Securely anchored in place on opposite sides of Rue du Cherche-Midi, the prodigious Sébastien Leroy (son of a farmer, a student of the Beaux-Arts and then a self-taught bistro owner) continues to sail between his mini-wine shop and his maxi-bistro. The same bistro (whitewashed rafters and stone walls, blonde wooden tables, black banquettes) where we wolfed down some outstanding dishes the other day at lunch: seasonal vegetables cheekily baked in a tomato and pepper sauce; thunderous raw bluefin tuna with raspberries and homemade ponzu sauce infused with Montmorency cherries; comforting pot-au-feu-style beef cheeks with eggplant that was steamed then sautéed in soy sauce, plus five varieties of basil; before some beautiful stewed plums sprinkled with sorrel and served with a rich, farm-fresh cream. Worth mentioning: during Covid-19 restrictions, the wine shop shall be serving up the same dishes. // A.D. 

FEELING THIRSTY? All natural, baby! An Angevin sparkling rosé from Sylvain Martinez (€8 a glass), a Rhone orange wine from Benoît Camus (€9), a Tours red from Olivier Lemasson (€27 a bottle), La Belle Egarée, a Coteaux-du-Loir white from Renaud Guettier (€38)… 
PRICE: Plates €5-25.