The spirit of the place according to Alexandre Cammas

"Many of my current favourites are not far from our offices, in the 11th and 12th arrondissements, like Septime la Cave, a great wine cellar, or Mokonuts. This tiny 18-seat address was originally intended to be just a small coffee shop. But Moko, a former Japanese-American lawyer turned pastry chef extraordinaire, and Omar, a wonderful Lebanese chef who has worked at the Shangri-La and the Sergent Recruteur, soon opened it for lunch. The menu changes daily, but the pleasure is omnipresent: octopus with cockles and arroche, halva cake, strawberry and elderflower tart, lemonade with camomile and pineapple...

In the 3rd arrondissement, near the Arts et Métiers metro station, I've been having business lunches at Elmer, the neo-bistro run by young chef Simon Horwitz, who trained at Gagnaire before a spell at Septime. The place is warm and woody, and the ingredients are absolutely excellent. I have fond memories of the marriage between scallops and lemon myrtle, and between Timut pepper and prawns. Simon Horwitz also serves beautiful pieces of barbecued meat, because here the dishes are shared, just like at home. Near the Bastille, I also have a soft spot for Dersou, awarded 'best table' by the 2016 Fooding guide, a restaurant-bar where, in the evening, each dish is accompanied by a cocktail that's absolutely explosive!

Further away from my neighbourhood, there's also Papillon, in the 17th arrondissement, where Christophe Saintagne, former chef at Le Meurice under Ducasse, has taken flight by freeing himself from superfluous codes. In a beautiful, light-filled dining room, he offers simple, succulent dishes such as, most recently, lamb chops with mint and socca. And don't forget his chocolate cake, served by the spoonful, a pure delight. On top of that, this is a practical address for dinners in the wild, with its long, one-piece table d'hôte in Carrara marble, in a beautiful semi-enclosed space. And of course, I never miss a Priceless Souper organised by MasterCard and the Fooding guide. Wherever they are! For spiritual nourishment, I go out whenever I can to the Odéon theatre or the Opéra Garnier, and I don't miss a single edition of the annual 'We love green' festival, run by Because Music and We Love Art. The musical programme is always superb. My other pleasure is bargain-hunting at the Vanves and Clignancourt flea markets, and in the Serpette and Paul-Bert markets. And then spending hours in good bookshops like Delamain, l'Arbre à Lettres... For wine, near my home, there's the Caves du Panthéon, where I stock up on Alexandre Bain's white wines... And for flowers, I particularly like Arôm, in the 12th arrondissement, a bric-a-brac that offers sublimely messy bouquets...".

THE GOOD ADDRESSES OF ALEXANDRE CAMMAS

THE FOODING GUIDEInternet: www.lefooding.com SEPTIME LA CAVE3, rue Basfroi - 75011 - Tel. 01 43 67 14 87 - Internet : www.septime-charonne.fr MOKONUTS5, rue Saint-Bernard - 75011 - Phone: 09 80 81 82 85 - Facebook : www.facebook.com/mokonuts/ ELMER30, rue Notre Dame de Nazareth - 75003 - Tel. 01 43 56 22 95 - Internet : elmer-restaurant.fr DERSOU21, rue Saint-Nicolas - 75012 - Phone : 09 81 01 12 73 - Email : info@dersouparis.com - Internet : www.dersouparis.com PAPILLON8, rue Meissonier - 75017 - Tel : 01 56 79 81 88 - Email : amis@papillonparis.fr - Internet: www.papillonparis.fr THÉÂTRE DE L'ODÉON2, rue Corneille - 75006 - Tel. 01 44 85 40 40 - Internet : www.theatre-odeon.eu OPERA GARNIERPlace de l'Opéra - 75009 - Tel: 08 92 89 90 90 - Email : groupes@operadeparis.fr - Internet : www.operadeparis.fr THE LETTER TREE2, rue Edouard Quenu - 75005 - Tel. 01 43 31 74 08 - Internet : www.arbrealettres.com THE CELLARS OF THE PANTHÉON174, rue Saint-Jacques - 75005 - Tel. 01 46 33 90 35 ARÔM PARIS196, rue du faubourg Saint-Antoine - 75012 - Tel : 01 43 46 82 59 - Email : aromparis@wanadoo.fr - Internet : www.aromparis.fr