Petit Gris

In a still relatively shy neighborhood, Jean-Baptiste Ascione (ex-Machine àCoudes) has opened up this urban inn/bistro that combines big untreated wooden tables, old farm equipment and scattered ears of wheat. What’s more, expect shared plates that have been sourced with the utmost care: Basque meat, porcini from the Corrèzes department… and Sichuan pepper from J.B.’s grandfather’s garden! For us, the night we went: escargots from the Bonvalot farm served in a Staub Dutch oven with a rather bland persillade; a lustful cuttlefish carbonara from La Rochelle, which we mixed ourselves with pork belly and a runny egg yolk; delicate veal tartare with smoked eel from the Peloponnese and an egg yolk confit, all under a mound of grated Parmesan; incredibly tender sirloin flap steak dry-aged for four days in coffee beans, which packs a powerful punch thanks to the rich jus de viande and mandolined button mushrooms; before some tasty roasted figs with fig sorbet and a gentle fromage blanc. Otherwise, there’s a mouthwatering prix-fixe lunch menu which might include something like pâté en croûte with jus de viande and pickled vegetables; braised flank steak with French mushrooms; and a poached pear with a cardamom cream. // Goulven Le Pollès

FEELING THIRSTY? There’s a natural-heavy wine selection to give you a healthy outlook on life: a Loire red from Alexandre Bain (€8 a glass), an opulent Côtes-Catalanes white from the Domaine Gauby (€39 a bottle) or why not a magnum of Saumur-Champigny from Sylvain Dittière (€148).

PRICE: Menu €32 (lunch), plates €9-16.