DO NOT BE FOOLED BY chef-owner Massimo Piedimonte’s minimalist menu. His cooking is anything but. The mainstay “charcuterie and its accompaniments” features a pâtè en croute studded with sweetbread and beef tongue, along with suckling-pig head cheese, a classic chicken liver mousse and kohlrabi pickled in rose-flavoured vinegar. Before opening this restaurant — his first — on the Saint-Denis strip, Piedimonte worked at Maison Boulud, Le Mousso and Noma. His Italian heritage, French training and creative perfectionism combine for dazzling tasting menus. Mexico City–born chef de cuisine Santiago Alonso has added a passion for charcoal grilling to the culinary equation, and a few other tricks besides. Like yellow corn tortillas made from Ontario heritage corn nixtamalized on-site, lately featured in a tostada. For pasta, expect an artichoke-filled agnolotti with barigoule and a sprinkling of Niagara hazelnut. Black cod arrives with wilted Castelfranco radicchio, sea asparagus and sauce matelote. Barley-koji marinated steak is a mainstay — nowadays cooked over charcoal and served with bordelaise sauce and salsify. From sommelier Blandine Laurent to front-of-house manager Théo Brandt, the team managing this industrial chic space is ultra-professional, while the ambience is lighthearted and fun. Recently added: a post–9 p.m. three-course menu.

Very personal modern Italian cuisine with an explosive ambience. Olivier Visentin