Le Patio Opéra, impeccable Corsican-Italian cuisine on a private green patio

Local residents and workers know it, and pass the word around. Behind its discreet storefront, the Patio Opéra is a genuine open-air living space, both singular and confidential. In summer, it's on a large, cool patio that onlookers settle down to sip cocktails and enjoy an aperitivo with friends. In winter, on the other hand, owner Valérie Saas-Lovichi transforms the place.

Gone are the blue skies and sunshine. To counter the clouds and the cold, the Patio Opéra is sealed off by a temporary, removable roof which, while letting in light, ensures that guests don't shiver. However, the sun doesn't completely disappear from the place: the menu, inspired by Italian and Corsican cuisine, is there to remind us that fine weather will soon return.

The restaurant makes it a point of honor to place quality and seasonality at the heart of its menu, with organic or sustainable fruit and vegetables , meats ofFrench origin from breeders who respect animal welfare, and fresh pasta, focaccia and homemade bread.

The antipasti on our table include a homemade rabbit terrine with watercress purée and seasonal vegetable pickles (15€) and an organic burrata from Ottanta (17€). It's hard to beat this go-to Italian restaurant, but it doesn't disappoint. It's accompanied by Sicilian orange supremes and kale chips that seem to disappear on the tongue in a magical way, as soon as you bite into them.

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The fresh pasta, made on the premises from organic and unrefined flours, reveals enough qualities to attract our attention. We don't regret our choice: these paccheri with braised wild boar ragù (€25) are extremely comforting. We also have a lovely encounter with a coquettish cannette, whose breast and leg are presented to us after a quick trip to the plancha, and matched with roasted celeriac, mushrooms and a syrupy poultry jus.

For dessert, we let ourselves be tempted by two flagship products of these sunny cuisines: Italian hazelnuts, in a mille-feuille with hazelnut cream and nocciolata (10€), and Corsican chestnuts, with chestnut mousse (10€), pear pieces, Philippe Faur goat's milk ice cream and 70% chocolate sauce.

A bubble of calm and pleasure a stone's throw from the hustle and bustle of the Grands Boulevards.