LE DAUPHIN

The emergence of emergency wine bars (ok, so it’s hardly ever a 911 or 112 situation but whatever) as alternate eateries next to big draw dining is fast becoming the smart guy’s easy meal ticket. Easier to get into, plenty of wine to choose from and, yes, a smaller menu, but dishes which are coming from the same kitchen as your reservation-carrying compatriots.

In London there’s Viajante’s new alternate ‘The Corner Room’ and Le Frenchie has also gotten into the game in Paris. But the newest of these in town is Le Dauphin, taking the overflow of next-door Le Chateaubriand, with big-shot Basque chef Iñaki Aizpitarte heading the kitchen and starchitect Rem Koolhaas dealing with design.

Inside, it’s a vision in white Carrara marble, so slick you’d be forgiven for sliding straight off your retro-rustic chair without ever getting a glass inside you, and apparently a shoe-in for the ‘Best Interior’ award from Le Fooding, who dished out the gong before the place had even opened. The hipster crowd soon followed, and it’s now becoming quite the must-see hangout in its own right, leaving posh nosh next door languishing in its too-blasé-for bookings wake.

As for the food, it’s classic Aizpitarte modernist cooking. If you’re in for lunch try the three-course set menu at EUR 27, whilst those coming for dinner will get the full benefit of the small plates ethos currently sweeping gastro-circles. Grazing-style dishes range from 6 to 18 euros, encompassing everything from light veggie options like seared plum with radicchio, to hearty milk-fed lamb or beef bourguignon.

Brave bites include the goose barnacles, a kind of reptilian shellfish which makes for messy eating (the date food equivalent of spaghetti), whilst the wine list boasts an impressive selection of natural wines with pours by Villemade, Descombes and Foillard from an amazing EUR 5 a glass. At least if you end up on the floor you can blame the décor.