Mallory Gabsi opens 140°, Belgian fry shop Fritkot in Paris

A foodie alert, friends! The Belgian chef Mallory Gabsi, whom we adore (revealed by Top Chef in 2020), is opening 140°, his fritkot-inspired fry shop, at 6 rue des Petits Carreaux, in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, right in the heart of the Montorgueil district. The doors swing open on June 27, 2026, and, full disclosure, we can’t wait to bite into a first piping-hot fry.

For those who have followed the chef since his beginnings, this isn’t his first time in Paris. He had already opened a pop-up with Adrien Cachot in the summer of 2020, an endeavor that was cut short by its own success. This time, a genuine, lasting restaurant is setting up shop in Paris.

140°, a Belgian fry shop in Montorgueil, Paris’s 2nd arrondissement

Here, the fries are treated with utmost seriousness. Agria potatoes selected from the Hauts-de-France region, double-fried, millimeter-perfect temperature: everything is crafted for the perfect crunch, golden on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth inside.

On the décor side, architects Emma Collet and Thomas Diettert reinterpret the Belgian fritkot aesthetic in a contemporary vein: gleaming tiling, Formica surfaces, colorful 60s-style checks, and glowing signs. The space, compact, is organized around a yellow enameled lava countertop facing the fryers, which end up at the heart of the scene (with, overhead, a large yellow roller blind that recreates the ritual of waiting under the awnings of old fry shops).

Why 140 Degrees? A nod to Top Chef

The name is far from accidental. 140° is the exact starting point for frying the fries—no more, no less. The chef says the idea came up during Top Chef, when Christophe Hardiquest reminded him to aim for 140, not 130 degrees. That precision has never left him, to the point of becoming the signifier of a fry shack born on a barge, then settled in Brussels in 2021 before finally putting down roots in Paris.

Let's recall that Mallory Gabsi has since earned a Michelin-starred reputation for his gastronomic restaurant in the 17th arrondissement. With 140°, he returns to a more approachable, yet precisely crafted, cuisine.

• To be read
• Alexy, a Top Chef finalist, opens a pop-up restaurant named Cramat on the outskirts of Paris
• Top Chef restaurants in Paris, our best addresses
• This week's top picks in Paris and Île-de-France, June 22–28, 2026

On the menu: a mitraillette, shrimp croquettes and Andalusian sauce

Fries, of course, but not just that. The menu serves up a gallery of fritkot classics, meant to be eaten on the move, standing up, gathered around a piping-hot cone:

• Grey shrimp croquettes with fried parsley and lemon
• The burgers, really juicy (double beef, double cheddar, mayonnaise 140, caramelized onions and pickles)
• The fricadelle, a Belgian street-food icon
• The mitraillette stuffed with rare rib-eye, house Béarnaise, fries, 36-month Comté, pepper and flaky salt

And since a good fry never goes without its dip, the house offers a full lineup: creamy mayonnaise, ketchup, chili garlic, Algérienne, Samouraï. The sauce andalouse commands a special place, brightened with a hint of harissa in a nod to the chef’s Tunisian roots and his grandfather’s cooking. A perfect touch to elevate every fry cone.

We’re eager to give it a go. The spot should delight street-food lovers, fans of a proper Belgian fries cone, and anyone keen to sample a Michelin-starred chef’s craft in a relaxed setting. One rule: come for a quick bite, and we bet you’ll be back for more.

If you enjoy following Mallory Gabsi, you should also take a look at his Michelin-starred dining room in the 17th arrondissement, which we tested.