Monday whispers: the new Indra Carillo has arrived, Stéphane Carrade between Pyla and Pau, Bonnie is here! And three for the New Guard, from nine to 110 at Taillevent, Romain Van Thienen at Drouant, the rebirth of Diego at Arcachon, Sébastien Dufour triples the bet

The new Indra Carillo has arrived

This young prodigy of contemporary cuisine, you know him. Indra Carrillo was both our “revelation” and our “young chef of the year” at Pudlo 2016. Coming from Mexico, trained everywhere with the greats of this world, accumulating references, he has only 34 years old, even if he has been self-employed for 6 years and worked in big houses, starting in Lyon, at the Institut Bocuse d’Ecully, in Paris with Michel Rostang, Yannick Alléno at Meurice, Eric Frechon at the Bristol, Pascal Barbot at the Astrance, plus a grand tour of Florence with Annie Féolde at the Enoteca Pinchiorri, in Japan with Murata at the Kikunoi in Kyoto and with Toru Okuda in Tokyo, finally with Noma in Copenhagen. This ace in his register who knows how to be creative without tiring and without heaviness, has just expanded by changing location, but not street, in the 9th arrondissement. In the ascending (or descending, depending on the point of view from which one places oneself) rue Rodier, it has moved back four numbers (now at 13), but all that to go up a notch. With more space to receive, but also to work, not to mention refrigerated showcases for bottles and luxury toilets, in marble and olive wood. In the kitchen, it’s always finesse and lightness through excellent and seasonal products, worked at the petit point. We tell you everything very quickly…

Stéphane Carrade between Pyla and Pau

Stéphane Carrade at Pyla © GP

He works wonders in his two-star hotel in Pyla sur Mer, at the Skiff Club of the Hotel Ha(a)itza, where he serves high-level cuisine, rich and tasty, playing locavore, fish from the Basin and Atlantique, vegetables and mushrooms from the surrounding area, also winning the green star for its concern for “eco-sustainability”. But Stéphane Carrade, who only works in the evening at Le Pyla (even if he supervises the brasserie dishes served at lunchtime at the hotel), also manages to play on all fronts, also betting on gourmet cuisine star at Villa Navarre in Pau, with Maison Ruffet, a brand under which he won the 2nd star in Jurançon in the past and which is transported to the capital of Béarnaise, inaugurating its brand new table (“Maison Ruffet at Villa Navarre”) on 15 next September. It is his disciple Christophe Canati, trained at Loiseau et Blanc, who we knew at the Hostellerie de Plaisance in Saint-Emilion, then at the Parc de Beaumont in Pau, who will work under his leadership. A native of Tarbes, who moved to Bordeaux (at the Grand Hôtel and the Petit Commerce), then to Gujas-Mestras on the edge of the Bassin at the late Guérinière, Stéphane Carrade has never forgotten the Béarn of its glorious gourmet origins.

Bonnie is here!

The view © GP

All of Paris for you, like in a Klapish film (do you remember “Dans Paris”?), a stone’s throw from the house of architecture, the banks of the Seine and the Sully-Morland metro station: this is the environment of this extraordinary table, located on the 15th floor of the So/Paris hotel, administered by the Accor group, in a vast 1960s building signed by the David Chipperfield architectural firm. A breathtaking view, with the Butte Montmartre, the Eiffel Tower, the Ile Saint-Louis and the modern buildings of eastern Paris which is offered to you in surprise, with its mirrored ceilings, due to the Icelandic Olafur Eliasson, changing depending on the angle you’re sitting at. Laurent de Gourcuff, who has a knack, with the Paris-Society group, for finding exceptional places and viewpoints (like the Giraffe in the Palais de Chaillot, Mun above the Champs-Elysées, Gigi in the old Maison Blanche or Bambini at the Palais de Tokyo) amazes everyone with this extraordinary table. The service is elegant, lively, polite, the cocktail menu seductive, the wine list rich in beautiful nuggets. The plate, under the leadership of the group’s executive chef, the modest but always precise Julien Chicoisne, who once launched the Drugstore table for Eric Frechon, is polite enough to barely be seen. Crispy langoustines and basil, crunchy zucchini and fresh goat cheese, sea bream marinated in lime, half-roasted lobster in semi-salted butter, with crunchy fries and lemon mayonnaise (admittedly, the portion of the lobster is not large, but the main dish), fillet of cod, gnocchi and seaweed butter or fillet of sea bass, roasted tomatoes and basil are great holiday dishes largely inspired by the sea. We talk about it quickly! But all of Paris is already buzzing with a thousand murmurs…

And three for the New Guard!

On the terrace at Martin © GP

And three for the duo of the New Guard, Victor Dubillot and Charles Perez, alias Victor and Charly, who create new style places with old here and there, from the side of the frame, through the kitchen. Play the good value for money without boasting. We discovered them at the Brasserie Bellanger, in a rising street in the 10th, not far from the Gare du Nord, found, in the 2nd, at the Brasserie Dubillot, rue Saint-Denis, funny and funny, created from scratch with his colorful and willingly kitsch decor. Here they are this time in the 11th, behind the Saint-Ambroise church, playing the popular and regional side with chic. The service, admittedly, has a little trouble dominating its success. The tables are filling up fast, the queues are getting longer. But, on the food side, we always play the safe classic here with prettiness. To know everything, click here. Upcoming group openings: in Lille and Lyon…

From nine to 110 de Taillevent

Maxime Barreau, Alexandre Mouner, Grant Waller © Arbès Food

The Gardiniers, who have a knack for renewing their teams without firing a shot, have completely overhauled that of 110 de Taillevent. Chef Grant Waller, an Englishman trained in Torquay in Devon and in London, spent 15 years in France with Ledoyen, at the Relais d’Auteuil and at the Taillevent, knows music. The new sommelier, Maxime Barreau, originally from La Rochelle, has worked in Copenhagen and at Eataly. Finally, director Alexandre Mounier worked for Georges Blanc at Vonnas, at the Palme d’Or, at Pierre Gagnaire at Balzac and at Gaya, but also at Clarence with Christophe Pelé. In short, a strong themed team, serving traditional cuisine, notably offering pâté en croute and vol au vent, and a plethoric cellar of more than 2000 references.

Romain Van Thienen at Drouant

Romain Van Thienen and James Ney © DR

Things are moving at Drouant: Thibault Nizard, who had replaced Emile Cotte and entertained the members of the Académie Goncourt and the jurors for the Renaudot prize last year, left the house just before the summer. He is preparing to take over at the end of the year the neighbor “Pierre au Palais Royal”, on rue de Richelieu, which once had a star in the time of Guy Nouyrigat and where Jean-Paul Arabian and Eric Sertour distinguished themselves in particular – the place, modernized, was then called Zebulon. But the Goncourt house, owned by the Gardiniers since 2018, is not giving up on its level, acquiring a new talented chef, in the person of Romain Van Thienen. This young former employee of Cyril Lignac, then of the Peninsula, was head of the Allénohèque of Yannick Alléno in the 7th and of the Mersea group for the two Breton stars Olivier Bellin. The restaurant manager is a former employee of the Hôtel Costes and the Royal Monceau, and has been with Drouant for two years already.

The rebirth of Diego in Arcachon

Service at Diego © GP

Diego-Beach? An Arcachon institution, facing the pier and the Bassin, which had its ups and downs. Here is now relaunched by Thierry Bourdoncle, who kept part of the old team there and remotivated it with new elements, while “muscle” the menu, but without falling into fashionable faults. Beautiful oysters from the Basin, fresh fish, selected meats, revived classics: this is the program set in motion by the owner, among others, from Sénéquier to St Tropez, from La Palette to Paris, from Hibou Blanc to Megève, from Central in Trouville and Drakkar in Deauville, without forgetting Durand-Dupont in Neuilly. The method is the same everywhere: seriousness in everything, lack of pretension and regularity. This is reflected, in Gironde, with revisited classics: hollow oysters from the 3BNo3 basin signed Bidart in Gujan-Mestrasgrilled razor clams with xipister sauce, fried calamari with aioli or fried padron peppers. We’ll talk about it soon. But be aware that Thierry Bourdoncle, who is bulimic, has also bought the Brasserie les Marquises, open all day, opposite the Arcachon market.

Sébastien Dufour triples the bet

Sebastien Dufour © Maurice Rougemont

We told you about Paul Chêne at the reopening, then Le Petit Chêne as the bistro of the month. Sébastien Dufour, a young former member of the Dumant brothers, notably at the Auberge Bressane and the Pizzeria d’Auteuil, is still going strong, giving “pep” and a youthful touch to old places. This talented manager, whose parents once owned the Brasserie Lorraine, is developing his small empire in measured steps. He has thus just created the Comptoir des Chênes, at 30 rue de Lubeck, not far from the Trocadero and the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris, in place of a former “poké bowls” snack bar, still in the 16th. Even if he first polishes his flagship: Paul Chêne, rue Lauriston, which has become under his paw, a lively, funny, amusing, tasty, inexpensive place. In any case, write down his three addresses in your golden book of good inexpensive bistros…