L'Ours, Jacky Ribault's fabulous Michelin-starred restaurant in Vincennes

Located in the heart of the Fontenay islet, just a stone's throw from the Bois de Vincennes, L'Ours opened its doors in February 2018. A place where nature is omnipresent, where products are respected and magnified, and where gourmets let themselves be surprised by the creative touch of a chef with limitless imagination, Jacky Ribault .

There's no menu here. You have to let yourself be guided by a chef who is very attached to good products from small producers and artisanal fishermen, and who improvises according to his desires and inspirations of the moment.

In this country-style, open-plan setting - where you're greeted by a handsome, hairy, stuffed brown bear; now you understand the name of the place - the chef is given free rein to surprise you.

And it starts off well, with several amuse-bouches: a beet ravioli presented in a mortar; and on a galet ardéchois, a chestnut tartlet and a sphere of parmesan . Very nice!

The first part of the lunch begins in delicacy, with a mousse of dry sausage siphoned over candied citron and a fish fumet; and Jura snails in court bouillon, topped with transparent Noir de Bigorre pork ventrèche and accompanied by a risotto of venerated black rice and beet jus; a powerful, colorful starter; a pleasure for the eyes and the taste buds.

We continue our discovery of gastronomy according to Jacky Ribault with filet of pollack roasted with aniseed, cecina, roasted chard and saffron sauce (wow), and with a light dish: trout roe from Blanka Bay immersed in a dashi broth, sprinkled with pieces of an excellent airy brioche with lime and almond.

Already satisfied, we're then served pan-seared foie gras well hidden under a beautiful gyoza-style ravioli, black sesame paste and a sweet-savory teriyaki sauce. A mer-veille.

Before moving on to the cheese, the veal invites itself to our table, in a roasted fillet with thyme and lovage jus, barley chips, candied citron and miso sabayon. The whole dish is served with seasonal roasted vegetables (shiitake mushrooms, carrots, wild broccoletti) and, on the chef's advice, you can even finish the vegetable cassolette on your table. Chic!

Cheeses from the Seine-et-Marne region, appreciated by the chef, are offered to gourmets, and of course we fall for them. We discover a range of fresh cow's milk palets (curry and poppy, garlic and parsley), an ashy goat's cheese log, a Brillat double-crème, a chalky tomme and a Coulommiers noir matured for over 6 months. Attention cheese lovers!

Naturally, we accompany our lunch withexcellent beverages, carefully selected by L'Ours' sommelier. You can trust him with your eyes closed. Also, before you leave, take a look at the restaurant's impressive cellar, entirely glazed; a thing of beauty.

It's already time to move on to the desserts (plural, yes, yes!). All of them won us over, from the passion fruit dessert, with sesame, mint and diplomatic cream sorbet and nougatine, to the Corsican mandarin, with dark chocolate and Sarawak black pepper. And don't miss the quince dessert (poached, in chantilly, in sorbet) with green anise, or the excellent pear-buckwheat dessert.

We end our lunch over coffee with mignardises in the same vein as the excellent desserts: gourmandine ananas-gingembre and tartelette chocolat-caramel.

A quick tour of the kitchen to discover the table set up just a stone's throw from the ovens (available to the public on reservation, so as to be right at the heart of the culinary show) and a two-hour chat with friendly chef Jacky Ribault, who tells us, with all his bonhomie, of his love for good things, and we leave L'Ours with our mouths full, our bellies full, promising to return soon!

And now, in April 2023, Jacky Ribault's L'Ours deserves its second Michelin star more than ever.

Please note that it's been over 4 years since our last visit, so the place and experience may have changed.