(UPDATE: As of December 2022, Capitale is now closed.)
The dining scene in Paris continues to change and evolve. The pandemic has changed where we eat, and how we eat…at least for a while. The restaurant is open again and packed. But the pause provided an opportunity to bring new life to the city. The government has provided support, but even so, the closure has had a severe impact on restaurants, cafes and bars, which are still reeling from difficulties that have included long strikes, uncontrolled demonstrations, attacks, and now, Covid.
As the city comes back to life, little gems shine here and there. And Capitale is one of them.
The owner is Margot Lecarpentierwhich some of you may know if I profiled him, and his bar, Combat, in French drinking. One of my favorite places to drink in Paris, it sits on a hill in the eclectic Belleville area, where I do a lot of my food shopping. When I wrote the book, I asked Margot about the wide bar she designed for cocktails, she said she wanted it to look like a dining table, adding, “Because I’m from Normandy… and I love to eat!”
His drinks have a delicious quality and he makes cocktails like a chef makes dishes, using natural and waste-free ingredients like fig leaves and citrus peels to make syrups and infusions, which he sometimes shares on his Instagram page.
The concept of his new restaurant (which doubles as a cafe/coffee shop), capitalnot sticking to one idea, but taking cues from everywhere to create an ever-changing menu. The food is very fresh, inviting, and reflects the way in which young chefs and cooks in Paris stretch their legs outside their borders, but keep the focus on the abundance of local and French ingredients. Cafes break the rules about when you can eat them, which are less strict than in France. So you can come in for lunch and get it fried egg (sunlit eggs) with ricotta and chive oil, or a Croissantwich combine with ham, avocado, cheese, and mustard-mayo sauce for the afternoon to tasteor snacks.
I went first capital shortly after they opened (I didn’t wait), which was for brunch, which is popular among twenty somethings in Paris. (Yes, yes, his presence brought the median age into the dining room.) Some places entertain the idea. the brunchbut he doesn’t always get it right, including endless coffee. (I was a brunch cook for a while in the US and I think 80% of my time was spent filling coffee cups.) But here, everything is fresh and delicious, which are keywords for a successful brunch, at least in my book.
I am from the United States and grew up pastrami on the menu. The dishes come from several places, which, like the Belleville neighborhood, are a place of many different cultures. Closer to Turkish pastirma than its counterparts in New York and Montreal, a chiffonade of minced meat sits on the freshly made. corn pain (corn bread) with dollops of sauce farmMustard, and carefully selected.
As you can see, it wasn’t a pastrami / smoked meat sandwich, but a well-reformed brunch dish, and there were no complaints about it. It was delicious and very French. (Corn is used in the Basque region for polenta and talao, a Basque tortilla-like dish that I tried to make, but failed.)
When I returned recently with my friend Forest of 52 Martinis, we were both excited Grilled pain, hazelnut butter and white chocolate, jam – three slices of sourdough bread with white chocolate, salt with sea salt, and house jam. It didn’t cross my mind, but it was a complex peanut butter and jelly. I love it when the French do American things better than we do. (Kayser’s Chocolate Chip Cookies are another example of this.)
Neither Forest nor I are restaurant reviewers, just two friends having lunch, and it would have been fun to try everything on the menu. But we enjoyed it Ricotta toast with crispy kale, lemon (lemon confit), olives, hot peppers, and almonds (shown at the top of the post).
Tried the Chirashi made with sushi rice, sweet vegetables, soya-boiled eggs, and ginger, it’s not really a meal meant for sharing. Japanese food is different and we both love Japanese food but I think it shines more when you don’t try to share it, and avoid eating from one plate, the lack of sharing food with others in this age of Covid. (I also want to enjoy it when I’m not eating it between mouthfuls of spicy kale and French-style butter and jelly.)
I love how Margot has put together such a great drink menu, with a focus on those that are non-alcoholic, or low ABV. Being French, there’s wine and beer, with intriguing options like coconut-matcha frappé, mint tea with basil and black syrup, coffee with camomile and maple syrup, non-alcoholic Suze (gentian) tonic, and I had to try the fig leaf kombucha made in Paris, which was a bonus. 20/20 (French A+) from me.
I like it too The green opiumfriendly Brunch no alcohol a cocktail made with a base of vermouth (non-alcoholic), verjus, fig leaves, and orange blossom juice. It is the perfect drink for any time of the day.
capital
10 rue Pradier (19th)
Paris
Current Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday. (Subject to change. Check their Instagram page for updates.) No reservations.
