Miss Kô

Philippe Starck’s latest venture in Paris is a rock-Japanese outfit occupying a 500m2 space just off the Champs-Elysées. It’s been set up to like like a narrow Chinatown street, bustling and colourful at night, with open kitchens at the end where chefs work away beneath an array of suspended woks and neon lights. Giant paper lanterns are everywhere, forests of umbrellas hung over the tables, and there's a 26-metre table made up of a mosaic of screens, across which a dragon turns somersaults. It’s permanent visual chaos, which can become wearing. If you want something a bit easier on the eyes, go for one of the dining room tables or the comfortable sofas near the exterior terrace.

All this décor excitement doesn’t take away from the fact that you have come here to eat. There are a dozen dishes (expensive, but what do you expect), of which the star is a beef tataki at €29 – a sort of Japanese carpaccio with teriyaki sauce, with friend shiitake mushrooms and purée perfumed with ginger. The ‘black salmon & Kô’ burger at €19 is equally alluring, the bread coloured black with squid ink and garnished with avocado, mizuna, gravlax and tempura-fried green beans. Other classic dishes revisited by chef Fabrice Monot include bo bun, tartare, salads and pad thai.

For lighter meals, creative sushi (8 for approximately €12 – gyoza with beef bourguignon or foie gras – not for purists) go perfectly with a cocktail (classic or based on sake or soshu) or bubble tea. The bar with hip DJs and the terrace in summer are places to see and be seen.