Bonhomme – Odessa soul, French terroir, Faubourg-Poissonnière

Bonhomme occupies a corner of rue du Faubourg-Poissonnière in Paris's 10th arrondissement, a few steps from the Grand Rex cinema and the Folies Bergère theatre. The restaurant opened on 24 May 2022, after three months of work, the project of three friends, Maxime Piasek, Marc Faraggi and Thibaut Couvrecelle, who travelled through French vineyards and farms to build the cellar and the menu before settling on this address. The kitchen is now led by chef Maksym Zorin, previously of Alain Ducasse's brigade and founder of the restaurant La Datcha, who brings the flavours of his native Odessa into dishes built on French produce. Bonhomme is selected in the MICHELIN Guide, a bistro whose reputation rests on honest pricing, a serious cellar and a dining room that feels like a friend's address rather than a destination.

01The room and the setting

Interior designers Atelier Étude gave Bonhomme its look: stripped stone walls, a bar wrapped in emerald-green zellige tiles, and an open kitchen where up to four diners can sit at the counter to watch the pans move. Upstairs, two modular rooms sit behind a central staircase and can be joined into one long table for up to twenty guests, the address's quieter, more clubbish counterpart to the street-level bustle. In warm weather, the room opens onto a furnished terrace facing the Faubourg-Poissonnière.

02The chef

Maksym Zorin was born in Odessa and entered the hotel school at Thonon-les-Bains in 2015. He went on to work in Alain Ducasse's brigade before founding his own restaurant, La Datcha, and now runs the Bonhomme kitchen with a creative, seasonal cuisine built on French terroir, sharpened by his own Ukrainian references. His cooking carries bright, maritime notes he traces back to his Odessa childhood, the kind found in a cabillaud nacré dressed with fennel, mussels and fermented lemon in a marinière sauce.

Insider tip

Open Tuesday–Saturday, noon to midnight; book via website, phone or Google.

03The cooking

The lunchtime offer changes with the market: a starter-and-main or main-and-dessert menu at €24, or three courses at €29, served Tuesday to Friday. In the evening the à la carte is renewed by season and by what the producers bring in. For a fuller view of the kitchen, Bonhomme runs a five-course Menu Découverte, preceded by an amuse-bouche, at €80 per person, with the option of a five-glass wine pairing for €40. The menu is not revealed in advance, so the kitchen asks guests to flag allergies and dietary restrictions beforehand.

04What to order

Among the starters, look for the poached organic egg with sweetcorn in brown butter, lovage and a light Abondance cream, or the flame-seared mackerel with confit leeks, seaweed and salmon roe in beurre blanc. To follow, beluga lentil ravioli arrives with a butternut velouté, glazed chestnut and bleu d'Auvergne espuma, while the bar nacré is built on a fennel risotto, pont-neuf potatoes, rouille and a bouillabaisse sauce; the double-cooked poultry comes with Paris mushrooms, shiitake and girolles in a suprême sauce. For dessert, the millefeuille of pink grapes with a buttered tuile and thyme chantilly makes a lighter close than the mi-cuit chocolate tart with orange-blossom vanilla ice cream.

05Wine and drinks

The cellar is directed by sommelier and restaurant director Kyllian Vrignaud, previously of Colvert and Bouillon Racine, who has built an entirely French list balancing organic, biodynamic and conventional growers. The list runs to more than 100 references, with bottles starting at €30 and wine by the glass available from €7; a dessert wine pairing can be added for €5.

06The neighbourhood and booking

Bonhomme is open Tuesday to Saturday, from midday to midnight, on a stretch of rue du Faubourg-Poissonnière close to the Grand Rex cinema and the Folies Bergère, and within walking distance of the Bonne-Nouvelle (lines 8 and 9) and Poissonnière (line 7) Métro stations. Tables, including the two private rooms upstairs, can be booked through the website, by phone or via Google; for large groups or tailored menus, the house recommends calling directly. The same team runs a second address, Dame, on rue Condorcet in the 9th arrondissement.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.