Altro Frenchie | A Modern Italian Gem in the Heart of Paris

ParisFranceEurope

Apr 22

Written By

Grégory Marchand has a particular talent for creating places people don’t just dine in; they quietly fall in love with them.

His original restaurant, Frenchie, opened in 2009 and became an instant phenomenon: modern, inventive, deeply flavour-driven gourmet cuisine that freed fine dining from its traditional stiffness. Then came Frenchie Bar à Vins in 2011, an informal counter crowded with people and small plates, quickly developing a kind of foodie-pilgrimage aura. Every year the crowds grow; every year the magic remains.

In 2024, Marchand opened Altro Frenchie, and once again, he absolutely nailed it. This is Italian cooking seen through a Parisian lens – free, modern, joyful, shaped by global influences yet grounded in impeccably sourced local ingredients. It is both new and familiar, comforting yet refined, relaxed and seriously delicious.

We wandered in after a long, happy morning of croissants and coffee across the street at L'Arbre à Café, reading our books in the light rain and distracted by the clink of glasses from the Frenchie wine shop next door to Altro. By early afternoon, we decided a glass of wine wouldn’t hurt. Then we realised we were a little peckish again. And so began our slow drift from one Frenchie universe to another.

We sat at the window bar, books open, rain streaking the glass, reflections rippling across the mirrored ceiling and antique plates. Jules, our server, was kind, attentive, effortlessly accommodating – topping up our glasses, recommending dishes, and never once making us feel like we were overstaying. In fact, we didn’t realise the restaurant had closed until he said his goodbyes at the end of his shift. We left around 4 pm, blissfully unhurried.

roasted sucrine lettuce

scallop crudo

tiramisu

*fettuccine in a tuna tomato sauce with capers, olives, and anchovy oil*

The dishes arrived with quiet confidence, one by one; they trembled slightly on the fork, scattered with tiny vegetable condiments that burst softly like punctuation marks. The flavours opened slowly, like a curtain being drawn to reveal the full scene, delicate at first and then expanding into something bright and clean.

Then the roasted sucrine lettuce, plated like a wild coral reef, charred edges yielding under the fork, released a soft, green sweetness that the grape vinaigrette sharpened just enough. The horseradish and verjuice sparked in a way that made the whole plate feel suddenly alive.

But it was the pasta that stopped us. Fettuccine so perfect it almost bounced on the tongue, cloaked in a tomato sauce threaded with tuna, capers, olives, and anchovy oil, folded into each other like a warm tide. Every bite carried that deep, savoury tide. It had that rare quality the best dishes share – being both familiar and transporting. The more you ate, the more a quiet, contented heat gathered in your chest.

To finish, a tiramisu was assembled at the table, the final dusting of cocoa falling like a theatrical curtain call.

Altro Frenchie feels like a continuation of everything Marchand has built over the last decade: a family of restaurants linked not just by proximity but by spirit. Places that make you want to linger; places that feel cosy and generous; places where the cooking is so quietly brilliant that you find yourself planning your return before you’ve even left.