Cléo, Bruno Aubin's sparkling, affordable gastronomy at Le Narcisse Blanc

In the heart of the 7th arrondissement, not far from the Eiffel Tower and theHôtel des Invalides, lies a confidential address that, once discovered, is not soon forgotten. Head for the discreet Narcisse Blanc, a charming 5-star boutique hotel, to discover its equally discreet gourmet restaurant, Cléo.

Under the glass roof that lets in the daylight, seated on a comfortable powder pink sofa, or in the shady patio, you can enjoy a bubble away from time and the hustle and bustle of the city, and savor the gourmet cuisine of Bruno Aubin, a chef as talented as he is kind-hearted, who was once seen on the TV show Top Chef.

At Cléo, Bruno Aubin proves that sparkling gourmet cuisine, based on carefully selected and brilliantly prepared products, doesn't mean you have to break your PEL to get in. At the age of 32, the chef is part of the generation that embodies the renewal of Parisian gastronomy, through his commitments and recipes that sublimate the finest products without distorting them. And all at an affordable price.

At €34 for the Cléo menu at lunchtime on weekdays and €49 for the Narcisse menu, these prices don't at first glance reveal the beauty and deliciousness of the dishes that are about to appear on the table. And yet, what a wonderful surprise this lunch at Cléo was!

The menu is short and concise, with 4 starters, 6 main courses and 4 desserts. It's simple, each dish catches our eye and has that little something extra, an original pairing, an astonishing sauce, a condiment that stands out, a cooking that stands out, and makes us want to choose it; a Cornelian choice. For starters, we opt for the leek (14€), whose carefully cut sections are roasted with wild garlic and accompanied by a smoked egg, and a shellfish cream pearled with herb oil, the ultimate comfort.

Green asparagus (16€) is the second vegetable to tempt us, with its soft hazelnut cookie, blood orange reduction, creamy egg yolk and dash of hazelnut oil. It's quite simple: if all these vegetables were so magically prepared in every Parisian restaurant, we'd be more than willing to make a cross ad vitam on meat products.

Then it's on to the main courses, with a generous octopus snack (34€) with cumin oil, layered on a crushed sweet potato and married with an astonishing Old Bourbon-scented barbecue sauce that adds a sweet note to the whole; and the quasi de veau (36€), glazed with veal juice and preserved lemon, served rosé as it should be, melting to perfection and accompanied by melting onions, caramelized shiitake and iodized emulsion; the umpteenth favorite of this meal.

Proud of his Saint-Pierre, previously offered as a daily special but soon to join Cléo's summer menu in view of its success with gourmets, Bruno Aubin invites us to savor it, accompanied by a tasty pine nut ratatouille.

Alas, the desserts are for another time, impossible for us to find enough room in us to taste them. And yet, this vanilla-pecan sphere (14€) and this roasted pineapple with spices (16€) were so tempting... A good excuse to come back!

Cléo, Bruno Aubin's sparkling, affordable gastronomy at Le Narcisse Blanc

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