Spelt

Chef Raphaël Grima (ex-Taillevent) and pastry chef Marion Luque-Bouvier (ex-Meurice and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon) have set up shop with their knives and spatulas in tow in the adorable village of Tourettes-sur-Loup, in Nice’s backcountry! Inside an old building that’s been entirely remodeled (exposed stone walls, blonde wood tables, an impressive terrace with dizzying views of the steep valley below), the duo sent out a skillfully prepared seven-course meal the night we went: a tender caramelized onion, tucked into puréed potatoes, all bathed in a licorice-infused broth; a delicate porcini mushroom fricassé, serrano ham and Parmesan tartelette; spelt wheat risotto moistened by lobster bisque and Parmesan-mascarpone cream, all topped with a generous piece of lobster meat… Grand! What came next? Perfect bass roasted in scale-like shaved mushrooms in a beurre blanc sauce, with celery and chestnuts on the side; a vertiginous pithiviers pie filled with veal rump, prawns, spinach and chanterelle mushrooms, served with bisque and jus de volaille; a basil sorbet to refresh the palate; before a trompe-l’oeil-style lemon made out of white chocolate, filled with a mint-ginger cream, drizzled in a calamansi juice and preserved zest coulis, and served with a lime / tequila sorbet. // Laetitia Sayre

FEELING THIRSTY? A wine list that gets straight to the point: a Chablis from Isabelle and Denis Pommier (€11 a glass), a Crozes-Hermitage des 4 vents (€50 a bottle), a Pouilly-Fumé from Jonathan Pabiot (€56), an Aude red from the Domaine Gayda (€75)…
PRICE: Set menus €24-29 (lunch), €39 (dinner, four courses) and €57 (dinner, seven courses).