A small earthquake in Toulouse's gastronomic scene: after seven years in the kitchen at Les Planeurs, talented chef Katsunori Nakanishi, who trained in Tokyo and worked in the Parisian kitchens of Ourcine and Cette, crossed the Canal du Midi in 2025 to open Octave in the Matabiau district with his wife Kana. Now alone in his open kitchen, the maestro serves lunch and dinner to some twenty delighted diners, either in the dining room (brick and wood), or at the marble counter (which we recommend if there are two of you). There's no menu, not even for lunch, but a list of short titles masking complex dishes: deep "cabbage soup parmesan" (€6!), monumental "roast pigeon", but also that day "roast duck supreme", "pan-fried black Bigorre pork", "saint-pierre, fish broth", and subtle "yellow kiwi panna cotta" to finish. Top-notch products, precise cooking, perfect sauces (ideal for the succulent farmhouse bread), remarkable work on the many vegetables, generous plates. No wonder it's already a hit (Katsu has its fans), especially as prices remain friendly for the hypercentre. The natural wine list is up to scratch, but we'd like to see a little less of it, and the service is bistronomic, relaxed but very professional.
Chef
