In this corner of the capital that one would not deny Emily in Paris, a young couple, Morgane Souris and Antoine Villard, have just opened an exquisite and affordable restaurant (which is not contradictory), already praised by foodies across the Atlantic, never late for a nugget.
Here, it’s still Pantruche, with a network of narrow alleys lined with renovated little houses, the shells of workshops, weathered signs, street lamps which, at dusk, seem to wait indefinitely for their light, a Casque-d’Or square . On a small square in the former village of Charonne, Morgane Souris and Antoine Villard opened their restaurant on Labor Day. They named him Dandelion. It means “dandelion” in English. It is also the title of a little-known Rolling Stones song and the first name of one of the countless daughters of guitarist Keith Richards. Who, embarrassed by this crazy idea springing from the fertile imagination of parents who, if it turns out, also smoked dandelions, now calls herself Angela.
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The two bosses met through a mutual friend. At the time, he had a project in the South; For her part, she was looking to open an establishment of her own. The South was not made; Morgane did not open the door; the two thought they could team up. It’s a beautiful novel, it’s a beautiful story, “we had a few too many meetings”, smiled the leader. The association took a very intimate turn and, unlike the protagonists of the vintage song, they both remained in Paris.
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Dandelion offers the best of the capital’s bistronomy. No more frills and infuriating culinary gadgets. Plates that do not push each other from the neck and deliver products of beautiful origin placed together in a glued-tight manner, so that the combinations work without artifice. Rest assured, there is gourmet sauce, reduced juice, cooking using a line, Antoine knows how to do it. He thought he would favor fish and vegetables, and discovered he had a liking for meat and even offal. No menu: we eat à la carte. Four starters, as many dishes, two desserts, it’s up to you to compose your triolet. It’s not cheap but the prices are not dissuasive, especially for dishes of this level, especially in Paris. As for the liquid, Morgane offers an original cellar book, full of labels that you probably don’t know (me neither), with a moving cursor between natural, biodynamic and “traditional”, all at affordable prices.
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We start with “raw marsh shrimp, ginger sauce and shrimp satay” (15 euros). These are creatures caught in the Vendée salt marshes who come to donate their bodies without having experienced the insult of the frying pan. Under their flesh with its inimitable chewiness and sapidity, Antoine Villard has grated a semi-raw potato which adds nerve to the iodized festival. A fresh broth surrounds the bites, in which the satay acts as a shrimp concentrate. A few coriander leaves on top, like a sprout of mini water lilies, complete this invitation to travel to the Atlantic or further afield. The red tuna, sweet and sour with tomato, marigold and raspberry (16 euros), also tasted on September 3, constitutes another visual tour de force (stunning presentation of splendor) and taste with the virtuoso tangle of marine and floral flavors .
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Make way for grilled sweetbreads (38 euros, the most expensive dish on the menu). A great moment. The nice-sized apple is placed on a short cooking juice and matched with a piece of grilled spicy cabbage. The brilliant idea is not to have detailed the vegetable which appears massive, like an open book, slightly blackened in the flame, hence an exquisite bite of bitterness. Seen from above, it looks like a sort of unstructured millefeuille. Around the plate runs a ribbon of anchovy, which gives the preparation a powerful touch without unbalancing anything. Golden sweetbreads, crunchy and tender; very crunchy cabbage; anchovy which salts and shifts. This is a first-class rascally dish, ultimately simple in its purpose on a meat-vegetable-sauce tripod, but ambitious in its execution, because it would not tolerate the slightest difference in seasoning. There is none in the chief’s trebuchet work.
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For dessert, a certain “Chou à la tropézienne” (12 euros) is already getting a lot of attention. Just the title is fantasy, we imagine Bardot next to Casque d’or, the senses go crazy. Rightly so: the cabbage, not a penny soft, is garnished with a vanilla-orange blossom cream to die for. It’s Paris, it’s Saint-Tropez, it’s France – a word of advice, order two right away, the first one will leave you with a taste of too little.
At this point, the attentive reader understands that Dandelion is very good. He will not be the only one, because the reputation of the place crossed the Atlantic like wildfire: that evening, Americans of both sexes were already present, speaking loudly, laughing loudly, devouring ardently, amazed to play in preview in an episode of “Emily in Pantruche”.
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Identity sheet
Name /Dandelion
Place /46, rue des Vignoles, 75020 Paris. 01.42.50.01.55. Closed Sunday and Monday. A la carte only (count €70 excluding drinks for a starter-main course-dessert formula).
Creation date /May 1, 2024
Course /At 35 and 33 – neither of them look their age – Morgane Souris and Antoine Villard perfectly embody a leading trend in contemporary gastronomy. They are young and beautiful, in love on top of that, complementary, rich in a necessarily brief but judicious journey. Antoine, who runs the stove, dabbled in great classicism at the George V Briffard era with a plethora of brigade standing at attention, before a detour to the depths of Alsace at the extremely excellent Olivier Nasti, where the Parigot was “ welcomed with open arms” by a demanding but caring boss and his team.
The best worker in France from Kaysersberg taught him about game, picking mushrooms and exquisite herbs. What followed was a formative trip to Stockholm with Mathias Dahlgren and his “Swedish management” (well, weird, we don’t insult anyone and it works even better), then a return to Bertrand Grébaut’s Septime, temple of yum- yum sore but still very good. Morgane also began her career in the kitchen with Antonin Bonnet (Quinsou) before switching to the dining room and cellar, notably at Parcelles, the well-watered restaurant in the Marais. The couple found a roof and a dream terrace in the 20th arrondissement to get started – the house has been a bistro since 1900, so it’s ready to face the new century.
