At this charming, tiny corner bistro on Rue Sedaine (a dining room with pale stone walls and dried flowers hung from the ceiling), Matthieu Bellaiche (ex-Café de la Nouvelle Mairie) is anchored in place behind the bar to face the waves of thirsty fine diners who attach themselves like barnacles once night falls. The blackboard menu has plenty of dignified options to sponge up the beautiful selection of natural wines: clams cooked in sake with a jubilantly rich veal broth; tender slow-cooked veal with white carrots, borlotti beans and a rich celery purée; artery-clogging yet delicious slow-roasted Auvergne pork spilling over on tartines, with flavorful tomatoes to counteract its fattiness; and to round out the feast, an intense chocolate ganache sprinkled with marigold shoots and hazelnuts, plus mirabelle plums, raspberries, blueberries and fromage blanc. // V.Z.
FEELING THIRSTY? In the house’s treasure chest, you’ll only find good things: a round Isère white from Nicolas Gonin (€7 a glass), a Jura red from Jean-Baptiste Menigoz (€6), a complex Montlouis-sur-Loire from Lise and Bertrand Jousset (€50 a bottle) and a Beaujolais from Philippe and Catherine Jambon (€32).
PRICE: Plates €8-19.
