Nolita

[Note: This review only covers the venue's weekend brunch menu]

A seriously-swanky address facing the Champs-Elysées complete with an Eiffel Tower view - Nolita restaurant goes full throttle for its upscale status. Fiat has lavished cash on its new Motor Village, installing this ultra-contemporary fine dining Italian restaurant on the second floor to keep visitors close. It works. Chic black and white interiors with big, beautiful curves give Nolita a trendy minimalist atmosphere favoured by a fashion crowd. Alain Ducasse-trained chef Vittorio Beltramelli works with beautiful regional produce, impressing with classics like Sicilian suckling pig and more unusual dishes like Martini and shrimp risotto. Choosing from Nolita's excellent wine list is almost as big a thrill; there’s over a hundred of Italy’s great and good bins.

Nolita's unrivalled ‘brunch à l’italienne’ is a lavish, Latin buffet that’s a world away from a London fry-up: melting mozzarella, carpaccio of swordfish, Parmesan shavings on a bed of bresaola, soft sliced ​​octopus, subtly marinated vegetables, sundried tomatoes…  Nolita also offers breaded saffron rice dumplings, stuffed focaccia and the choice of two hot dishes (moist lasagne or steaming cannelloni). To complete the Italian experience, there is a healthy spread of desserts: tiramisu, panna cotta, walnut pie, fresh fruit and cornetti (croissants filled with cream or jam). So, enough here to satisfy even the most gargantuan of appetites. Unfortunately, your €39 only covers a sole glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice (orange, lemon or grapefruit) and one hot drink. Drink some water in between trips to the buffet, or out on to the balcony which looks out over the Grand Palais – you are, after all, in the middle of the Champs-Elysees roundabout. Space is limited and the tables are sought after, so don’t forget to book.