Les Résistants -- La Table, Paris 10

Les Résistants - La Table is the gastronomic sibling of Les Résistants. Both are in the tenth arrondissement, but they are nowhere near contiguous — in fact, they are about a ten minute walk apart.

Les Résistants - La Table has been around for some time under the name of L’Avant Poste, only fairly recently has it adopted its current name and format. The restaurant works closely with various suppliers (and credits them in the presentation of the dishes; you can also find pictures and profiles of them on the restaurant’s website). The philosophy is not to be overly fussy in order to let the quality of the products shine through, although that in no way means that the dishes prepared by chef Maurizio Madaio and his team are simple or standard.

We had our first meal here at the in early summer, but I never got around to finishing the write-up. So this is actually an account of our second visit.

The restaurant is a short walk from the Gare de l’Est and the space appears to have housed artisans’ workshops in the past. There are three rooms. The front room, shown above and here:

The middle room with the entry to the back room in the distance:

There are hard surfaces, but enough care is taken that the rooms do not get really loud.

Both times we ate there, the diners were almost exclusively French, mostly (although not exclusively) in their twenties and thirties.

We took the four-course menu:

As a palate cleanser, we were served this liquid of tarragon and honey with another herb that I cannot now recall:

It didn’t sound like much to me, but in fact it was delicious and reset the palate for the meal to come, as it was intended to do.

The wine list is entirely natural, although the definition of natural here appears to be organic or biodynamic, so you will see some mainstream names that do not necessarily advertise the fact that they are organic or biodynamic and that do not appear on many other lists that are exclusively natural wines. Overall, the selection is excellent, and includes some very hard-to-obtain wines. Markups are modest. We ordered a 2021 Côte de Nuits-Villages red from Domaine A. & A. Chopin. By mistake, we were served a more expensive Nuits-Saint-Georges from the same producer and vintage, something that both the sommelière and I overlooked until the bill came, which showed the Côte de Nuits-Villages that we had ordered. We were charged for the less expensive wine.

The Nuits-Saint-Georges was a good, typical example of wine from the appellation with slightly smoky dark fruits and a fair amount of body, but no rusticity, and drinking well already.

Next came the amuse-bouche, tartelettes of acorn purée with toasted acorn on top:

This was unique to my experience, nutty, and quite satisfying.

Next up was a dish of mackerel, peeled cherry tomatoes, toasted hazelnuts, and and a tarama cream that worked very well. This was clearly a case of the whole be more than the sum of its parts, as all blended together seamlessly.

The fish course was pike (line caught; the fisherman was identified) served with a ratatouille-type dish with two sauces, one with a tomato base and one with an earthy eggplant puree. The fish on its own was rather bland, but combined with the ratatouille and sauces made for a most interesting combination:

The meat course was veal of wonderful quality together with cooked lettuce — both the leaves and the root, with a smear of rich tapenade to enhance both the meat and the lettuce:

Dessert was a fig tart (with pimento in the tart filling, giving it extra spice) with honey ice cream. This was not extraordinary but it was pleasing:

Finally, as a mignardise, a spicy coriander marshmallow. I am generally not a marshmallow fan, but this one was really tasty and did not have a pasty or hard texture:

I forgot to photograph the bill, but it came to 156€.

Based on two visits at dinner, Les Résistants is a restaurant where you will get very fresh, top-quality ingredients combined in ways that are a little out of the ordinary. Some dishes work splendidly, others work well but not quite splendidly. Each course is of interest to the jaded palate. Additionally, prices are quite favorable for what you get. I encourage you to try it.

La Table — Les Résistants

7, rue de la Fidélité, 75010 Paris

Tél: 09 81 41 01 07

website: https://www.lesresistants-latable.fr/

Tuesday-Sunday lunch and dinner

Métro: Gare de l’Est, Château d’Eau, Strasbourg-St Denis