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Cucina restaurant, Paris

Cuisine italienne dans un beau lieu moderne, ouvert tous les jours – 75005

Cucina Mutualité, the most recent resturant opened by Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse has just replaced the Terrior Parisien run by Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alléno (that we also critiqued for the blog a while back).

The wooden ceiling hasn’t changed, the bar is still in the middle of the space, but the atmosphere, interior design and cuisine have all completely changed…

Restaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, Paris
photos : JasonW

Does Paris really need yet another Italian restaurant? Well, to be frank, probably not, but then this is no ordinary Italian restaurant.

Cucina is the latest project from top chef Alain Ducasse, who already runs over a dozen addresses in the capital, and it seems whatever he turns his hand to, he does well.

For this new venture, the interior design is lighthearted, with knitted fruit and veg (and meat!), bright colours and kitsch portraits.

Restaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, Paris
The place feels warm, our waitress is Italian and we can see five chefs poised to do their thing in the open kitchen…. Everything is in place for us to have a great dinner!

We start by ordering wine, and take a look at the smartly-designed menu (PDF here). A small dish of delicious mortadella arrives to get us in the mood.

Restaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, Paris
At this point, early in the evening, the restaurant is empty, with only one other table taken. Why then are the next two people to arrive placed at the table directly next to ours?

It struck as a strange choice. Perhaps our waitress wanted to serve one table and clear another in one fell swoop?

We go ahead with our order, starting with onion ravioli.

Have you ever had a meal where the food just stops you in your tracks and makes you go ‘wow!’ because it’s so tasty and lovely? If not, you should try the onion ravioli. They were absolutely delicious, packed with flavour (whereas  other ravioli we’ve had in the past has been rather bland), and the tiny scrapes of lime on top were the pièce de résistance.

What an incredible mix, and what a great start! It even made us forget we people sitting right next to us… ?

Restaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, Paris
Next up, we chose a Parmigiana di melanzana (aubergine with parmesan), which was melty but firm, surrounded what seemed to be piment d’espelette and drizzled with olive oil and vinegar. So good.

The second main dish was an veal milanese, served with some lovely chard, a meat bouillon and slightly bitter olives. The meat was firm and the outside perfectly cranuchy. Another success!

Restaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, Paris
For dessert, we chose a frozen lemon, filled with refreshing lemon sorbet, not too tart. Even the lemon itself was edible!

Restaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, Paris
And the last dessert was the ‘chocolate ice cream from our own workshop’ (Ducasse has his own chocolate ‘factory’ at Bastille).

The ice cream is wonderful, beautifully presented, with little pieces of cocoa bean adding a slightly smoked flavour. Superb.

Restaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, ParisRestaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, Paris
Our dinner was nearly over. All that was missing was the expresso coffee…

Restaurant Cucina Mutualité, Alain Ducasse, Paris
By this time the restaurant has filled up, and honestly we couldn’t eat another thing!

The whole meal was a great success, in a cool settin with, great staff and wonderful food. Recommended!

Cucina Mutualité (here) is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner

Booking online: here

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To check out all our photos of Cucina Mutualité, click here.