Sous les Cerisiers

A new Parisian fusion restaurant recommended by my Tokyo friend

My friend Kyoko (actually, she is my counterpart in Tokyo) told me that a friend of hers opened a fusion restaurant in Paris. So before my trip to Japan (I leave next week), I thought I would try out the restaurant, meet Sakura (Kyoko's friend) and then report to Kyoko when I see her.

Sakura Franck is a lovely Japanese chef who is very proud of her Japanese tradition and interested in giving its products a French twist. The restaurant is beautifully designed--a long, light grey room with pink geometrical creations peeking out from the ceiling. The look is pristine and the atmosphere quite calm. The back room has two beautiful tables and every chair is dressed in a costume out of the Opera. It is quite surprising to see the chairs so elegantly dressed. The dishes in that room are also very elegant.

Sakura means cherry tree in Japanese and the French name of the restaurant means "Under the Cherry Trees". My first visit was at lunch where you may choose from three appetizers, three main courses and three desserts for a total of less than 20 euros. I started with a lovely and creamy mousse de tofu, sauce au wasabi. This was spectacular! The mousse was smooth and flavorful and the wasabi added the right amount of oomph. My main course was Supions Grillées--the fat bodies of squid simply grilled and served with a light provençale-type sauce. That was served with rice. To accompany my meal, I chose a glass of white Burgundy which was quite rich and contrasted with my food very well.

Sakura does serve tuna but she has written in her menu that the tuna she serves is not the endangered type. It is actually quite small and is very different from the red tuna that is such a controversial food item at this time.

At dinner, there are a number of menus ranging from 40 euros to about 70 euros. And there is an à la carte menu as well. A specialty is foie gras sushi. (I can't wait to go back and try that.) She also serves a variety of fish dishes creatively conceived and reflecting the two cultures. There is meat on the menu as well.

The restaurant has already had a lot of press in French and in Japanese journals, and in 5 short months, it is doing very well. I look forward to going back again soon.