Le Grand Paris, the new culinary destination not to be missed

At La Villette (Boom Boom Villette), at the Gare de Lyon (Ground Control), in the Gaîté workshops in the Montparnasse district (Food Society)... Paris has been catching up on the "food court" scene with an increasing number of openings in recent months. The latest addition to this repertoire, Communale, which focuses on food inclusivity, didn't choose Paris itself, but the inner suburbs, Saint-Ouen to be precise. "It's one of the most dynamic towns in Ile-de-France, like Pantin. Its cultural activity is very dynamic," explains Denis Legat, head of the project and associate director of La Lune Rousse. " It's the new Brooklyn! Communale is the image of a new generation of good addresses that no longer concentrate on the heart of Paris to hope for success.

From now on, you'll have to cross the ring road, hop on the RER and sweep away the clichés that would still have us believe that the Parisian suburbs have nothing to offer when it's time to sit down to dinner. From the inner suburbs to Fontainebleau, we prove that Greater Paris is a culinary destination in its own right. Here's how.

The Communale food court in Saint-Ouen

Long gone are the days when Lisbon was the only European capital to cater for all tastes with a food court. Ten years ago, its Time Out Market pioneered the concept of bringing together a variety of restaurateurs in a single location, where anyone could order the dish of their choice and enjoy it on communal tables. In Saint-Ouen, with the opening of Communale, the model takes on a social dimension. The former Alstom hall, built over a hundred years ago, has become an integral part of local life, serving as a rallying point for local residents who come to do their shopping, as well as for hungry passers-by and music lovers, who can enjoy live performances in a concert hall. On the culinary front, the Audon food court offers an exotic mix of Korean, Taiwanese and South American kiosks. " In Saint-Ouen, many communities coexist, and we wanted to represent them in the mix of food on offer," emphasizes Denis Legat, President of Communale. Designed as broths, the counters also emphasize the authenticity of accessible cuisine, such as the concept of petits farceurs, based on the recipe for pâté croûte.

• 10 bis Rue de l'Hippodrome, 93400 Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, France
• https://communalesaintouen.com

Studio Fred H

Les Mérovingiens at Noisy-le-Grand

Behind his glibness and outspokenness, there is above all a vision. Chef Jacky Ribault tells those who bet only on the western suburbs of Paris that the east is the best bet in the longer term. A resident of Le Perreux-sur-Marne for several years, the owner of Qui plume la lune (Paris 11ᵉ) first extended his playground to the inner suburbs, opening his most identity-building table, L'Ours, in Vincennes in 2018. Then, in 2021, this former Arpège alumnus is keen to prove the full potential of Noisy-le-Grand, scratched by the image of a supposedly unsavory town. Jacky Ribault 's project contributes to the transformation of this Seine-Saint-Denis municipality by offering a contemporary bistronomic brasserie, Les Mérovingiens.

• 32 Av. Emile Cossonneau, 93160 Noisy-le-Grand
• http://lesmerovingiens.fr

©Guillaume Czerw

Le Quincangrogne in Dampmart

If guinguettes such as Chez Gégène (Joinville-le-Pont) have made the banks of the Marne an authentic and convivial destination, the escapade is no less gastronomic when you take the time to go downstream to this mill converted into a table honored with three toques and a 15/20. This former hunting lodge frequented by Henri IV is now a hotel/restaurant run by chef Franck Charpentier. This former chef of the Trianon Palace in Versailles and the Hôtel Scribe in Paris draws on a variety of products from the Ile-de-France region, including pork from theassociation Francilin, to create dishes that are both aesthetically pleasing and, above all, gourmet, like this Rossini-style royal beef, simmered for 12 to 14 hours.

• 7 Rue de l'Abreuvoir, 77400 Dampmart
• www.hotel-restaurant-lequincangrogne.fr/le-restaurant/

Laurence Fabrègues

L'Or Q'idée in Pontoise

Naoëlle d'Hainaut is one of the many chefs launched by the Top Chef TV competition who have chosen the Paris suburbs to launch their business (as has Baptiste Renouard with his restaurant Ochre in Rueil-Malmaison). Season 4's winner opened her gourmet table in the heart of old Pontoise, serving a refined cuisine worthy of a palace. Logical, since Naoëlle d'Hainaut sculpted her culinary style at the Bristol, working with Eric Frechon, where she became sous-chef. Her signature dish: a Roscoff onion in a walnut bread crust, served with a carpaccio of old mimolette and a beechwood-smoked onion cream. In addition to its gourmet restaurant, La Toque also offers a more accessible service in the form of a tapas bar, where you can casually graze on planks of charcuterie and cheese.

• 14 Rue Marcel Rousier, 95300 Pontoise
• www.lorqidee.fr

©Roméo Ballancourt

Les Halles d'Issy - Biltoki in Issy-les-Moulineaux

The world's best pastry chef, as designated by the International Union of Bakers and Confectioners (UIBC) in November 2023, didn't choose central Paris.has chosen not the center of Paris, but the inner suburbs, to offer an alternative to sweet tooths who wish to treat themselves to one of her recipes, without going to Printemps du Goût. La délicatesserie, Nina Métayer's pastry concept, makes up the generous food offer of the halles d'Issy-les-Moulineaux, which have been completely renovated to become a permanent market.

Built by Gustave Eiffel in 1884, just a few years after the Iron Lady, the historic building, a witness to the industrialization of this Hauts-de-Seine district of France, is now a permanent market.They were dismantled, stripped of asbestos and then reassembled under the impetus of the Biltoki family of Basque origin. The company has been spreading its food hall concept all over France, from Anglet to Villeneuve d'Ascq in the north, and now runs no fewer than ten markets throughout the country. In Issy-les-Moulineaux, don't miss a visit to the cheese counter of Meilleur Ouvrier de France Laurent Dubois. Order a coffee at Biltoki, or extend your break with a slice of pizza at Rosso, or a seafood platter at Poisson Paris for those with more time on their hands.

• 1 Rue Rouget de Lisle, 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux
• https://biltoki.com/halles/hallesissy/