Teaming up with their photographer friend David Millier, Ingrid Deffein (ex-Lulu Rouget) and Guillaume Decombat (ex-Semilla in Paris) gave this former creperie a more modern feel: big exposed stone walls, a light wood bar, Scandinavian chairs, globe light fixtures…. And as indicated by the place’s name, they pay particularly close attention to the sourcing of their ingredients: vegetables from Les Vergers du Bois Macé, fish from Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, meat from the country butcher Les Bottes… The night we went, the €48 tasting menu featured all of the following: thinly sliced smoked watermelon with a balsamic glaze, for the amuse bouche; sardine fillets marinated in sugar and coffee, with blueberries, redcurrants and purple basil, all plunged into a translucent summer berry and pimentón oil broth; a graphically pleasing plate of tomatoes (slow-roasted, sun-dried, powdered and sorbet!) with a black olive condiment and yuzu tapioca; sautéed chard and firm chanterelle mushrooms covered in flash-seared chard and intensified by a Parmesan emulsion; monkfish prepared two ways – very briny liver accompanied by a sauce vierge with piquillo peppers, and cheek paired with oyster leaf (which unfortunately didn’t come with any jus), then a perfectly cooked monkfish medallion with a parsley/sunflower seed condiment and a verbena jus; before a fig dessert (raw, slow-roasted and sorbet) atop an excellent peanut praline… In short, this place is a source of utter joy! // G.LeP.
FEELING THIRSTY? Place your trust in sommelier Denis Luriot, a former wine vendor at the Talensac market: an Angevin Chenin from the Château de Bois-Brinçon (€9 a glass), Les Enfants Sages, a Melon-de-Bourgogne vinified in the center of Nantes (€25 a bottle), a natural Gamay from Descombes (€40)….
PRICE: Menus €20-25 and €40 (lunch), €50 and €70 (dinner).
