Paris, France — A Noste. It means our home in the dialect of the Gascony region of France. Gascony, one of France’s most gastronomic regions, tucked away into the southwestern corner of the land. But you can enjoy great gastronomy from that land right in the center of Paris for midway between the Garnier Opera House and the Stock Market (La Bourse) another winning restaurant from the French chef Guy Martin awaits discovery, A Noste serving up inventive and traditional foods with many hailing from France’s deep south. These are plates that are designed to be shared. The gastronomic fun begins with the order when guests are asked to check off with a pencil the dishes they want to share. The house recommends 2 tapas for each person. 

It all began with a festive and interesting apéritif. A Patxaran,  a Basque styled Spritz made with sloe brandy, instead of the Aperol, and sparkling wine, also on the agenda was a white Floc de Gascogne (which means a bouquet of flowers), a regional apéritif from Gascony which benefits from the Protected Designation of Origin label. It is an old Gascon recipe of fresh grape juice blended with young Armagnac dating all the way back to the 16th century although it wasn’t commercialized until 1976 and it is still rarely found on restaurant menus. Another reason to head to A Noste. We checked off eggplant caviar which was nicely spiced with Espelette pepper from the Basque country, another Protected Designation of Origin product and the open-faced sandwich with Ossau-Iraty cheese, ham, Espelette vinegar all served on Kayser bread (which you can find in New York now). It was a delicious encounter of the freshest kind. All perfectly prepared by Chef Léo. But there was more to come.

Next on our list was the sea bream marinated in citrus fruits and dusted with that Espelette pepper, which is very versatile, tasty but not pungent, almost sweet but not quite, totally unique. Then we ventured into the only hot dish we had ordered, a large Duchess potato ball with cheese and a sweet peppery piquillos cream. But there are plenty of hearty dishes to share like the duck breast with homemade French fries or the rib steak with Béarnaise sauce of course. We opted for a white wine with our meal, a Basque wine, the Irouleguy from the Domaine Mignaberry estate. Irouleguy, one of the smallest vineyards in France, benefits from  the Protected Designation of Origin label and once again it is a rare find on a Parisian menu and even the whites are powerful and aromatic, too. But Guy Martin is known for carefully sourcing  his products. At A Noste for example the duck comes from the house of Barthouil while the beef comes from an establishment in the Basque country, la Boucherie Basque.

Our waiter asked us if we had room for dessert and we did, barely, for the portions are generous. There was a chocolate mousse served with a chocolate finger outfitted with an almond crust and praline and a delicious lemon meringue cake. But the surprise of the day was a delightful glass of Armagnac infused with raspberry, an in-house creation. What we always like about a Guy Martin restaurant (he has five in Paris, all distinctly different) is it’s great value, you can feast at A Noste with nice wine for 100 euros for two, and there is, too, the always professional service even now when it is difficult to come by. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. A Noste, 6 bis rue du 4 Septembre 75002 Paris, France, +33 (0)1 47 03 91 91. https://www.a-noste.com/