Café du coin

Chef Florent Ciccoli's cooking at Café du Coin represents a modern evolution of French bistro cuisine, where traditional techniques meet contemporary creativity and a spirit of conviviality. His menu is built around the concept of sharing, with thoughtfully composed small plates that encourage communal dining and exploration.

The restaurant's approach to food varies by service, offering structure during lunch and flexibility in the evening. The weekday lunch menu, priced at €20-24, provides a complete meal that balances value with quality—perfect for neighborhood workers seeking something more interesting than the standard formule. Evening service shifts to a tapas-style format, with individual dishes priced between €6-12, allowing diners to compose their own tasting menu based on appetite and curiosity.

The star of the menu is undoubtedly the pizzetta, a house-made creation on levain that has achieved legendary status among regulars. This isn't your typical pizza—the sourdough base provides complex flavor and texture, while toppings showcase Ciccoli's ability to balance richness and acidity. It's the kind of dish that keeps people coming back, a signature that defines the restaurant's identity.

Beyond the pizzetta, the menu reveals Ciccoli's willingness to play with unexpected combinations. Melon with gorgonzola cream demonstrates his confidence with sweet-savory pairings, while dishes featuring ingredients like guanciale, burrata, and smoked mozzarella show an Italian influence filtered through a French sensibility. The kitchen also excels at charcuterie, with house-made pork terrine and croquettes that showcase proper technique and quality sourcing.

Vegetable preparations receive equal attention, with dishes like honey-lacquered eggplant with feta and Swiss chard-pork caillette demonstrating range and creativity. The menu also includes classics executed well—beef tartare, fried squid, and various preparations of quality ingredients like tarama. For dessert, you might find seasonal offerings like apricot clafoutis with blackcurrant-cherry sorbet, maintaining the focus on fresh, quality ingredients.

The cooking style emphasizes bold flavors and quality products while remaining approachable and unpretentious. Ciccoli's food is designed to be enjoyed in a social context, with dishes that spark conversation and encourage sharing. Portions are sized to allow tasting multiple items, and the menu's structure invites exploration rather than commitment to a single entrée.

This approach has earned recognition from Gault&Millau, which awarded the restaurant an 11/20 rating—a solid acknowledgment of quality cooking in a casual setting. The rating reflects what Café du Coin does best: delivering creative, well-executed food without the formality or price point of fine dining.