Petit Boutary, a gourmet restaurant with an African flavour in the Batignolles district of Paris

Published by Manon de Sortiraparis · Photos by Manon de Sortiraparis · Published on December 17, 2024 at 05:41 p.m.
Petit Boutary's little brother, Petit Boutary twirls gourmet plates on its large sunny terrace, twisted with chef Roméo Agbodjan's African touches.

You've heard of Boutary, the restaurant on the Left Bank, now discover Petit Boutary, its little brother in the Batignolles district, and itself the big brother of Comptoir Boutary, a stone's throw from the Saint-Lazare train station. Three toddlers with different, yet well-tempered characters, the work of Maison Boutary , founded in 1888 in south-west France.

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New Year's Eve menu 2025 at Le Petit Boutary
162€/person, drinks not included

Crowned Yellowtail
An elegant interpretation of yellowtail, sublimated by a lemon caviar layer and enhanced with pink berries.

Foie gras de Dordogne
Pan-fried foie gras with fig mousse

Charlotte
A crushed potato delicately enhanced with Isigny cream

Turbotin
This turbotin from La Manche, presented with its beards, is served with a tarragon sabayon.

Onglet Normand
A flaky Normandy beef mitre, prepared in the style of a Wellington.

Parfait Miel
A honey mousse served with grape sorbet, verbena jelly and white wine.

Saint-Sylvestre
A dessert combining cheese and chocolate, served with vanilla sorbet and a red wine sauce with red fruits.

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Specializing in its early days in wine, the Maison has since expanded its activities, opening these three Parisian restaurants - as well as a fourth in Tokyo - and also venturing into caviar production. While Boutary is a chic restaurant in the 6th arrondissement, Petit Boutary is a simpler establishment where the chef combines more relaxed gastronomy with the atmosphere of a neighborhood bistro.

Petit Boutary - Ecrasé de pdt, caviarPetit Boutary - Ecrasé de pdt, caviarPetit Boutary - Ecrasé de pdt, caviarPetit Boutary - Ecrasé de pdt, caviar

The new chef is Roméo Agbodjan. Trained at Le Pergolèse, the restaurant of chef Stéphane Gaborieau, MOF 2004, as well as at Le Divellec, on the edge of the esplanade des Invalides, the chef is now free to inject elements of his African origins into the dishes he imagines in the kitchens of Petit Boutary - with even a Tchigan ('prestige' in Mina) tasting menu that mixes inspirations from Benin to Ethiopia.

While he is guided by market produce and the seasons, Roméo Agbodjan can't help but honor the finest seafood. It's a passion for the man who is also a fisherman in his spare time, and a stroke of luck to have stumbled upon a caviar-producing Maison - featured on the menu with tastings starting at €15.

Petit Boutary - Risotto, chou kale, maquereau flambéPetit Boutary - Risotto, chou kale, maquereau flambéPetit Boutary - Risotto, chou kale, maquereau flambéPetit Boutary - Risotto, chou kale, maquereau flambé

Whether indoors or out on the large sunny terrace on a quiet side street, Petit Boutary's cuisine is available on tasting menus only. It's the perfect place to indulge your senses. For lunch, expect to pay €24 for the dish of the day, €32 for a starter/main course or main course/dessert, €39 for a starter/main course/dessert and €54 for a 4-course menu, at the chef's discretion.

At our lunch, after a quartet of sapid amuse-bouches (virgin vegetables and grilled octopus/buttered calourde and lemon/tarama and trout roe/corn espuma, roasted buckwheat, chives and Espelette pepper), a gazpacho of white asparagus, green asparagus and tomatoes, topped with half a pan-fried avocado and a dash of chive oil, refreshes the palate under the zenith of the sun.

Petit Boutary - Tiramisu au siphonPetit Boutary - Tiramisu au siphonPetit Boutary - Tiramisu au siphonPetit Boutary - Tiramisu au siphon

This is followed by a crushed potato, seaweed butter and lightly lemony Isigny cream, topped with a lovely quenelle of Baeri caviar, and then on to the fish ( flame-roasted mackerel on a kale risotto, brioche emulsion and teriyaki sauce - a delight) and a second fish on a cream of dried fish, grapefruit and samphire.

Before passing a tiramisu with a siphon containing pistachio ice cream, it's time for the meat, a leg of lamb spiced up with sweet chilli, glacial ficoïde and reduced meat juice. A discreet, free and joyful address.

Practical information

Location

16 Rue Jacquemont
75017 Paris 17

Route planner

Accessibility info

Official website
www.petitboutary.com

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