La Noceria, festive restaurant with authentic Iberian tapas and explosive cocktails

A new trend in the world of Parisian food, the term " festive restaurant" is a catch-all term that needs to be clarified, as it evokes a place with a gourmet and electric atmosphere, a boisterous table that comes alive even more in the evening, or a restaurant that honors the finest beverages accompanied, if necessary, by musical entertainment as the weekend approaches.

And yet, if we had to define La Noceria, a new festive restaurant in the Sentier district of Paris, the term 'festive' would come quite naturally to mind, as the restaurant encompasses more or less what you'd expect from a restaurant of its kind: a menu ofplates to share at lunchtime and in the evening, to be matched with cocktails carefully imagined by an attentive bartender, service that's as attentive as it is relaxed, and to come, a program of events and music that's sure to get the place buzzing.

The idea behind La Noceria is so puzzling that it's both simple and necessary: to get back to theessence of Spanish tapas, which for many years have been abused by cheap and frankly passable tapas at the counters of so-called Parisian tapas restaurants, and to rediscover what makes a good tapas: sourcing a quality product from a craftsman who loves his product.

Let's meet at La Noceria and reminisce about our best trips to Spain and the Basque country, on the arm of local chef Yohan Bernard, who has worked in the kitchens of Fouquet's and alongside Christian Etchebest, with a diverse and varied menu that's affordable at lunchtime.

At lunchtime, the restaurant offers a range of lunch menus accessible to all, including a choice of 4 tapas (16€) from 10 fine à la carte options; a tortilla stuffed with a choice of txaca crab rillettes, chicken or manchego au gratin (12€); or a rustic dish (18€) with a base of Basque vegetables, patatas bravas and fried egg, accompanied by lomo, piquillos or eggplant; hake or pluma (+2€); or octopus (+5€) for the most discerning palates.

In the evenings, the Maison opens the way to the finest Parisian aperitifs, offering dishes to share (patatas bravas 5€, croquetas de jambon ibérico 9€, assortment of 10 tapas 50€), as well as cheese and charcuterie boards at prices some would find excessive, but let's face it, quality comes at a price.

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On wooden boards priced at €50 for the Iberian charcuterie assortment, and €30 for the Spanish cheese assortment, the emphasis is on the exceptional, with 100% Bellota charcuterie products - Bellota shoulder, chorizo, dried lomo, Catalan fuet, local sausage, sobressada de Mallorca IGP, guindillas ; and cheeses of the same ilk - plain and truffled manchego, cabrales, ossau iraty, queso tetilla, San Simon and jus de sorcière, a typical Basque sauce made with tomato, honey and chili pepper.

Homemade , with a focus on the finest products from the Iberian Peninsula, La Noceria's cuisine takes diners to where the sun rises. And without further ado, the tapas parade to the table: pan con tomate rubbed with candied garlic, with a dash of extra-virgin olive oil and a generous ramekin of carefully seasoned tomato pulp to garnish toasted bread (6€); croque basque with Iberian ham, Ossau-Iraty, candied peppers and quail egg; breaded brie with a mascarpone heart, served on a slice of apricot and almond bread... No doubt about it, Spain is just a stone's throw away.

Of course, all this is accompanied by two inventive cocktails - available for lunch and dinner: the Tiki Taka cocktail (14€), made with Whisky Rye, Cointreau, pineapple juice, Jagermeister, homemade orgeat syrup and lemon, served in an authentic tiki glass; and the darker, deeper Cumbre Vieja cocktail (14€), made with Dark plantation rum infused with bird's eye chili, Napoleon liqueur, mango juice and Indonesian pepper infusion.

Next up, two favorites to be tried without further delay, the Iberian pluma (22€,) the caviar of grilled pig, and its charcuterie sauce in an Iberian version with red onions, guindillas, chorizo and bellota; cooked to perfection; and last but not least, the Portobello mushrooms au gratin with Ossau-Iraty, bellota chorizo and garlic cream (15€), the chef's Proust's madeleine that deserves every accolade, both for the consistency of the dish (the chewiness of these crazy mushrooms!) and for the gourmet taste of the Ossau Iraty.

Before leaving the premises, we allow ourselves a little sweet indulgence, with churros in chocolate sauce (8€), which differ from traditional fairground churros by the filled appearance of the churro dough and by the smell, which is in no way reminiscent of deep-fried food (phew!), and we leave thinking that a return trip to the most beautiful Spanish regions without leaving Paris is finally possible!