Pialha is the tavern 2.0 dreamed up by chef Benjamin Millard, whom we met in Lyon at L'Agastache. The chef-tavernologist has recently set up shop in the working-class district of Riquier, behind the harbour, and has taken over this cosy little place with a simple yet powerful idea: market cuisine that's lively, spontaneous and creative, where every plate tells a story. Alone on stage, he welcomes, cooks, serves and sets the tempo for each table, transforming the meal into a precise and generous moment, without frills but with total mastery. The lunch menus (renewed every Monday), evocatively named Régal des Braves at €25 for three courses, or Temps des Saveurs at €32 for four courses, perfectly illustrate this technical evidence. The spiral of winter vegetables or creamy celeriac meets a tarragon and chervil sorbet under a warm Jerusalem artichoke sauce, the roasted sea bass is like a seafood croque-monsieur, while the pork loin confit for ten hours at 58°C, escorted by homemade gnocchi and a butternut purée wrapped in a roasted seed praline, is all the more convincing. But it's with his reinterpretation of the Bleu d'Auvergne that the chef from Auvergne hits the nail on the head: offered as a genuine cheese dish, the blue-veined paste is transformed into ice cream, espuma in gavottes, in the style of Sicilian cannoli, snow... bluffing. Then comes the apple, in a turbulent tatin style, cooked in ribbons and served with a hazelnut-oil glaze made by the chef's grandmother. The cellar, narrowed down to around twenty references, is priced as gently as the menus. After Yves Camdeborde and his bistronomy, Benjamin Millard's tavergonomy is next.
Benjamin Millard Chef
