight in the electric frenzies of the great Pierre. The day we went, the lunch menu featured: an exceptional brunoise of cucumber, melon, watermelon and tomato all macerated in olive oil and gin, delicately topped with an Iberian ham toast and a dollop of brousse du Rove cheese; a vivifying diced bluefin tuna and mackerel tartare, paired with some valiant marinated zucchini and eggplant whose tenderness was balanced out by the crunchiness of some lovely paprika-spiced potato chips, served on the side; and for dessert, a lemon cassata topped with berries and arugula, all moistened by a dizzyingly good citrus water. High art! // Albert Gredinbar

FEELING THIRSTY? In the hold, sommelier Franck Lucas has everything you need for a good time: Les Vingts Lieux Dits, a Bourgeuil from the Domaine du Bel Air (€11 a glass), a petit-chablis from Le Grand Calcaire (€46 a bottle), a natural Alsatian pinot noir produced by Vincent Stoeffler (€63)…
PRICE: Set menus €55-65 (lunch), shellfish platter €145 (for two), à la carte €86-135.