L'Escudella in Paris: between modern and sophisticated cuisine

For five years now, Maître-Restaurateur Chef Jérôme Laurent, with the help of former Top Chef Paul-Arthur Berlan and Aurélien Faure, has been delighting the taste buds of 7th arrondissement residents with his L'Escudella restaurant.

To better understand the name of this establishment, we need to go down to the South of France, and more precisely to Occitanie. This is where chef Paul-Arthur Berlan hails from.

Meaning"the plate" in its original cultural language, L'Escudella was created in 2015 by chef Jérôme Laurent and his partner Paul-Arthur Berlan, whose name is sure to ring a bell since he took part in the famous "Top Chef " TV show in 2011. He was eliminated in the semi-finals of the competition's second season, which also featured Pierre Sang and Stéphanie Le Quellec.

Together, the two chefs - who work with Aurélien Faure, in charge of the dining room - designed the restaurant's menu, offering modern, sophisticated and aesthetically pleasing cuisine.
L'Escudella may have started out as a bistronomic restaurant, but it has now moved to the next level.

When it comes to ultra-fresh produce, chef Jérôme Laurent, who holds the title of Maître Restaurateur, and Paul-Arthur Berlan leave nothing to chance, choosing ingredients meticulously beforehand to concoct homemade dishes that change and evolve every week according to suppliers, the seasons and the weather too. What's more, they give priority to short supply chains.

In addition to a more than tempting menu, the place aspires to well-being. Warm colors, filament bulbs and wooden tables give the dining room a warm, contemporary feel. Blue plates adorn the walls.

At lunchtime on weekdays, L'Escudella offers an affordable 16 euro lunch menu. It includes an amuse-bouche, a dish of the day (for example, fillet of cannette with satay sauce, semolina and dried fruit) and mignardises. Unbeatable for this corner of the 7th arrondissement, a stone's throw from the lawns of rue de Breteuil.

The restaurant also offers a citrus menu at 44 euros and a 5-course "carte blanche" menu at 55 euros.
The menu includes tapas to share, particularly at aperitif time, to accompany one of the 60 biodynamically-produced wine references in the L'Escudella cellar.

But let's move on to the tasting, and more precisely to the appetizer, sublimated by an attractive mise en scène. A perfect Comté and white truffle cromesquis.
Next, for the starter, the crab ravioli are fresh, just as you'd expect. We also can't resist the pâté en croûte, a house specialty that has been transformed into a king's pie for the festive season.

For the main course, we again opt for fish, with these beautiful scallops, perfectly cooked and swimming in their own juices.

For dessert, the chef prepares an assortment of small portions of homemade desserts, including the unmissable Paris-Carcassonne, a southerner's take on Paris-Brest! It's simply exquisite, with an extremely light, gourmet praline cream!

From one end of this meal to the other, no false notes. L'Escudella? A must-try restaurant!

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