Janine: the excellent French cuisine restaurant in Batignolles, Paris

While street food restaurants have proliferated in Paris over the last few years, the number of restaurants opening to celebrate French bistro cuisine has become much rarer. However, some enthusiasts and lovers of French terroir and old-fashioned dishes are taking up the challenge. Such is the case of Thibault Sizun. In December 2022, this former restaurant manager at IDA and Brigade du Tigre opened Janine. And it's in the lively family district of Batignolles that the young entrepreneur has decided to set up his very first restaurant in Paris.

For this first address, Thibault Sizun recalled the times he spent with his family in Brittany, where lunches could sometimes drag on forever, but where the pleasure of taste and conviviality were always there. Janine is Thibault's grandmother. Janine is a restaurant with its roots in the tasty French bistro cuisine that we all too often tend to forget.

To accompany him in this adventure, Thibault called on the talented chef Soda Thiam. Spotted in Italy by Simone Tondo, Chef of the restaurant Racines, Soda Thiam went on to become second in command at Gare au Gorille in Paris. Today, Soda Th iam is embarking on a new adventure. This lover of produce and French cuisine has imagined a menu for Janine that is both subtle and daring. Here, the star is the produce, which is as local and organic as possible.

On the menu? 4 starters, 4 main courses and 3 desserts, with several land-sea proposals, such as this delicious starter based on grilled cuttlefish and black pudding, accompanied by roasted sucrine, Colonnata bacon and red wine sauce. A subtle marriage, as surprising as it is tasty, that demonstrates in just a few strokes of the fork the audacity of Chef Soda Thiam.

The second starter, featuring quail confit, poultry liver pâté, Jerusalem artichoke cream and grilled leeks, was a similar delight. A great success too!

And if you'd like to try Janine's signature entrée, then let yourself be tempted by the unmissable rabbit leg à l'escabèche, with grilled pointed cabbage, tarragon and green pepper mayonnaise. It's a recipe that Thibault is particularly fond of, despite the fact that rabbit has become a rarity in the capital's restaurants in recent years. If you're not much of a carnivore, don't panic, Janine offers a fourth starter that's sure to satisfy with this velouté of carrots, crosnes, anchovies and mimolette cream.

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The tasting continues with another favorite, " Comme une soupe VGE " . Served in grandma's soup tureen and concealed under a tasty flaky crust, we fall for this ultra-gourmet soup made with potatoes, mussels, whelks and chorizo. A classic of its kind, ideal in winter, it goes perfectly with a herb and grapefruit salad.

Opposite, a grilled leg of suckling lamb with potato cream, glazed parsnips and a succulent jus with old-fashioned mustard. Here again, we applaud the chef for her perfectly mastered cooking and seasoning.

If you still have a little room left after these unfailingly generous dishes, we can only advise you to let yourself be tempted by one of the desserts on the à la carte menu. That evening, we opted for the gourmet and very comforting peanut cookie, with a white chocolate cream, an incredible and memorable bread ice cream from Bacillus, a bakery almost adjacent to the restaurant.

We're telling you, there's a good chance Janine will become your new favorite gourmet address in the Batignolles district, as much for its heartfelt cuisine as for its warm, friendly atmosphere. So Thibault and Soda have thought of everything. Chez Janine's menu changes regularly, to keep you coming back for more, with new local dishes every week. Two lunchtime formulas are also available (starter + main course + dessert of the day for 28 euros or starter/main course or main course/dessert for 25 euros). In the evening, a suggestion of the day for starter and main course is also added to the menu.

Lovers of good bowling will not be outdone, thanks to a fine selection of wines, always in harmony with the dishes cooked. In short, we love the friendly atmosphere, the brasserie-style decor and, above all, the contemporary, old-fashioned cuisine that seduced us from the very first bite... We're sure you'll fall in love with Janine too!