L'Etabli

Not only has he got chef Christian Têtedoie’s seal of approval (the unofficial godfather of Lyonnais neo-bistronomy), but Louis Fargeton has opened up a cool new Établi with polished interiors done up by the Collectif Saône (a royal blue bar, olive green armchairs, OSB tables, hanging light bulbs) and seductive cuisine that feigns impertinence. The proof could be found the other day at lunch on the €28 menu: a succession of inspired amuse-bouches – frogs’ legs cromesquis, a mini pike quenelle with Nantua sauce; fried sardine fillets over an arugula pesto with cherry tomatoes, onions and pine nuts; a lightly roasted, muscular wolfish steak with a trio of cauliflower preparations (fried, raw and puréed) plus an ingenious pink ginger gel for a vinegary touch. Before some very simple brownies with piped chocolate mousse and mango sorbet. The wine list is artifice free: La Sagesse, a Côtes-du-Rhône red from Gramenon (€7 a glass), a Fleurie from the Bertrands (€56 a bottle) or Brise-Cailloux, a Côtes-du-Rhône white from Matthieu Barret (€70). Menus ‹24-28 (lunch), €49 and €64. // A.S.