Alexander Lobrano enjoys a delicious spin on sustainability and some fresh, uncomplicated country cooking from France’s finest…
Driven by the creation of the EU and non-stop technological change the TGV, the internet and the like the social and economic geography of France has been in constant evolution since 1945, with certain large regional cities triumphing at the expense of smaller conurbations. Lille, in Hauts-de-France, and Rennes, in Brittany, are examples of thriving regional urban areas that have come to dominate their regions.
In competition with Strasbourg, Metz, the historic capital of Lorraine and a city of 120,000 people, has sought to retain its vitality by investing heavily in culture. The Centre Pompidou-Metz opened in 2010 and has had an important impact in terms of increasing tourism to the city, which explains the opening of one of the most fanciful new hotels in France, the 194-room Maison Heler hotel by Philippe Starck. The nine-storey concrete building is strikingly crowned by a traditional Alsatian-style house reminiscent of 19th-century Metz mansions and inspired by a novel – La Vie Minutieuse de Manfred Heler – written by Starck to accompany the architectural project.
The décor of this perched house, which contains the restaurant La Maison de Manfred, was signed by Starck’s daughter, Ara, and it references the 19th century with wood panelling, brown tiles and beautiful stained-glass windows made by a local company to her designs. The restaurant, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, also has a small bar and a terrace where meals are served in good weather Dining with a friend who, like me, was visiting to see an exhibition at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, we enjoyed the cooking of chef Alexandre Monce, a Metz native, the great views over the city, and the fun of being in the most fashionable new dining room in town, which offered a human panorama worthy of a Flaubert novel.
While there’s a prix-fixe menu at noon, dinner is a very good assortment of surprisingly modish small plates, including a tataki of beef with ponzu and grilled octopus with vegetables and chimichurri, followed by a choice of two mains to share: a cocotte de la mer, or a catch-of-the-day fish with champagne sauce, or a Tomahawk steak – proof, as if needed, that the French provinces are no longer culinary backwaters. We rather regretted not finding a quiche lorraine on its home turf, but the menu changes often, so perhaps this signature dish will show up as temperatures drop. NB. Metz is a good stopping point for people driving north-south from the UK (and vice versa, of course) and also makes for an interesting weekend away from Paris.
31 Rue Jacques Chirac, Metz.
Tel. (33) 03 56 63 16 31.
Lunch menu €45, average à la carte €50.
www.maisonhelermetz.com
Lead photo credit : Photo: La Maison de Manfred, Metz/Official website
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Dining and Cooking