It's a discreet opening, but one that's likely to be talked about very soon. Fans of (good) pizza will remember: at the end of 2022, a pop-up pizzeria opened its doors for a time, in place of Rigmarole, the once Michelin-starred restaurant owned by Robert Compagnon and Jessica Yang. The project was spearheaded by American baker Dan Pearson, who has also worked at Ten Belles and is passionate about natural sourdough.
A restaurant that was all too short-lived and soon regretted by locals and visitors alike... But for a few months now, Parisians' taste buds have been tingling again: Dan Pearson has returned to spinning pizzas (and not napkins), this time in a permanent restaurant, still in the Ménilmontant district: Oobatz.
A true aesthete of bread and pizza dough, the chef-baker offers pizzas made with thin dough that rises for 36 hours, and is devilishly crisp. The à la carte menu features just 6 pizzas, ranging from €16 to €24, and changing with the seasons.
Quite simply, the pizza polpette, cacciocavallo, tomato sauce, onion (24€) and the carte blanche pizza (at the chef's whim, on the day we came, a winged spinach pizza; 16€) simply won our hearts. While New York-style pizzas(thin, sometimes with a slice) are more in vogue than ever in Paris, the best in the capital are to be found at Oobatz. But you'll need to be a sharer: here, they're served for the whole table, one after the other, so be prepared to elbow each other!
For dessert, the menu is just as naughty, with a chocolate chip pizookie (13€) with Ugandan vanilla ice cream, a nectarine crumble with cheesecake ice cream (14€) and a banana ice cream (6€). But no sweet note for us, the two pizzas were more than enough.
Please note that these little wonders have to be earned! The restaurant specifies that reservations open 2 weeks in advance, but don't panic: the restaurant is large, and seats at the stand-up table and at the communal table are available for customers without reservations.
How about a pizza tonight? You can count on Dan Pearson to show you a good time, surrounded by Americans - and they know what they're talking about!
