LAZU – the bistro that renamed itself after its chef

Lazu occupies a corner address on the rue Marguerite-de-Rochechouart in the 9th arrondissement, a short walk from the Gare du Nord. For years the room traded as Bouillon 47, a hearty neighbourhood bistro; then, in the autumn of 2024, chef-owner Rémi Lazurowicz put his own name above the door and reworked the décor without touching the dishes that had made the place's reputation. Lazurowicz spent three years as Bruno Doucet's second at La Régalade Saint-Honoré before taking charge of his own kitchen here, and the training shows in the confident, classic jus-work underpinning a modern, produce-led carte. The MICHELIN Guide lists Lazu among its selected Paris addresses, filing the cooking as Modern Cuisine and the bill as a moderate spend, while Gault&Millau keeps two toques on the door. It is, above all, a cuisinier's restaurant in the old sense: a chef who owns the room, writes the menu and still answers to his regulars' tastes.

01The room and the setting

The dining room keeps an art deco line, warm and unfussy, with black-and-white photographs of diners at table hung along the walls as a reminder that a good meal is, first of all, a shared one. A central table d'hôte runs through the middle of the room, nudging strangers into the same easy conviviality as a neighbourhood canteen. Service is close and informal rather than ceremonious. In fine weather a small leafy terrace opens onto the street, giving regulars somewhere to linger over coffee or an aperitif before moving inside.

02The chef

Rémi Lazurowicz is chef and owner, the kind of set-up that, as the house itself points out, changes the whole character of a restaurant. The chef was second in command to Bruno Doucet for three years at La Régalade St-Honoré, absorbing the bistronomic grammar of jus, offal and seasonal produce that still runs through Lazu's cooking today. Gault&Millau credits him with an appealing young restaurant that retains its two toques, a rare feat for a chef running his own name over the door. Since 2023 the kitchen and floor have worked a four-day week, a choice the house frames as essential to keeping the job enjoyable rather than merely demanding.

Insider tip

Nearest métro: Cadet (L7), Anvers (L2), Gare du Nord (L4/L5). Art deco room, central table d'hôte, small terrace.

03The cooking

Lazurowicz aims for food that reads clearly on the plate: direct, confidently seasoned, built on classic stocks and jus for roundness and gourmandise, then sharpened with contrasts of texture, temperature and a deliberate touch of acidity or bitterness so that no two mouthfuls taste quite the same. The emblem of that approach is a veal sweetbread, roasted in the pan and lacquered in its own reduction, a dish he says was elected by customers rather than imposed by the chef, and it has sat on the everyday carte for five years running. A potato-crusted pâté en croûte is the other specialty that never left the menu through the change from Bouillon 47 to Lazu. The wider menu changes weekly according to what arrives from the markets, but these two dishes have been permanent fixtures since the restaurant opened.

04What to order

Start, if it is on the slate, with the pâté en croûte de pommes de terre, then move to the house signature: the laquered veal sweetbread that put Lazu on Paris's bistronomy map. Among the seasonal dishes, pan-fried gnocchi come with a blue cheese cream, fried garlic, autumn grapes and a muscat grape sorbet, while a roasted duck breast is served with Provençal olive polenta, orange-zest carrots, a savoury jus and olive powder. A chalkboard of daily suggestions runs alongside the printed carte and changes with whatever the morning's deliveries bring.

05Wine and drinks

The wine list runs past 150 references from serious domaines, paired with a short card of house cocktails and, notably, a proper selection of non-alcoholic drinks for anyone pacing themselves through a long lunch. It is built to sit comfortably alongside both the heartier bistro dishes and the lighter, more contemporary plates that now share the carte.

06The neighbourhood

Lazu sits in the Martyrs–Rochechouart pocket of the 9th arrondissement, a part of Paris threaded with small producers, wine bars and the market streets that supply kitchens like this one. It is served by the métro stations Cadet on line 7, Anvers on line 2 and Gare du Nord on lines 4 and 5, with buses stopping at Maubeuge-Rochechouart nearby. The address rewards walking in from any of them: the rue des Martyrs' cheesemongers and bakeries are a few minutes away, making a pre-dinner stroll worthwhile before the sweetbreads arrive.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.