Hélène Darroze launches Marsan in Paris

Two decades after her debut on the Left Bank in Paris, the chef and restaurateur has opened her new flagship restaurant called Marsan by Hélène Darroze.

Formerly the site of Michelin starred Restaurant Hélène Darroze on Rue d’Assas, the chef has named the concept in homage to her home region in Les Landes in south-west France.

Offering a new menu and a redesigned interior, Marsan has opened following an eleven month renovation.

With a menu that champions seasonal ingredients and the restaurant’s chosen producers, Darroze has created dishes with the intention of taking guests on a culinary journey.

Dishes include oysters with caviar and glazed beans; tandoori lobster with mustard, citrus, carrot mousseline and Lampong pepper; and Etchelecu farm strawberries with matcha tea.

Darroze said: “I am Basque-Landes. I am made from that family and that soil; they are the origin of everything I am. When I was younger, maybe I tried to free myself a little, but as I mature, I find myself going back. 

With Marsan, I want to find the essentials, create a restaurant that says everything about me, go through my story until this point in time and then, begin a new chapter.”

Darroze has collaborated with ceramicist and artist Ema Pradère to create the crockery and pottery while the interiors have been designed by French architect Patrice Gardera.

Featuring light oak wall panelling alongside photographs and objects personal to Darroze, the restaurant offers a main dining space with an open kitchen and two private dining rooms each with a bespoke table.