Paris, France — This is a fine and fun table tucked away behind the Elysées Palace, the home to France’s presidents, and one of its fine features is its terrace, calm and secluded on this quiet Parisian street. The house recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with a new decor, a new chef and new additions to its Mediterranean fare and sushi-based menu. The spot, a creation of Parisian restauranteur Micael Memmi, is decorated with greenery and has a dining at home ambiance. This is the place for excellent fish dishes from the sushi and sashimi on the Japanese menu, concocted by Master Sushi Chef Yue, to the lightly smoked salmon plate or sea bass filet on the Mediterranean menu carefully prepared by chef Thibaut Moine who hails from some of the great Parisian gourmet stopovers like the Pré Catelan and the Tour d’Argent.

The house’s unique slightly smoked salmon is served with a potato cake, a tangy cream sauce and a perfectly poached egg. But for starters you might want to share a nice platter of Burrata or tuna marinated in lime and served with avocado. The products are carefully sourced like the Simmental filet in an old-fashioned mustard sauce accompanied by the house’s homemade French fries, these can also be ordered as a side. Another fine find was the rigatoni in black truffle sauce. For dessert don’t miss out on the highly original orange cake with yogurt ice-cream and roasted pistachios. The tiramisu is excellent and here it is made with Nutella, the Italian hazel-nut cocoa spread.

On the Japanese menu we went for the Spicy Dragon, spicy tuna sushi with avocado, cream cheese and salmon teriyaki and the Black Salmon, sushi in a miso sauce and served with fresh chives. But you can mix and match the nine different kinds of sushi with spring rolls and the nigiri which is a type of sushi, for example. Another find on the Japanese menu were the salmon rolls. There is an excellent wine and cocktail menu which includes a selection of five champagnes and two excellent Sancerres. And the big bonus, it’s air conditioned. Reservations are recommended. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. 13 rue Montalivet 75008 Paris, France. Tel: + 33 (0)1 42 65 18 18. https://www.restaurantzo.com/en/