Gourmet tables, Lebanese cuisine… The restaurants of the moment in Paris
6, rue Bailleul, 75001 Paris, https://granite.paris
Bachaumont
Founder of La Clé Group and Belle Plage in Cannes, Samy Marciano has redesigned his restaurant at the Hôtel Bachaumont by calling on the decorator Dorothée Meilichzon, who designed the original decor in 2016. She swaps the duck blue walls and patterned seats psychedelic for a sophisticated interior where shades of white, textured frescoes and dark wood seats create an elegant cocoon. A master in the art of street-food (Gyozabar, MrT), restaurateur Guillaume Guedj calls on chef Baptiste David (Taillevent, l’Orangerie au Georges V) to send unique dishes, like the tatin d’ onion with licorice and parmesan, pâté en croute with pistachio, apple and mustard or pearly tuna, flame avocado and chilli. Desserts such as buckwheat profiteroles with caramel sauce are made by pastry chef Sophie Coulombel, who worked for the restaurant Substance.
18, rue Bachaumont, 75002 Paris, https://www.hotelbachaumont.com
Tawlet
When he opened his Lebanese canteen in Paris, Kamal Mouzawak drew on the culinary roots of his twin table in Beirut, interpreted in 2009. Namely, local cuisine carried by family know-how and ancestral recipes which seem to have found their place in Paris, very close to the Place de la République. Sounding like a hybrid address, halfway between the table d’hôtes and the neighborhood grocery store, Tawlet embodies the culinary heritage of Lebanon with a generous generous around an “all you can eat” buffet – the expression is far to do justice to the finesse of the dishes. In the kitchen, chef Tara Bakes ensures that the yolk of the Fakhar harissa-style fried egg meets the sumac, that the thyme pizza is accompanied by a nice portion of beans with lemon juice, garlic and olive oil, a batch of grilled potatoes with zataar (from Souk El Tayeb), lentils with pomegranate molasses or even XXL slices of halloumi to be drizzled with tomato jam. Prepared according to the rules of the art, the Msakahn Djej wraps filled with chicken and sumac are suspicious in moutabal, an ultra-fresh aubergine caviar, or in the house labneh. On weekdays, Tawlet sets out to conquer all the regional flavors of Lebanon, from Jabal to the Bekaa plain via the north of the country. Another reason to dine there as often as possible.