Amâlia – the hardworking star of Folie-Méricourt

In the Folie-Méricourt corner of Paris's 11th arrondissement, Amâlia occupies the address once held by the bistro Robert, a short walk from métro Goncourt. Cecilia Spurio and Eugenio Anfuso, an Italian couple who had worked their way through some of Europe's grandest kitchens, opened the restaurant in March 2024, and within a year it had earned one MICHELIN Star, awarded in March 2025. The room plays it straight rather than trend-chasing: white tablecloths, dimmed table lighting and menus printed on artisanal paper, a deliberate homage to French gastronomy and the art of the table. The name itself, Gothic in origin, means "hardworking" – a fitting motto for a pair who built a starred address from scratch in little more than twelve months, cooking a modern, personal rereading of the French classical repertoire with an unmistakable Italian accent.

01The room and the setting

The dining room keeps things deliberately classical. Unlike many of the other restaurants in the east of Paris, this one has gone for classic elegance: a refined decor, tablecloths, stylish service. A white-walled room with café-au-lait armchairs opens directly onto the chefs' brigade at their stoves, so the pass is never far from the tables. One favoured spot, a grey marble table, sits face to face with the open kitchen, putting diners close to the actual choreography of the meal.

The address itself carries history: it sits in the space that for years was home to the bistro Robert, in the Folie-Méricourt district of the 11th, a pocket of Paris better known until recently for casual bistros than for tablecloth gastronomy.

02The chefs

Cecilia Spurio and Eugenio Anfuso are an Italian couple with a shared, well-travelled CV. She trained as a lawyer before turning to pastry, and was named revelation pastry chef of the year in 2018 by the Italian guide Gambero Rosso, and won the Lebey prize for best dessert in 2020 in tandem with Guillaume Godin for the Guy Savoy restaurant. He is Tuscan, from Florence, and built his technique in kitchens including Astrance and L'Ambroisie, as well as with Pierre Gagnaire, Yannick Alléno, Pascal Barbot and Bernard Pacaud, after earlier years in Italy with Enrico Bartolini and Aimo & Nadia.

Insider tip

Dinner Wednesday–Sunday, lunch Sunday only; closed Monday and Tuesday.

The two first cooked together at Korus, in Paris, before striking out on their own. After a stint at Korus, where they cooked in tandem for the first time, they unveiled Amâlia, imagining a resolutely contemporary French haute cuisine without ever denying its traditional roots. In the room, Anfuso runs the stoves while Spurio moves between the pastry section and the floor, greeting guests herself.

03The cooking

The kitchen's signature is a modern iteration of the French repertoire punctuated by Italian and wider influences, built around precise, acid-forward seasoning. A recurring starter is the tarte brûlée au parmesan, aged thirty-six months and dressed with Modena balsamic vinegar, alongside dishes such as a smoked Galician veal tartare, prepared with small pieces of citrus fruit and cashew nuts and served in a sea urchin shell, topped with a quenelle of sea urchin ice cream.

Among the mains, a red mullet à la bourguignonne sees the chef arrange the fish on shredded beef and cabbage leaves, the whole doused with a rich sauce, while a lacquered veal saddle arrives with date, harissa and almonds – proof the kitchen is unafraid of bold, layered spicing alongside its more classical technique.

04What to order

Among the savoury courses, gnocchi with tabasco butter, poached oyster, sour potato and black pudding is a dish regularly singled out by diners for its depth and balance.

On the sweet side, Cecilia Spurio's caramelised Jerusalem artichokes with Piedmont hazelnut ice cream and coffee praline closes several menus, often preceded by a lighter pre-dessert of mango mousse and sorbet with tagetes, Chinese pomelo and a light saffron cloud.

05Wine and drinks

The wine list is still young but growing with intent, built on a short, carefully chosen selection rather than sheer volume. Bread comes as house-made gressini and garlic brioche alongside a warm French loaf from the baker Lalos, and coffee is sourced from the small Italian roaster B.farm, in Vignole, including a decaffeinated blend that is harder to find done well.

06When to go and booking

Amâlia serves dinner from Wednesday to Sunday between 19h30 and 21h30, with a single lunch sitting on Sunday from 12h30 to 13h30; it is closed for lunch Monday to Friday and entirely on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Diners who book a seat near the open kitchen can watch both chefs working the pass directly, and the house offers optional truffle and caviar supplements for those who want to push the menu further.

The restaurant sits a few streets from two other names on the same rue de la Folie Méricourt, Géosmine and Ave, in a stretch of the 11th that has quickly become one of the more interesting dining corners east of the Canal Saint-Martin.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.