Encornet de ligne Saint-Guénolé, vinaigrette encre de seiche, épinard et huile de persil

The news of the evening was that black truffles had arrived! But we resisted since it was a bit early in the season. At Quinsou (pronounce Kinsu), the name for little bird or passereau in occitan, chef Antonin Bonnet reigns over a small and under decorated room, with two lovely smiling waiter (waitress) and a fabulous menu accompanied by organic wines.

The corner table on the street is the best for four

It is hard to find the place if you don’t know the number (33) on the street for there is no sign on the façade and it is pretty dark at night… But when you walk in, a large smile welcomes you and a poster on the wall “work hard and be nice to people”, very unusual in a French restaurant! The simplicity of white walls and pale wood is immediately attractive. I would probably never have noticed Quinsou, if an American friend, who always knows what’s hip in Paris, had not told me to go.

Chou Fidelkraut, chou frisé and chou-cabu rouge, torrefied hazelnut, vinaigrette

There are two menus with no options and we had that evening Lièvre à la royale with foie gras, (outstanding), encornet, squid, (not for me but I had a lovely pâté instead) and a fabulous surprise châtaigne glace au caramel au beurre salé with chocolate at the bottom… which I could have eaten all night, again ad again.

The two menus are at 48€ and 65 €, which is extremely reasonable given the sophistication of the cooking. You can add to that, oysters kumamoto style or foie gras to start. And goat cheese from Ferme du Châtain. Lunch menus from Wednesday to Saturday are cheaper at 33€.

The chef Antonin Bonnet was famous when he ran Le Sergent Recruteur in the ile Saint Louis

You have understood from these lines, that having dinner at Quinsou is like reading a fairy tale: you discover little by little what Antonin Bonnet  who used to cook at Sergent recruteur in Ile Saint louis, has dreamt for you and you think about your dinner for many days after.

Make sure to book, for the restaurant only serves about 30 people, and experiment the (unknown to me) large variety of organic wines. ( 33 rue de l’Abbé Grégoire, tel: 01 42 22 66 09)