The best insider’s move if you’re considering visiting a Parisian fine dining restaurant but aren’t sure you want to shell out the big bucks for food that might be only ho-hum is to drop by at lunch. Most places, Michelin-starred included, offer a formule or a menu, a two- or three-course prix fixe usually offered at a fraction of the cost of the à la carte options. Portions may be smaller, and the food may be simpler, but you tend to get an idea of the chef’s approach, making it easier to decide if you’d like to return. But on a recent visit to Chantoiseau, I realized that the menu here isn’t the preview – it’s the star of the show.
This restaurant is located on the sloping rue Lepic, which curves from the village ambiance around métro Abbesses up to the top of the butte upon which you’ll find Sacré Coeur. The space used to be home to one of my favorite places for roast chicken in Paris, but it’s since gotten a slight fine dining glow-up, with bare wooden tables to match the wooden bar, a wine list filled with lovely, if expensive, gems, and a menu of à la carte options that toy with French classics in new and exciting but nevertheless approachable ways.
On my visit, there were three mains and four appetizers on offer, in addition to the menu. The prices for the à la carte options are in accordance with the real estate: Appetizers included fresh crab tartlet with cauliflower (23) or watermelon and cucumber granité with basil-glazed raspberries (18), while mains included confit pollack with cabbage, mussels, and curry (37) or whole pigeon roasted with thyme, smoked beet, and Collioure anchovies (41). I was dining with a friend who believes in sharing (the best kind of friend!), so we decided to order one set lunch menu as well as two dishes from the à la carte offerings and split the lot.
The à la carte appetizer was the only vegetarian offering: a seasonal stuffed tomato (18) that proved a far lighter play on this homestyle French classic than most. The stuffing was comprised mainly of green herbs studded generously with pine nuts (as well it should have been, given the price tag). I quite liked the chives and raw peppers adorning the dish and adding a lovely vegetal note to the dish, but I was less convinced by the sweetness of the olive sauce beneath the tomatoes, which I suspect included some berries, as well as the decision to serve it cold. Given the scant grated goat cheese topping, it was also lacking a touch of richness to pull it all together.
The à la carte main, however, was a whole other ballgame. Typically, I find that starters are where a restaurant’s most interesting dishes lay; mains often pale in comparison. Not so at Chantoiseau, where the opposite is true. This lobster (37) was lacking some of the smoky notes I might have expected given that it was ostensibly cooked over the barbecue, but it was so perfectly tender and wonderfully paired with a tomato-piquillo sauce and loads of fresh herbs it didn’t seem to matter.
The silky corn pudding served alongside, topped with claw, knuckle, loads of herbs, and roasted corn, saw France finally redeem itself in the world of too-starchy sweetcorn. The sweet pudding and tumble of herbs were perfectly paired, and by the end, we were both dragging crusts of bread through what remained.
The set menu options were comparatively simple on the plate, but I found the flavors even more dazzling. Pan con tomate was topped with tender, rich sardines and garnished with herbs and absolutely perfect yellow cherry tomatoes. It may have looked simple, but the flavors were on point. (My only quibble with this dish was the way that it was presented on a slice of the same bread we had in the basket on the table, which somehow made it feel a bit samey.)
Despite the deliciousness of this appetizer, as with the à la carte, the main was even more impressive. Pork araignée aka cigaline – a cut of pork from the outer edge of the top round – was a first for me. This ultra-flavorful slice of tender pork was grilled, sliced thinly, and glazed in a rich jus. It was piled on top of seasonal runner and green beans, which had been tossed generously in garlic, herbs, and even more jus. It looked fine dining on the plate, but it ate like Sunday lunch… in the best of all possible ways.
We were totally stuffed when the dessert menu came, though à la carte options like lemon tart (12) or chocolate cake with coffee ice cream and caramel (14) certainly looked enticing. Luckily, our menu came with a dessert: a slice of heavenly plum croustade, with different colored fruit studded in frangipane encased in flaky, buttery pastry. I might not have had space to order it, but I certainly found a way to demolish my half.
For me, there’s absolutely no doubt that the prix fixe is the way to go here. For the quality, it’s an absolute steal at 29 euros. The only downside is that it’s a no-choice menu, meaning you must be a) unpicky and b) willing to order the same thing as all your friends. On my next visit, I’ll be sure to bring a friend who doesn’t like to share. (Any takers?)
Chantoiseau – 63, rue Lepic, 75018