Il had lit season 11 of Top chef with its culinary flashes, its solar humor and its lunar freshness. From the height of his 23 years at the time, Mallory Gabsi had climbed to the semi-finals of the 2020 edition. A performance worth the Belgian, from Ixelles in the south-east of Brussels, to become the second candidate the youngest in history to reach this level in the program broadcast on M6. Two years later, the baby boy in the style of Yves Mattagne (2 stars at the Sea Grill, then at La Villa Lorraine in Brussels) flew from the flat country to set up his pans in Paris. Here is the troublemaker since Saturday March 5 at the head of the restaurant that bears his name in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de l’Étoile – two warning signs for the future? – in the 17and arrondissement.
The perfect opportunity for Point drags his cutlery towards the rue des Acacias to check what Mallory Gabsi’s table has in store. The place, cozy and opulent, mixes the contrasts of materials between mineral stone, mahogany-style plane tree, large mirrors, marble, velvet… You have the feeling of sitting on board an Art Deco liner. A 28-seat ship – full to bursting that evening – with different atmospheres which brings together two guest tables of six seats set up facing the open kitchen, six other tables of two guests scattered here and there in the room and a final table for four in the heart of an alcove sheltered from prying eyes. All you have to do is board and sail on this gastronomic cruise.
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Funny, playful, joyful and mind-blowing
Among the two menus offered at dinner (Les Sens in four courses at 69 euros and Turquoise in six courses at 110 euros), we let ourselves be tempted by the great adventure. After two well-packed canapes – soufflé bread, smoked scamorza, pistachio pesto; brick pastry, herring, sour cream – Mallory Gabsi reinterprets a great Belgian classic as an appetizer: green eel. In a green-enameled plate, the section of smoked fish awakened by lemon caviar is immediately softened by a shallot confit with a cream of herbs (tarragon, chervil, sorrel, nettle), a shallot juice and a touch of caviar. It is both powerful and delicate. Marked and refined. A delight !
The rest of the festivities are in the same vein: funny, playful, joyful and breathtaking under the leadership of a young, lively and alert service orchestrated by Patrick Faust. The entrances look like formal gardens. Witness the salmon topped with its soy eggs accompanied by a sake-marinated mini cucumber, a carrot and ginger condiment, yuzu powder and a sea buckthorn and vanilla oil vinaigrette. The salmon, electrified by ginger, yuzu and sake, is soothed by the vanilla vinaigrette. Bluffing!
Hand sewn
This balance of flavors continues with the domes of duck foie gras mousse – we would have liked them to concentrate more texture and substance – marrying a variation of red beets (raw, cooked, powder), a cream of ricotta and a fermented bean condiment. The richness of the foie gras is counterbalanced by the slightly sweet character of the beets. An association transcended by the vegetable of the bean and the creaminess of the ricotta. Astonishing and explosive.
The main courses are still climbing in level. In parallel with the fish, we first taste a composition of sea urchin tongue, yuzu gel, Espelette pepper in a teaspoon. A marine shoot before doing battle with sublimely pearly line-caught pollack wrapped in green asparagus infused with olive oil butter, turnips confit with Espelette pepper, garlic mayonnaise black and a bone and poultry juice whipped with sea urchin butter. Each ingredient elevates the others by playing on contrasting tastes and contrasting textures and temperatures. We are hand-sewn.
As with this surf and turf, a combination of red meat and seafood. Here, the roasted Norman wagyu beef chuck soaked in balsam fir and set with raw button mushrooms comes to terms with a large Breton langoustine. An emanation of the best of the season that hits the mark between meat with subtle smoky notes and shellfish with an aromatic iodized palette. We enjoy the silky beef juice with the fir tree while waiting to switch to sweet.
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Gabsi, the magnificent
In the sweets department, two desserts with diametrically opposed registers. The first celebrates citrus fruits (grapefruit, yuzu) in all their forms (natural, sorbet, granita, jelly) while the second reveals a chocolate ode twisted with parsnips and coconut milk. The wine list of around forty references shaped by Andrea Harel puts the best of French vineyards in front of the glass. Without forgetting a few nods to Europe and further afield (Italy, Spain, Greece, Czech Republic, Japan) and of course to Belgium and its beers (the 3 Fontaines brewery and soon the legendary Cantillon).
So, should you go or not? Even if the bill excluding drinks ranges from a minimum of fifty euros to a little over a hundred euros maximum, the answer is a big yes. At 25, Mallory Gabsi delivers a cuisine of astonishing maturity: gourmet, mischievous, well felt and in tune with the times. The Belgian who did not “come to Paris to make fries” thinks outside the box and dares unexpected marriages without ever falling into folklore. His plates, which bring together a farandole of ingredients (re) always hit the spot. The signature of Gabsi the magnificent!
Restaurant Mallory Gabsi, 28, rue des Acacias, Paris 17and. Open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner. Phone. : 09 52 96 09 99. Menus: €55 (lunch), €69, €110. mallory-gabsi.com