This vast business district restaurant somehow feels comfortable and intimate, thanks to its 175 seats being spread over three distinct rooms. At the front, there’s a stunning long bar with 20 stools and a lounge; in the middle a spillover brasserie; and at the rear a posh dining room with elegant black banquettes and white tablecloths. Alain Carle’s design manages to be modern—the vast expanse of shimmering white floor tiles, Simon Johns lighting and Scandinavian chairs—while paying obvious tribute (with its industrial finishes) to iconic local restaurant designs of decades past, like L’Express and Luxe. The food, from the eminently talented Jérémie Bastien, combines classic flavour profiles with improved technique for irresistible results. Off the casual menu, try a bouillabaisse studded with mussels, monkfish, cod, prawn and squid, each cooked à la minute to perfect doneness. In the dining room, the venerable poule au pot is similarly updated: a tender poached breast with just-blanched vegetables are presented in root vegetable consommé, topped by a shard of crisp chicken skin. Service is deft, the wine list extensive and contemporary (yes, orange wines included), and the markup modest.
Photos: VINCENT PERROCHEAU
