Three young chefs from Montpellier’s renowned catering school and Alain Ducasse’s cooking school have decided to revisit the humble Greek sandwich - souvlaki. The basis is childlike in its simplicity: grilled meat with salad and confit tomatoes in a pitta bread made pleasantly moist with meat juices. The choice of meat is about as expansive as the number of cuisines that can be found on this street. For our first taste, the manager recommends chicken or pork, twice marinated and grilled (€6), but the more adventurous should try the chicken oysters (sometimes known as the parson’s nose), pieces of dark, flavoursome meat hidden adjacent to the bird’s thigh bone. There’s also marinated beef cheek cooked in a wine sauce (€7.50) and the veggie options include courgette and feta meatballs.
Only the bread is not made on site – and for good reason. Admittedly, France does decent bread but Filakia sources theirs from Greece, which reigns supreme for superb thick but extremely light pitta dough. The meal deal includes delicious sandwiches with superb fries, salad or potatoes with preserved lemon, all served in a box with the lip-smacking cooking juices – just the way we like it.
Second address: 31, rue Linné 75005 Paris