Racines - Bruno Cirino

Bruno Cirino and his faithful right-hand man, José Vidal, regale diners with a bargain-priced single set menu composed entirely of local organic or sustainably grown fruit and vegetables in their small eatery. They propose kitchen garden cuisine using ingredients that are picked only when perfectly ripe. Their talented craftsmanship shines the spotlight on characteristic Mediterranean produce, like garlic, olive oil and basil. Dig into a soup of red spring onions and basil; purple artichoke with a cheesy emulsion and grilled spiny artichoke; compressed root vegetables à la “César Baldaccini”; baked miniature apple and burnt barley ice cream… Fine selection of reasonably priced vintages. Smiling service. Booking recommended.

The restaurant runs on a single menu, priced like a tasting menu but paced with the simplicity of a neighbourhood table, one idea, one plate, then move on. The cooking treats vegetables as the main event, not a prelude, and the menu text is unusually explicit about letting nature dictate what appears that week.

Aubergine and Datterino tomato, morels, garden vegetables cooked like a pot-au-feu with pistou, and spiny artichoke with Comté emulsion. Potatoes show up as comfort and technique, a small cake with porcini, mountain potatoes with mild garlic and ‘caviar’ chilli, then a sweet-potato ice cream alongside wild strawberries.

A single set menu in a small dining room, built almost entirely around ripe, seasonal vegetables and Mediterranean produce. The kitchen works like a market diary, turning each day’s arrivals into composed plates, with sauces and broths that keep the focus on the vegetable itself, not the garnish.