The Seven New Restaurants Not to Miss in Paris Right Now

The Paris restaurant scene has deliciously come back to life after the challenges of two recent lockdowns, and a talented new generation of chefs are serving intriguing contemporary French cooking that leaps beyond the cliches of la bistronomie (modern French bistro cooking) with an emphasis on simplicity and sustainability. Though one or more of the restaurants below are currently closed for their August holidays, this is the cheat sheet you’ll want to tuck away for your next trip to Paris

L’Arrière-Cuisine. Chef David Rathgeber’s Montparnasse table L’Assiette is one of my favorite Paris bistros. Now he’s opened what the French call a cave a manger, or a little grocery store where you can also get a simple meal and eat it at the table d’hotes, or communal table in the middle of the room surrounded by stools. What’s on offer here is Rathbeber’s excellent take on street food and quick eats, often inspired by the comfort food classics of Nice and the south of France, which he learned when he worked in the kitchen of Alain Ducasse’s three-star Louis XIV in Monaco. It varies from one day to the next, but might include homemade kefta with homemade pita bread, pissaladière, socca, and what’s probably the best pan bagnat in Paris, a beautiful handheld feast filled with radishes, shaved fennel, lettuce, tuna, anchovies, tomatoes, fava vean, quail’s eggs, pureed black olive, garlic and olive oil. This sandwich is so good that the last time I had a train at the Gare Montparnasse, I left the house early to buy one for lunch on the rails on the way to Brittany.181 rue du Château, 14th Arrondissement, Tel. (33) 01- 43-22-64-86. Open Mon-Sat 11.30am-8.30pm. Métro: Mouton-Duvernet.

Cena. The two most innovative restaurateurs in Paris today are probably Stephane Manigold (the just opened Liquide, Contraste, Substance, Bistrot Flaubert, Maison Rostang) and David Lahner (La Crèmerie, Le Bon Saint Pourçain, Anima, Racines, Caffè Stern, Vivant). Cena is David Lahner’s latest and it fills a void in a part of Paris top heavy with Michelin starred restaurants but offering rather little in the way of the kind of healthy and inventive contemporary bistro cookoing that has become the signature of Paris dining. Dishes like Roman style deep-fried artichokes, arugula, guanciale and socca (chickpea-flour crepe) curry; yellow pollack with roasted asparagus; and chocolate mousse with smoked black cardamom reflect the impressive resume of young chef Alban Chartron, who worked at La Villa Florentine in Lyon, le Louis XV in Monaco, Anne-Sophie Pic in Valence, and at Épicure at the Hotel Bristol in Paris before taking over the kitchen here. 23 Rue Treilhard, 8th Arrondissement, Tel. (33) 01-40- 74-20-80, Metro: Miromesnil. Open Mon-Fri for lunch and dinner. Closed Saturday and Sunday. Average 60 Euros.

Restaurant La Halles aux Graines. Located in the handsome neo-classical building on the western edge of Les Halles that was once the market for trading wheat in France, the new restaurant of Sebastien and Michel Bras is inspired by various different types of grains and pulses, along with the minimalist revision of the space by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The official table of the new museum housing the art collection of French luxury-goods mogul François Pinault, it’s located on the third floor of this landmarked building and so has superb views of the church of Saint-Eustache, la Canopée des Halles, and the Tour Saint-Jacques, among other mythic parts of the Paris skyline. Highlights of a recent dinner here included two starters—button mushrooms stuffed with mushrooms and a veil of candied oats and black pepper and red tuna with celery and anchovy vingaigrette, a delicious terrine of summer vegetables for two as a main course, and a superb millefeuille with caramelized pumpkin seeds for dessert. Charming service and an excellent wine list. 2 rue de Viarmes, 1st Arrondissement, Tel. (33) 01-82-71-71-60. Métro : Louvre-Rivoli. Open Monday to Saturday for lunch from noon-3pm, tea and light meals from 3pm to 7pm, dinner from 7.30pm-midnight (last orders at 10.30pm), www.halleauxgrains.bras.fr

Jugaad. I love the diverse kitchens of India, which I first discovered many years ago when I was a student in London. Though there have always been a few Indian restaurants in Paris that I would describe as “correcte” (decent), the French capital has never had a really good Indian restaurant, until now at Jugaad. Talented and highly experienced chef Manoj Sharma’s cooking is a brilliant modern match-up of witty contemporary Indian cooking inspired by India’s many regional recipes and the best French produce.
Standouts among the starters include lamb tartare with crunchy vegetables and mixed spices and mozzarella croquettes with peas, mint and fresh red pepper sauce, which are best ordered with Naan (puffy flatbread) freshly baked on the premises. Among my favorite mains are pork ribs marinated in Goan spices with pickled vegetables; malai salmon, which is marinated in maple syrup and served with a glasswort (a briney seaplant) pesto with curried yogurt and cardamon cream and crunchy buratta with caramelized tomato sauce and mint-and-pistachio pesto.16 rue Favart, 2nd Arrondissement, Tel. (33) 05-54-96- 63-48, Metro: Richelieu-Drouot, Open Tuesday-Saturday for lunch and dinner. Closed Sun-Mon. Average 60 Euros.
www.jugaad.paris

Liquide. Please read my full review here: www.alexanderlobrano.com/restaurant-reviews/liquide-paris-chef-matthias-marcs-great-new-bistro-in-les-halles-b/

Mosuke. Please read my full review here: www.alexanderlobrano.com/restaurant-reviews/mosuke-paris-mory-sackos-exquisite-franco-afro-japanese-cuisine-a-b/

Petrelle. Since female chef Lucie Boursier-Mougenot and sommelier Luca Danti took over this charming restaurants, it’s even better than it was before and has become one of my favorite restaurants in Paris. What I love is that it’s so supremely Parisians—small, chic, charming and serving impeccably prepared and very witty contemporary French dishes that are unfailingly succulent and sensual. The menu changes regularly but I loved my last meal—roasted girolles with an egg yolk confit, brioche and guanciale; roast pigeon with a ragout of chickpeas and salsa verde; and whip-cream filled profiteroles. 34 Rue Petrelle, 9th Arrondissement, Tel. (33) 01-42-82-11-02, Metro: Anvers and Poissoniere. Open Wed-Sun for dinner, Saturday and Sunday for lunch, closed Monday and Tuesday. Prix-fixe lunch 28 Euros, prix-fixe dinner 52 Euros.
www.petrelle.fr