Plume

Tucked in between two Japanese restaurants on Rue Pierre-Leroux (Aida and Nakatani) and located across from a beautiful Art Nouveau building, Plume can still hold its own. Running this tiny, minimalist bistro (blond wood tables, discreet tiled floors and hanging light bulbs), chef Youssef Gastli, who used to work for Lucas Carton, brings ingredients sourced from Terroirs d’Avenir to life, much to the delight of executives from the nearby Kering offices. Featured on the lovely €39 prix-fixe lunch menu the other day: incredible hand-cut veal tartare that deserved an award, served with smoky paprika-spiced mayonnaise, grated Parmesan and dill fronds; incredible grilled pork loin served in its drippings, with capers, delicate taggiasche olives, grilled eggplant and some unexpected purslane leaves; before an undeniably good chocolate pudding with a hazelnut biscuit, fresh mint ice cream and passion fruit jelly. For the selection à la carte, Youssef raises both the bar and the prices: sautéed chanterelles and escargots with ’nduja, ajo blanco and cherries; monkfish cooked in buckwheat butter with peppers, fennel and oats; apricot cheesecake with parsley and bergamot ice cream… In short, Plume sends out nothing but heavy hitters! // Albert Grendinbar

FEELING THIRSTY? A wide-ranging selection of organic and natural options: a Reuilly blanc from the Domaine Laporte (€6 a glass), a Mâcon-Chaintré from the Domaine Cornin (€55 a bottle), an Hautes-Côtes-de-Beaune from the Domaine Billard (€51)… not to mention the bottles that really escalate things quickly, like this Chablis premier cru Vaillon from 1981 (€485), or even a 2015 Chambertin-Clos-de-Bèze grand cru from the Domaine Prieuré Roch (€2,150) – YOLO!
PRICE: Prix-fixe menus €31-39 (lunch) and €70 (5 courses), à la carte €68-78.