Once again the rising buzz of a new restaurant has drawn us in: Frenchie (so-called because of the chef’s nickname when he worked abroad) is not only ridiculously fashionable at the moment, it’s also tiny – just 24 seats – which makes getting a table extremely tough right now. Worth the effort or not then? We find out…

The restaurant is in a tiny street in the Sentier area just north of Les Halles (follow the rue Montorgueil and you’re there) and it’s so difficult to find that even we got lost! Setting up shop in this part of town – very sleepy after 6pm – would be suicide for most businesses. Frenchie however is thriving, the ‘phone ringing off the hook and people coming in and almost begging for a table. We didn’t actually beg, but it did talk two days and four ‘phone calls to finally have a place confirmed.

Once we had found the quiet, cobbled street (rue du Nil means street of the Nile, and all the surrounding streets also have Egyptian-themed names) the restaurant wasn’t hard to spot. It’s about the only thing open down there. A sweet little terrace displays some of the produce used for the dishes (it was a little too chilly to be sitting outside) and once inside we were instantly struck by the delicious smells coming from the kitchen…

The interior decoration is fairly standard (not really a problem) and there are very few tables. A lot of the customers seem to be from abroad (at least a third) proving that the restaurant’s reputation has already spread far. The prices are not excessive, with three courses costing 35€ (without wine) and the menu changes every day depending on what is bought at the market. The wine list is comprehensive and the wines of the month are displayed on a large old-fashioned mirror.

All through the meal the waiter was very cheery and relaxed, and the chef Grégory Marchand popped his head through the serving hatch from time to time to say good evening to diners or have a quick chat. Quite a few people also dared to go and see him and say how much they had appreciated their food. He seemed happy!

As a first course, I chose the cauliflower soup with a ricotta tortellini and candied lemon. My companion chose the smoked trout with kohlrabi purée with hazelnut butter and onion pickle, which he very much enjoyed. The combination of tastes was well dosed. My soup however reminded me of cauliflower cheese, the most basic of English dishes, although lifted from banality here by purple cauliflower pieces and the wonderful tortellini in the middle. Perhaps a little less cheese would have helped the subtlety of the taste…

For the main dish I decided to give the chef a challenge by asking for a vegetarian alternative to what was on the menu. This turned out to be a mix of beans and herbs with wild mushrooms, placed on a bed of pan-fried tomato and was a pretty inspired spontaneous effort. Very satisfactory! My companion went for the Nile perch with wild mushrooms and sweet onions, and no complaints were heard. Au contraire, as we say in French!

But the mark of a good restaurant is often to be found in its desserts, sometimes given a lot less thought than the main dishes. The fig tart with mascarpone and lemon ice cream was delicious, although it’s hard to go wrong with fresh figs! My companion’s panacotta seemed extraordinary, judging from the faces he was making! Accompanied by a rum baba, caramelised pineapple, physalis fruit and coriander sprouts, the mix of different tastes had him wowing at every bite.

We ate really well at Frenchie, but despite the obvious care and research put into concocting each dish, we left a little perplexed about exactly why the hype had grown so much. Despite this, we would gladly go back (soon!) and taste some more original dishes. For the price, it is rather a bargain after all.

Frenchie is at 5 rue du Nil, 75002 Paris (map here). Open midday – 2.30pm and 8 – 10.30pm. Closed Sundays, Mondays and Tuesday lunchtime. Telephone 01 40 39 96 19.

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