Chantoiseau – Montmartre's tribute to the first modern restaurant

Climbing the cobbled bend of rue Lepic toward Place du Tertre, Chantoiseau borrows its name from a genuine piece of restaurant history. It was Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau who, in 1765, opened what is considered Paris's first modern restaurant, with individual tables and a written menu to choose from, in the Louvre quarter. More than two centuries later, brothers Nicolas and Julien Durand, both raised in the Vendée, took up that idea on the slopes of Montmartre, cooking four-handed in a dining room they built inside a former Italian address on rue Lepic. Nicolas trained under Tatiana Levha at Le Servan before working at Capitaine, while Julien cut his teeth in Pierre Gagnaire's kitchens; together they now run a neo-bistro that reworks French classics with the occasional noble ingredient, such as a puff-pastry pigeon pie. It holds a place in the MICHELIN Guide selection for the 18th arrondissement.

01The room and the setting

The restaurant sits behind a pale-blue shopfront partway up rue Lepic's steep climb, the kind of frontage that makes first-time visitors check the address twice before pushing the door. Inside, the room keeps to the neo-bistro script: a compact zinc bar, bare wooden tables, pared-back lines and glass pendant lights overhead, with a small terrace for warmer months. The restaurant is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible, and the two dining rooms are often used by groups and private parties rather than solo diners seeking anonymity.

02The brothers

Nicolas and Julien Durand grew up together on their grandparents' small farm in the Vendée, among freshly drawn raw milk and long family tables, a childhood immersion in seasonal, local cooking that still shapes the way they run their own kitchen. Nicolas went on to work as Tatiana Levha's second at Le Servan in the 11th arrondissement before a stint at Capitaine, while Julien trained in the exacting kitchens of Pierre Gagnaire. Neither brother knew Montmartre at all before they fell for a disused Italian restaurant on rue Lepic and decided, almost on sight, that this was the place to open together.

Insider tip

Closed weekends; weekday lunch menu €34; booking advised for the small dining room.

03The cooking

The kitchen's register is contemporary French bistronomy with a classical backbone: a menu built around starters, mains and desserts rather than small-plate grazing, dressed up occasionally with luxury ingredients such as game birds, foie gras or line-caught fish. Visitors have found it a very good address serving traditional food with a slight modern twist and plenty of freshness, the kind of cooking that rewards a return visit rather than a single showy dish. In the 2026 Gault&Millau guide the restaurant is rated as a Gourmet Restaurant for French signature cuisine with a traditional base, its kitchen praised for skill and creativity rather than excess.

04What to order

The à la carte opens with a chestnut velouté lifted by mandarin juice and smoked cream, or fresh picked crab dressed with grapefruit mayonnaise and black radish. Among the mains, a roasted pork carré comes with gnocchi, green asparagus and a green jus, while line-caught sea bass is confit with fresh Le Croisic seaweed, heliantis and lemon-dressed spinach. The signature puff-pastry pie pairs wood pigeon with foie gras and a sweet-and-sour beetroot, a dish that has drawn diners back for years. To finish, a chocolate Guanaja entremet comes with bitter-orange marmalade and a sugarloaf sorbet, or there is a verbena-and-lemon savarin with white chocolate and pineapple cream.

05Wine and drinks

The list leans heavily, by some accounts almost exclusively, into natural wine, with a thoughtfully chosen selection and sharp, well-priced references available by the glass from as little as €8. It is a cellar built for a neighbourhood crowd rather than a trophy list, favouring small growers over big names.

06When to go and booking

Chantoiseau opens Monday evening only, then lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Friday, and stays closed on Saturdays and Sundays. A single-choice weekday lunch menu at €34 (starter, main and dessert) runs Tuesday to Friday, excluding public holidays, with the à la carte available at both lunch and dinner from Monday evening onward. Given the small room, booking ahead, especially for weekday dinners, is advisable.

07The neighbourhood

Rue Lepic winds uphill past some of Montmartre's best-known addresses: a plaque at number 54 marks the building where Vincent van Gogh once lived with his brother Théo, just a short walk below the restaurant's door. The nearest metro stations are Abbesses on line 12 and Blanche on line 2, both a few minutes on foot, putting Chantoiseau within easy reach of Place du Tertre and the quieter, more residential western slopes of the Butte.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.