Today, we climb up Belleville, one of the most popular places in Paris, but also one of the most appealing, to discover Coup de Tête, a restaurant inaugurated in 2019 by restaurateur Lorraine Sourdille – already running Quartier Rouge.

It is in a former fish shop that Lorraine Sourdille opened this warm bistro named after Jean-Jacques Annaud’s movie Coup de Tête (‘Hothead’ in English) starring with unparalleled actor we can easily picture running the streets of the district at his time: Patrick Dewaere.

Authentic blue tile on the floor, yellow bench seats, and a small terrace for sunny days, Coup de Tête has a lot to offer. And this is not chef Jaime Corzo Lemos – who trained at Le Meurice, Trianon Palace, George V, and Atelier de Joël Robuchon – who will tell you otherwise.

For Coup de Tête, the Colombian chef has come up with bistro cuisine spruced up by the techniques he learned in the wonderful aforementioned kitchens, as well as his own personal touches, memories from his native Colombia.

On the board, for lunch, choose among 4 starters, 4 main courses, and 4 desserts. A short menu we really appreciate giving pride of place to seasonal produces. Furthermore, for lunch, the set menu is very affordable: €15.50 for the starter/main course or main course/dessert, and €10 for the child-friendly dish – to make your little tribe discover new flavors.

As for us, we went for whelks (€9 served with super light mayonnaise; white asparagus (€9; the first of the season!), tasty parmesan cream, and the homemade foie gras (€12) with bitter cocoa (original) with slices of mango (very original as well) to top it all.

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As for main courses, we hesitate, we do not know what to have, and we eventually go for the pollock ceviche (€15) with leche de tigre, deliciously creamy, punchy and plated like a genuine painting; the Thai soup (€17) with squids and shrimps, hearty, thick and flavorful (this broth!!).

Last but not least, drumrolls, we ate every single crumb of the pork shoulder (€16) cooked for a very, very, very long time on low temperature, served with baby potatoes and thyme. Careful, big dish for taste buds: the soft shoulder, perfectly cooked, literally melts in the mouth.

Pair these very tasty dishes with a glass of nature red wine, since the wine list – labelled Raisin, the nature wine label – shines a light on lovely bottles of organic and biodynamic reds and whites, without added sulfites.

Let us finish with two delicious and very different desserts: on one hand, lemon sponge cake (€8), marvelously sour and moist, and on the other hand, Coup de Tête’s cult dessert, the Tonka bean cream pot (€7), creamy (obviously), round in the mouth, just delicious.

In upper Belleville, there is definitely a very tasty restaurant that is friendly, hearty, and mouthwatering ticking all boxes: Coup de Tête!