Mensae, Thibault Sombardier's excellent restaurant in the 19th arrondissement

Top Chef 2014 finalist Thibault Sombardier invites you to his Mensae restaurant, a stone's throw from the Pyrénées metro station. A less star-studded address than Antoine, the gourmet restaurant where Sombardier officiates as chef, but at least just as tasty and more affordable.

It's time to take a look at the menu. Or rather the menus, since Mensae offers a daily lunch menu, starter-main course or main course-dessert at 19€, various tapas, dishes to share (faux filet de boeuf and fish of the day) and a menu at 36€, which I opt for.

This simple, effective menu features 3 appetizing starters, 3 main courses and 3 desserts.

We choose to try the poêlée d'escargots, champignons, mousse de persil à l'aïl (13€), an intriguing dish with melting snails under a blanket of bubbling greenery; and the mi-cuit saumon d'Ecosse, sauce Tom Kha-Layu (14€), a Thai sauce with coconut milk, also hidden under a forest of coriander.

Too bad for the velouté de racines, magret de canard et noix de cajou (13€) which we were also looking forward to, but that's for another time.

Then it's on to the main courses: filet of roast free-range guinea fowl (21€), deliciously accompanied by creamy risoni (bird's tongues) and topped with aged mimolette cheese, which melts over the guinea fowl as the meal progresses. The juice of the guinea fowl is gravyed down to the last drop.

We're also tempted by the cod confit (22€) with its lovely roasted vegetables, still a little crunchy, and its black aioli, which we'll be wearing on our lips for a long time.

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For dessert, we're treated to a Thibault Sombardier classic, the praline chocolate mousse (9€), served warm, which he also offers in his Sellae restaurant. Once again, you'll get more than the promise of a simple chocolate dessert - it's a delight. And then there's the poached pear (9€) with buckwheat ice cream, a real treat.

This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please let us know.