If you’re wondering what the Virgin Mary is doing in the bathroom surrounded by candles, it’s a nod to their opening night, when a sudden leak plunged the restaurant into darkness. Ever since, the Madonna has been discreetly watching over things at this formidable bistro (a varnished bar, wine crates) run by Greg Back (the boss over at Les Pères Pop’), in which the talented duo, Jack Bosco Baker (ex-Jourdain) and Elsa Dalsheimer, cook up a storm under the watchful eye of Matt Robertson. The last time we went, the unbeatable lunch menu featured red cabbage salad with hazelnuts and a smoked eel cream; delicious minestrone with carrots, beans, turnips and sizeable clams; before a nasturtium and stewed rhubarb panna cotta. At night, small plates make their way onto the scene: skate rillettes; pig’s head pressé; crab and cherry tomato tortellini; tagliatelle alla chitarra with lamb ragù and pecorino; roasted porchetta with radicchio and Parmesan… // R.deC.
FEELING THIRSTY? The top of the naturophile game: a Vaucluse Merlot from La Ferme des Arnaud (€3.50 a glass), Tète Nat’, a sparkling Loire white (€29 a bottle), Ruben, a Saumur-Champigny from Sébastien Bobinet (€28), Romanissa, a Roussillon red from the Domaine Matassa (€36)…
PRICE: Set menus €18-20 (lunch), plates €5-18 (dinner), à la carte €30-45 (weekends).
