Qui Plume la Lune, 75011 Paris

A restaurant with an unusual name, which I interpret as meaning “Reach for the Moon”, and its Breton chef, Jacky Ribault, certainly has high-flying gastronomic aspirations, even if his restaurant is somewhat off the beaten track in the Bastille district and rather small. However it makes up in decor for what it lacks in size – beautiful flowers, attractive wall hangings and carefully chosen table settings, such as naturally polished flat stones as knife rests.

The cuisine is Breton/Japanese fusion with a strong emphasis on fish, bt there are also some surprises such as snails in your soup (not specified on the menu) which didn’t get my lunch off to a good start! And the kitchen was most upset when we left them untouched…

At lunchtime there is a two or three course menu but with little choice, which can be a problem if you’re looking for more familiar dishes. We had cauliflower soup (with snails), followed by coquilles St. Jacques cooked in Saki, accompanied by Chinese lemon vermicelli and soja , and followed by Pineapple and sable biscuits. This menu was Euros 35 or Euros 30 euros for two courses.

In the evening the menus are much more ambitious with a wide choice of unusual dishes, among which I noticed Sushi of Foie Gras, Veal cooked in rosewater and Eau de Vie , Tataki of Salmon with root vegetables and Nabe de Poissons, with desserts such as Chocolat Pastilla, Chestnut Millefeuille and Rhubarb candyfloss with vanilla cream cheese- so a long way from your usual run of the mill offerings. There is a 2 course menu at Euros 45, 3 courses at Euros 60 and a tasting menu at Euros 110.

The Parisian food critics are all very enthusiastic about this new arrival on the restaurant scene -so if you like unusual food, fish and fusion go for it!