Semilla

Drew Harré and Juan Sanchez’s (both of whom are behind Freddy’s, Cosi and La Boissonnerie) sophisticated bistro maintains a high profile on Rue de Seine thank to a bistro menu that puts cheeky little twists on the genre. In the chic, industrial dining room that brings together whitewashed rafters, marble tables and tentacular pipes on the ceiling, the young chef Thomas Dardenne (ex-Tour d’Argent) demonstrates his talent by following chef Eric Trochon’s recipes to a tee. Lunch the other day featured: tender marinated herring fillet lounging on a bed of siphoned smoked potatoes, with juicy capers, sea beans, croutons and oregano oil; a good-looking grilled scorpionfish fillet with potatoes and fennel; before a cute tartlet topped with Mirabelle plums from the Lorraine and vanilla cream. Other options available à la carte: heirloom tomatoes with a green tomato sorbet and a navette biscuit with a whiff of rosemary; roasted veal sweetbreads with chanterelles and a roasted corn cream; a celery tarte Tatin with tonka bean cream; fresh figs with a milk ice cream and a hazelnut financier… // A.D.

FEELING THIRSTY? Clean wines: a Muscadet from the Domaine de La Pépière, a Cahors from the Domaine la Calmette (€8 a class), a Chinon red from Nicolas Grobois (€65 a bottle), a Montlouis-sur-Loire white from François Chidaine (€58)…

PRICE: Menu €24-44 (weekday lunch), à la carte €35-60.