Thoumieux

Jean-Francois Piège, the former two-star chef of Les Ambassadeurs at the Hôtel de Crillon, has opened a glitzy remake of this vieille France institution, in partnership with Thierry Costes of the Costes restaurant dynasty. Out goes the cassoulet and the gigantic cat that lived here for years, in comes a very bling-bling table with major ups — a brilliant wild squid à la carbonara — and downs — one of the worst lièvre à la royale (the classic preparation of hare) I’ve ever tasted, with a tiny piece of gold leaf adding insult to injury.

79 rue Saint Dominique, 7th, 01.47.05.49.75. €60 per person without wine

Originally published in the January 2010 issue of France Today

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