Frenchie is a fixture on the rue du Nil. Chef Greg Marchand 's restaurant, which opened in 2009 on this little Sentier thoroughfare, was awarded a Michelin star 10 years after its inauguration. The Nantes-based chef was delighted with this achievement, and even more recently, with the award of two Ecotable macaroons at the start of 2025.
All the more so as the restaurant didn't have to change any of its - good - habits to earn the gratification of this label which rewards establishments' commitment to eco-responsible cuisine, all the foundations having already been laid for a good number of years.
A pocket-sized restaurant, Frenchie quietly follows the rhythm of the seasons, offering gourmet cuisine with a French base, but with a hint of Asia, Italy and beyond. The foundation of this virtuous edifice lies in a meticulous selection of choice products, from the simplest to the most noble, from trusted producers: Terroirs d'Avenir, L'Arbre à Café, Plaq, and the agro-ecological Ferme de l'Envol in Essonne, of which the restaurant is a founding partner.
"Here, the product has carte blanche. It's the product that guides the evolution of the menu according to the season. Our cuisine is constantly evolving, very instinctive, generous and authentic", explains Chef Greg Marchand.
The idea is to let yourself be carried along by the chef's arrivals and desires, who of course has carte blanche to design a 5-course tasting menu (145€) for dinner (the address is only open in the evening), to be accompanied by wines from around the world, in pairings or by the glass.
Chef Greg Marchand's cuisine is disconcerting - in the best sense of the word - in its ability to strike the right note without overdoing it; to comfort while surprising - with the associations of ideas that fly off the plate; to satisfy the gourmet, quite simply.
When we visited on a cold February day, the menu was as follows:
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Smoked sardine croustade, horseradish, smoked pike roe
Delicata squash tartlet, seed praline
Scallop crudo, XO coral
Fig leaf oil and burnt clementine
Salsify, kumquat
Yellow wine sabayon
Parmesan and truffle agnolotti
Burnt onion broth
Pagre de ligne de Bretagne au binchotan
Juice from roasted bones with lemon balm, stuffed chard
Honey tart, honey ice cream
Crème fraiche, honeycomb
Chartreuse marshmallow and blood orange
Black sesameand meringue
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More than 15 years after opening its doors, including 6 Michelin-starred restaurants, Frenchie still knows how to get the job done.
This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please mention it in the comments.
Location
Frenchie
5 Rue du Nil
75002 Paris 2
Official website
www.frenchie-ruedunil.com
