Bon vivant
Vivant 2 (10th arr)
RESTAURANTS • FOUND Table
The Backstory: Bonsoir! Bienvenue! Merci! Au revoir! The whole staff at Vivant 2 cheerfully chants as you step in or out, just like chefs in an izakaya. It's part of the Japanese omotenashi spirit — hospitality rooted in enthusiasm, respect, and attentiveness — and sets the tone for what’s to come, inviting you to leave the outside world behind and fully enter theirs. You could easily spend your whole evening here — or start (or end) your night next door at Déviant for a drink or two. Better yet, return and eat your way down the street: the group behind the restaurant, Savoir Vivre, has built its own little écurie on Rue des Petites Écuries. There’s Il Camino for Italian generosity, Le Collier de la Reine for a modern brasserie with a hint of pub energy, and La Cave for private gatherings. It’s a group that knows how to live.
The Experience: French culinary elegance with a bold, offbeat turn. The à la carte menu delivers a seasonal, genre-bending journey across land and sea, with a strong nod to offal, fermentation, and texture. It's less a dinner, more an intimate encounter, best experienced solo or as a duo. Dim candlelight, marble counters, and chefs in crisp white aprons move with the precision of a well-rehearsed quartet. The place feels equally sacred and underground, like eating in a candlelit chapel with a playlist shuffling from Britney to Mylène Farmer to Pino D’Angio. But at heart, it’s a chef’s bar: all counter seating save for one tiny table for two tucked into an alcove. Conversation flows easily with the chefs and the somms, but the low lights and loud music create that bubble of intimacy for you and your date.
Chef Léo Dauvergne embraces complexity and expects diners to trust him with bold, polarizing ingredients. There’s a worldly, borderline-academic curiosity in combining components like Indian palak, Calabrian anchovy, and veal brain. But for all of its creative ambition, the cooking is rooted in technique, focused.
We begin with Breton oysters topped with a Roussillon rancio emulsion. It’s creamy, nutty, oxidative, and vibrant, like warming up by a fire after a cold beach swim. White asparagus with confit shiitakes and cashew condiment is more like a hug in a field — snap-fresh, seasoned with shiso. Offal fans will rejoice (even skeptics, too) in the wild textures, clean flavors, and playful intent of pressed pork snout with mussel emulsion and a crispy broth chip. Or in the perfectly cooked veal sweetbreads with agretti and peanut jus. Dessert closes on a subtle, fragrant note: halva ice cream with pistachio praline and pomelo. Dauvergne’s cooking isn’t for the timid. He confronts you with intense ingredient symbiosis, then hugs you with warmth and care. It’s controlled mischief with reverence for tradition.
Vivant is wine-geek heaven, a playground for the adventurous drinker. Sommelier Pierre Berthier awakened our palate with a Champagne — Les Tremblaies 2013, by Clément Perceval — accompanying our oysters for a very chic start. Pairings ranged from a Sylvaner, Siggi 2017 by Jean-Marc Dreyer, to a Maury Hors d’âge by La Petite Baigneuse from Roussillon. The pork snout is paired with a heady and complex Maruja, a 100% Palomino Fino solera from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, while the fish is perfectly anchored by Dernier Round, a Cabernet Franc by Clos des Folies. Pairings push boundaries, rarely obvious, sometimes curious, often brilliant.
Why It’s FOUND: A chef’s table for the bold. Vivant isn’t trying to please everyone, it’s crafting a specific, soulful experience with flair, funk, and finesse. Go for the food, stay for the music, and trust the kitchen. But bring someone you really want to talk to — or no one at all. This one’s for the seekers. It is very much alive. –Candice Chemel
→ Vivant 2 (10th arr) • 43 Rue des Petites Écuries • Mon-Fri 19h-00h • Book.