La Table Lauriston

Serge Barbey's dining room has a refreshingly feminine touch. The emphasis here is firmly on good-quality ingredients, skilfully prepared to show off their freshness. In spring, stalks of asparagus from the Landes are expertly trimmed to avoid any trace of stringiness and served with the simplest vinaigrette d'herbes. More extravagant is the foie gras cuit au torchon, in which the duck liveris wrapped in a cloth and poached in a bouillon. Skip the crème brûlée, which you could have anywhere, and order a dessert with attitude instead: the giant baba au rhum.