Mâche – Memphis colour and blind tasting menus by Gare du Nord

Mâche sits on the rue de Chabrol in the 10th arrondissement, a five-minute walk from Gare du Nord, in a converted space of exposed stone and plank floors that its owners have filled with the hard colour and angled geometry of 1980s Italian design. It is the project of Vincent Géraud, a former hotel director who built the restaurant to continue a trade begun by his grandfather, a bougnat café-keeper, and it now runs on the partnership between chef William Ezzedine, who leads the kitchen, and Jean Cercey, who directs the dining room and cellar. The restaurant is selected in the MICHELIN Guide 2026, recognition for a kitchen that trades the usual grammar of French gastronomy for something more personal: two blind tasting menus built on memory, travel and instinct, served in a room that looks like nowhere else in the quarter.

01The room and the setting

Inside, the decoration borrows directly from the Memphis Milano movement of the 1980s, with black-and-white stripes meeting fully saturated colour and angled shapes, in a scheme by architect Charles du Pouget built around the work of Italian designer Ettore Sottsass, founder of the movement. The decoration with the black and white stripes and the fully-saturated colors with angled shapes recalled the paintings of Fernand Léger for one visitor, but the actual inspiration is the Memphis Milano artistic movement, with the design by Charles du Pouget based on the work of Ettore Sottsass, founder of the Memphis Milano movement.

Behind the colour, the building's bones stay plain. The spacious restaurant has plank floors, exposed stone walls, a Memphis-style decor and an open kitchen, giving it a lot of character. The result is a long room running back from a small bar toward the kitchen, raw material and bright pattern pulling against each other all evening.

02The chef

William Ezzedine was born in Abidjan and grew up between Côte d'Ivoire, Lebanon and Paris, a childhood he says still shapes a cooking that is vivid, sincere and built on memory. He defends a cuisine that is vivid, sincere and profoundly inhabited by memories. After ten years refining his technique in well-regarded Parisian houses, including Kei Kobayashi, Fief and Chenapan, he took over the kitchens of Mâche with the wish to make cultures, direct flavours and the pleasure of sharing speak to one another. His seasoning is exact, his touch technical, but the aim stays simple: to surprise with precision rather than spectacle.

Insider tip

Selected in the MICHELIN Guide 2026; dinner Tue–Sat, lunch Fridays only, booking advised.

In the dining room, sommelier Jean Cercey carries the same philosophy into service and wine, built on conviviality and discovery rather than ceremony — the house's own description of a team that wants every table to feel like a shared find rather than a formal occasion.

03The cooking

Mâche runs on two blind tasting menus, each named after a reference from the room's own design language. The chef's travelling, spontaneous inspirations are presented through experiences served blind, without a printed list of dishes. Diners choose a length rather than a menu of named courses: at dinner, Tuesday to Saturday, that means a four-course Memphis menu at €80 or the six-course Sottsass at €105. From Friday, 3 April 2026, the same kitchen opens for lunch, with a tighter three-course Ettore menu at €52 or the Sottsass menu, served until 1pm, at €105.

The house's own line on its food is that it wants to 'faire découvrir' — to make guests discover flavours, approaches and pairings without ever playing it safe, building each plate from real or imagined journeys, sharp contrasts and ingredients taken from both the season and from fermentation jars kept from earlier ones.

04Wine and drinks

Wine is Jean Cercey's domain, and reviewers have noted the cellar leans toward living, natural bottlings rather than classic Bordeaux-style lists. The cuisine is accompanied by natural wines harmoniously selected by Jean Cercey.

Drinks are never included in the menu price. Diners can order still water by the carafe for free, or ask for filtered still or sparkling water at €4 a head — a choice the house frames as a way of cutting down on bottled-water waste. Beyond that, both tasting menus can be matched with a wine pairing, priced at €45 for the Memphis menu and €60 for the Sottsass, or with a non-alcoholic pairing at €35 and €50 respectively; the actual glasses are chosen at the table once dinner is under way, not in advance.

05When to go and booking

Mâche serves a single dinner seating each night, Tuesday to Saturday, with arrivals welcomed between 7pm and 9pm and no fixed turnaround — a deliberate choice so that a two- or three-hour meal is never rushed. Lunch, a newer addition from April 2026, runs only on Fridays, with arrivals for the short Ettore menu accepted until 1.30pm and for the six-course Sottsass until 1pm.

The kitchen asks every guest at a table to choose the same menu, though it can adapt for allergies or preferences — a vegetarian version of the Memphis menu is available on request, though there is no vegan option. The same dining room can also be privatised for up to 35 seated guests or 50 standing, for dinners, cocktails or product launches, arranged directly with the restaurant by email.

06The neighbourhood

Mâche stands in the Poissonnière quarter of the 10th arrondissement, close enough to Gare du Nord to reach on foot in five minutes — useful for anyone arriving by Eurostar. The rue de Chabrol itself, running between boulevard de Magenta and rue La Fayette, is worth a stroll for its traditional Parisian streetscape, and starts just outside the covered Marché Saint-Quentin, a good stop for cheese and charcuterie.

The restaurant has built its reputation quickly in a part of Paris not traditionally known for fine dining: it is rated 4.9 out of 5 on TripAdvisor, placing 68th among almost 20,000 restaurants in the capital and inside the platform's global top 10%, and scores 9.6 out of 10 on TheFork, where it ranks 29th among Paris's top 100 restaurants for 2026.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.