L'Achepot

Judging by the finely-wrought dishes that arrived at our table, l’Achepot resembles a talented goldsmith’s little workshop. It’s a small space but it’s cuisine with a big heart, tracing the changing seasonal moods in its produce. They call it “bistronomie” and that’s exactly what this is, a place that has succeeded in achieving the delicate balance between laid-back service and quality food. Demanding chef Gauthier De Baere is the one with the know-how here, getting cooking times just right, expedient with the spices and brilliant with the trimmings. The décor is pure, luminous, using wood and leather to create a contemporary atmosphere in a property whose old beams invoke past decades. And since there is nothing stuffy about the place, the wine list is not etched in stone. Short but well-balanced, it changes from month to month, quite audaciously at times – a gently mineral Jacquère de Savoie or an old-style Bugey Cerdon that goes down as easily as a glass of lemonade.