Cabane – a world champion caterer's refuge in old Nanterre

Cabane holds a Bib Gourmand in the MICHELIN Guide, the distinction for cooking that rewards far more than its price asks, and it earns that in an unexpected setting: the old town of Nanterre, a short walk from the Sainte-Geneviève cathedral and the Nanterre-Ville RER A terminus. Chef Jean-François Bury opened the restaurant in 2018, his first, after nine years inside the kitchens of the Hôtel Georges V and a longer run through Paris's palace hotels. He had just finished fifth on the eighth season of Top Chef France in 2017, having already been crowned Champion du Monde Traiteur at the International Catering Cup in 2015. The name is personal: Cabane was the nickname of a technical back room at the Shangri-La Paris, the hotel where Bury met his partner Anaïs, who pushed him to go out on his own. The result is a warm, unpretentious bistronomic table that diners from Paris now cross the périphérique to reach.

01The room and the setting

Cabane sits at 8-10 rue du Docteur Foucault, in a quiet corner of Nanterre's historic centre, close to the Sainte-Geneviève cathedral and the RER A terminus at Nanterre-Ville. The dining room pairs a casual bistro register with a lounge corner of armchairs and sofas, a spot built for a drink before or after the meal as much as for the table itself. There is a terrace for warmer evenings, and the restaurant is wheelchair-accessible, with pets welcome throughout.

02The chef

Jean-François Bury built his craft inside the palace hotels of Paris, including nine years at the Georges V, before competing on the eighth season of Top Chef France in 2017, where he finished fifth. He had already proved himself in a different arena: crowned Champion de France Traiteur in 2014 and then Champion du Monde Traiteur in 2015 at the International Catering Cup, a title that still appears on the restaurant's own branding today.

Insider tip

Open Wednesday to Saturday; book ahead, especially for the shared cuts of beef or pork.

Cabane opened in 2018 as Bury's first restaurant of his own, encouraged by his partner Anaïs, whom he met while both worked at the Shangri-La Paris. The name borrows from an in-joke from those years: Cabane was the nickname the couple gave to one of the hotel's technical back rooms, a hideaway repurposed here as the name of a very public address.

03The cooking

Bury's cooking stays recognisably French and seasonal, built on classic bistro technique but regularly opened up with Asian touches picked up across his career in catering and palace kitchens. The carte changes with the seasons and currently runs a vegetarian thread alongside the meat and fish dishes, from a potimarron velouté lifted with Bleu d'Auvergne to a dashi-and-wasabi broth poured over mi-cuit salmon.

04What to order

Starters run to a hand-carved 16-month Parma ham, a ceviche of sea bass with leche de tigre and hummus, a veal-head carpaccio with Noir de Bigorre boudin and sauce gribiche, and that potimarron velouté with toasted hazelnuts. Among the mains: duck magret cooked on the barbecue with multicoloured beetroot and pomegranate, a yellow curry of pork cheek with coconut-milk yam mousseline, potato gnocchi stuffed with transalpine cheeses and autumn truffle, and a 45-day-matured faux-filet from the Metzger selection. For the table, there is a 45-day-matured côte de bœuf to share for two and a 24-hour confit shoulder of suckling pig with barbecue sauce for four. Desserts close with a Royal Tatin under a cloud of Isigny cream and Madagascan vanilla, a coconut-lime tapioca riz au lait with mango-passion compote, and the house tiramisu with speculoos ice cream.

05Wine and drinks

The wine list runs through Menetou-Salon, a Limoux chardonnay, Alsace Grand Cru Gewurztraminer from André Blanck, a Hautes-Côtes-de-Nuits from Domaine Antonin Guyon and a Bordeaux from Clarendelle par Haut-Brion, with Champagne Maison Jeandon by the glass. The cocktail list leans tropical and spiced — a gin-and-yuzu Aphrodisiaque Tonic, an amaretto-and-hibiscus Elixir, a cachaça Tipi Yuzu — alongside classics like a mojito and a piña colada made with house coconut sorbet, plus a mocktail version of each. Happy hour runs daily from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.

06When to go and booking

Cabane serves lunch and dinner Wednesday to Saturday, with Saturday lunch service finishing earlier than the rest of the week. The formule à la carte (entrée, plat, dessert) is priced at 49€, with a lunch-only formule at 37€ on weekdays. The restaurant closes for its summer break each August; in 2026 it shut on the 2nd and was due back on Wednesday 26 August. Given the small, convivial room, booking ahead through the restaurant's own site is advisable, especially for the shared cuts of beef or pork that need advance notice.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.