Restaurant with a definitely French cuisine, creative and without fuss.
While Hélène Darroze treats the little lucarn these days with his participation as jury on Top Chef on M 6, it's Shinsuke Nakatani, his second for more than nine years in Paris, who has made our delight since the opening of his restaurant in September 2014. His kitchen? Definitively French, creative but without chicks: light, with little or no sauce, and vegetables (Joël Thiébault) honored. This kitchen is inventive and audacious, like this horse net (a specialty of the chef), Brussels cabbage, cabbage kale, dice green greens and esophageal sauce. What about training? Contemporary, graphic, vivos and colorful. Beautiful ideas, we think of these salsious salsifis that accompany a chocolate with a marred chocolate of red lemon and rice grains blown and beaten, and give this composition a surprising underwood air. At the command of the decoration, a duo we know well, Eiji Kikkawa and Shinku Noda (Atelier Es). They have signed - among other things - the restaurants of Jin restaurants, Pages, Pass 53, Es, Aida, Gyoza Bar and most recently Summer Snow in Paris. White beams, monochrome walls very clear: Here again, the style of the two architects is Zen, contemporary and minimalist.
Did you know? This review was written by our professional authors.
Members' reviews on NAKATANI
The ratings and reviews below reflect the subjective opinions of members and not the opinion of The Little Witty.
The dining room is simple yet refined and intimate. We had a large party of 8 but the chef and server were very accommodating.
From course to course the dishes were beautifully prepared and the flavors exceeded our expectations.
The presentation and the service was extremely good - the plating was very pretty, and the wait staff was friendly, had good knowlege, and spent some time with us explaining the food combinations.
However the food itself was disappointing - with two of the dishes (the eel and the john dory), the flavours did not mesh well, and the strong eel / john dory overode the other items in the dishes. One of the dishes was sweetbreads, which my partner does not eat (I thought it was quite good - but that's a personal preferance). The desert's flavours also did not quite cohesively form a balanced structure.
Overall, whilst the staff and chef/owner were very generous, friendly and helpful, the food was disappointing and did not fulfil our expectations.
On se retrouve dans un très joli petit salon qui accueille une quinzaine de convives par service, l'impression d'être chez le Patron.
L'accueil du Chef, Patron, mériterait un peu plus d'élan et de sourire, peut-être de la modestie ou timidité ?
Le service, très agréable mais surtout très professionnel, aucune fausse note du début jusqu'à la fin.
Pour la carte, il n'y en a pas. Suivez le Chef, montez à bord et osez la traversée. On s'abandonne à une succession de mises en appétits, d'entrées, mets et desserts. Il faut oser des goûts, textures, saveurs, associations hors du commun. Il faut découvrir les contrées vers lesquelles le Chef, tel le Capitaine d'un bateau, nous mène.
Une cuisine originale, des réalisations parfaitement maitrisées, des cuissons précises, des équilibres de goûts et de textures justes, des associations osées mais toujours très réussies.
Une belle table, nappée et serviette en tissus. Des couverts et accessoires en argent Christofle. Une magnifique décoration florale.
Très belle carte des vins, on regrette le peu de vins au verre et aucun vin rouge en demi bouteille.
Attention à la propreté du dessous des assiettes, qui viennent tacher la nappe.
Au final, plus une expérience qu'un repas, plus un voyage qu'un dîner, plus des découvertes que de plats. Le temps d'une soirée, accepter de faire confiance à cette équipe pour profiter pleinement de leur travail et délicieuse cuisine.
Très belle soirée pour une très belle occasion !
Bravo et Merci !