aixcentric

After a couple of gloomy posts about things closing, it’s good to be able to welcome a new enterprise: BRUT, is a spacious restaurant which opened in the place des Tanneurs last month to offer an interesting menu of ‘assiettes‘ for diners to combine and enjoy.

Today we opted for the formule of 2 savoury assiettes followed by a dessert (14€ for the formule).  Savouries included a delicious little pot of parsnip soup decorated with nuts and parsnip chips, frites de panisse, roasted vegetables and falafels with yoghurt and herb dipping sauce.  Panisse – a fried paté of chick peas – is a Marseille speciality and as such unusual on an Aix menu.  Those were from the vegetarian section of the menu but meat dishes are available too.

All ingredients are locally sourced and prepared in the open kitchen.  ‘Cheffe’ Edith is in charge here and prides herself on developing new recipes.  Desserts today were brownies, compot of pears and very very good gaufres, waffles with Chantilly cream.

The menu is more extensive for evenings, and on Sundays they serve brunch which includes their ‘oeufs parfaits’, cooked for 63 mins at 63 degrees, rested a couple of hours and then served with mushrooms or potatoes or truffles.  Bio is the watchword here, and this extends even to the bio-beer from Aquae Maltae.

Which brings us to the name: BRUT.

It means something along the lines of basic, honest, unadorned, undecorated….in other words the food is the star of the show. Owner Laurence explained that the restaurant has been developed with this concept as its underpinning ethos: a sleek interior, fashionably distressed industrial chairs, gleaming tableware, bare walls with a focus on the open kitchen.

It’s a big step from her years of experience in international banking in Paris, but Aix-raised in an Aixoise family of long-standing, Laurence wanted to return to her roots.  So she has taken over a large space in a busy part of town – you may remember it as the art store, Carré d’Art, which had a big framing area at the back of the shop?

We found the welcome to be very warm, liked the spacious surroundings, and thoroughly enjoyed lunch.  Thank you to Caroline for recommending this to Aixcentric.

Two words: try it!

BRUT is at 44 place des Tanneurs, Aix. 04 42 61 57 79.

Open: daily.