Geoélia takes to the open seas, full wind in the 16th arrondissement

Charting your course

Geoélia takes its name from the family sailboat belonging to Camille's grandparents, Georges and Éliane, with whom he spent his childhood vacations in the Pointe du Raz area, between winds, tides and salted butter. Choosing this memory to baptize his first restaurant in Paris is obviously no mean feat. With no pun intended, it's a strong anchor, but even more so, it's a direction he's setting for himself. That of an iodized cuisine with starred ambitions. This is not the young chef's first try. Even before winning a Michelin star in a place as atypical as Villa9Trois, Camille had worked at Le Taillevent during the Alain Solivérès era, at the Shangri-La palace with Christophe Moret, at Le Cinq with Christian Le Squer, not to mention traveling to Australia and London.

Now that he's home and free to create the restaurant of his dreams, he's thought it through to the last detail. And while he didn't initially set out to take over the old Tang on the corner of Rue La Tour and Rue Mignard, Camille Saint-M'leux fell under the spell of this place steeped in history and admits: "Opening in the 16th arrondissement means taking on the role of ambassador for a certain tradition. That of the grand restaurant, with its white tablecloths and draperies, counterbalanced by raw concrete, large bay windows and millimeter-accurate lighting for modernity. Not to mention a splendid cellar, already boasting over 300 references. A place in the image of its cuisine, at once quite raw and highly constructed.

A limpid menu, between iodine and smoke

That evening, the crossing was splendid from start to finish. The waiter greets us in his Venetian slippers (are they allowed on a boat?), presents the menu, and the amuse-bouche is served in the kitchen: a splendid pea tartlet. The first course features the whelk - a childhood memory of the chef's - which had already seduced us at Montreuil, but here is even more powerful. The swimming sauce in which it is served is perfectly saline. The spider crab, just seasoned and served with a coral mayonnaise, clearly gives the sensation of being out fishing at high tide. You could almost hear the sea... The braised sucrine shows that the chef has mastered his classics, but knows how to make them his own, as demonstrated by the lobster jus and Grand Veneur sauce, which take him into another dimension. Frankly, we never thought we'd feel such emotion with a sucrine!

The menu continues to build to a crescendo, with lobster, which the chef describes as a "game of the sea", followed logically by a beautiful pigeon cooked on the trunk, perfectly paired with the Galician wine chosen by the sommelier. Last but not least, the star of the menu, the dish that the chef had presented in the final of the competition and which had already made his reputation at Villa9Trois: "jersiais beef with charcoal, cuttlefish bacon, smoked herring roe". No lie, it's got even better quality. A true Soulages. The chef explains: he now presents it in two courses and has swapped the chuck for the rib-eye.

For the sweet part, we put on a show with a jersiaise milk ice cream and cherries flambéed with kirsch and port, in front of the guests. Always an eye-catcher, and a fine showcase for the art of French service. The finale was a magnificent rhubarb baked in a sugar crust. After such a dinner, we skipped the coffee, but we've heard it's well worth the detour.

It's a real pleasure to follow a chef whose cuisine we love, and whose personality - discreet but determined - is on the rise.

What's important to remember?

Camille Saint-M'leux at home is Camille Saint-M'leux at its best. His personality as a chef is fully asserted, and his cuisine is more refined and mature. And last but not least, a wine list where he can match his dishes and indulge his passion. A table that doesn't sail by sight, but stays the course and sails to the stars.