At Les Arlots (broken tile floors, a wooden bar with plenty of elbow grease worked into it, walls covered in first-rate bottles of wine, taxidermy), chef Thomas Brachet (ex-Beef Club) calls upon his Audiard-like creativity to craft his beautifully artistic cuisine. The day we went for lunch, the formidable set menu included: a confident coco de Paimpol bean salad with slow-roasted tomatoes, incredibly fresh herbs and anchovies – while the next table over nibbled on deviled eggs with siphoned egg yolks and mayonnaise; frisky skate gliding over a bed of bright green spinach, all blushing with a vegetable reduction; before a roasted fig mousse with honey and a crisssspy crrrrumble for the (tasty) final sweet touch. At night, other cheeky dishes make their way onto the à la carte selection: a pâté made with four kinds of meat, a faux-filet steak with Sarladaise potatoes, a brill steak à la grenobloise with celery and white miso mousseline…. Not to mention the legendary sausage with extra buttery mashed potatoes! // M.J.-D.
FEELING THIRSTY? Place your trust in sommelier Tristan Renoux (ex-Siffleur de Ballons), the chef’s partner: a Languedoc Pinot noir from the Domaine de Clovallon (€6.50 a glass), a Loire Chenin from Jean-Marie Brousset (€34 a bottle), a Savoy red from Marie and Florian Curtet (€36)…
PRICE: Set menus €19-23 (weekday lunch), à la carte €40-60 (dinner and Saturday).
