Luxury, tranquility and swirling clouds of steam from the kettle fill the intimate space of Sugio Yamaguchi, the veggie-forward chef who, after a few years at the helm of his restaurant Botanique, has opened a café on this bustling street just a stone’s throw from Le Bon Marché department store. This pristine little eatery (immaculate walls, delicate illustrations, sculptural branch art) seats just 10 guests, and allows the Japanese chef to indulge all of his most fantastical ideas and lovingly source his (entirely organic) ingredients for meals that feel like haiku: comforting sunflower-seed miso broth, brimming with shiitake mushrooms, radish and cabbage, served with a soy-marinated egg, ginger and sesame seeds; his mesmerizing signature dish, a millefeuille-like vegan tart composed of crisp yet tender layers of carrot, turnip and sweet potato, elevated by an herbaceous pesto and delicately sliced kumquat; an exceptionally delicious brioche tartine, dripping with melted cow’s milk tomme cheese and topped with a generous layer of shaved black truffles from the Vaucluse; and for dessert, a perfect matcha flan made by pastry chef Chihiro Katsui. · Madeleine Proust

FEELING THIRSTY? Nothing but the very best: expertly prepared specialty coffee roasted by Parlor coffee (€4-10), Jugetsudo teas (matcha, sencha, hojicha, €6.50 to €7) and hot chocolate made with a Nicolas Berger cacao bean base (€7), all prepared with precision and served in beautiful ceramic cups.
PRICE: : Savory plates €5.50 to €25, desserts and pastries €5-9.