You need two things to get the most out of the Fripon experience, Pauline Séné’s new restaurant in Ménilmontant: a good slice of bread to coat your plate all the way to the end and a smartphone to google the unknown ingredients that make up her recipes. .
For this opening, the former Top Chef has taken care of his compositions, each time with attention to detail. This is the case with these beautiful oysters (12€) with coriander and kumquat, full of pep. There is a slight spiciness that stays in the mouth for a long time. After information, it is the pepper of Urfa.
The Jerusalem artichokes (€16) also have their mystery ingredient: XO sauce, a Hong Kong condiment made from seafood, ham and chilli. She comes to spice up the dish which also includes cockles and grapefruit. We get a little lost with all these elements but it’s tasty.
A little refreshing break with a mustard veal tartare with salsa verde and brilliant trout eggs (€20). We continue with squid boosted with chimichurri sauce and around which we discover fried cima di rapa leaves (close to kale). It crackles under the tooth in a burst of lightness.
For dessert, we are presented with a generous sweet clover cream (another discovery). A rounded dessert shaken up by an incredible caramelized pumpkin.
These plates have the charm of the first openings. Until then the dishes were only à la carte (lunch formula at noon). But now that the kitchen is well-honed and hailed, thirty-year-old Pauline Séné feels ready for a 5-step tasting menu (€75). A good way to discover the extent of Fripon’s cuisine. Note: the wines are in a very natural register.
Fripon, 108, rue de Menilmontant, Paris 20th
Reference-www.cnews.fr
