A Noste

Why open one restaurant when you can squeeze three into a single venue? Julien Duboué, erstwhile chef at Afaria, doesn't do things by halves: his new venture is essentially three eateries in one, each serving a different variety of Basque cuisine in a different setting. In the bustling downstairs room, diners sit around high communal tables and tuck into platters of succulent tapas. On the ground level, those in a hurry grab takeaway taloa (corn pancakes) from a pop-up stall. Things get serious upstairs, where the more genteel clientele relish the various courses of the €38 set menu (€60 at dinnertime). We sampled the latter option, and can happily report that it's worth every centime – the meat is divine, and the products are all sourced from south-west France (including some veg from Duboué's father's garden). It bodes well for the other two floors.