French Restaurant Review: Le Cornichon, Paris

In London, a flock of smart young chefs are riffing on caffs (aka cafés), the type of retro working class eatery known for dishes like beans on toast and bacon baps, a great example being Norman’s in Tufnell Park. On my side of the Channel, a similarly sepia-toned take is emerging on Paris’s increasingly rare workaday cafés – which once also had a sideline selling cigarettes as tabacs or lottery tickets as PMU (Pari Mutuel Urbain, French state-controlled betting system).

The recently-opened Le Cornichon (French for a little pickle) puckishly ticks all of the boxes in the 11th arrondissement with terrazzo floors, a zinc bar, a pinball machine, crème de menthe-coloured banquettes, newspapers on wooden sticks… all of the totems of an institution of French urban life that’s becoming increasingly rare due to higher rents and changing tastes. The difference, though, is that this easy-going place serves some seriously good food, since it was founded by chef Bertrand Chauveau, who previously worked for such stars as Jean-François Piège and David Toutain, and his partner Paul Henri.

The menu changes weekly but runs to dishes like one of the best roast chickens in Paris, veal Orloff and an off-beat take on a niçoise salad. The permanent menu includes such regulars’ favourites as steak with crispy fries, hake in a basquaise sauce (tomatoes, peppers and onions) and some seriously good cocktails. As any evening grows long, don’t be surprised if this place erupts into an impromptu dance party, since it pulls a younger, fun-loving clientele.

Le Cornichon, 2 Rue des Goncourt, 11th arrondissement, Paris, Tel. (33) 01 42 54 18 32

From France Today Magazine