Not one to rest up, Ducasse is back with a new Paris restaurant. After packing up and moving from the Champs to a central location at Bourse, Spoon 2 is an ode to world travel. With cuisine from Asia, Latin and North America, and Sri Lanka, Spoon 2 is a globe-trot across several continents in one lunchbreak. To boot, this culinary roadtrip is more accessibly priced for Ducasse fans, with lunchtime Bento boxes (two starters, a main, dessert, and a tea) priced at 32€.
Spicy duck broth with pancake (7€), a hot but fresh shaved papaya salad (8€), a generously stuffed shrimp toast (12€) done the way you always dreamed, plus small but artful bites of raw fish and steamed dumlings. Starters start strong.
Next a jumbo shrimp Thai red curry (22€) (only for the brave) with sticky egg rice, or a moreish Sri Lankan Zahtar shoulder of lamb with yoghurt and corriander, and a traditional Tandoori chicken, slowcooked for extra melty meat.
Dishes have refined hands behind them but hit really hard with flavour. Good news for spice fans that can't find the real deal in Paris, the meals labelled 'spicy' really are. Even habitual chilli lovers will be taken aback.
Desserts are equally as inventive: mango brûlée with avocado and corriander, a twist on the chocolate bar Bounty; and the UK classic, bread & butter pudding.
For the thirsty, the journey continues. Starting from 6€ per glass, you can travel from Caso do Valle in Portugal to Klein Constantia in South Africa for white wine, and Innocent Bystander in Australia and Viu Manent from Chile for fullbodied reds.
The resounding flavour at Spoon 2 is lightheartedness. There's a humour and fun that you won't find in some of his other restaraurants, while maintaining that Ducasse excellence. Plus, the bill at the end won't be as eye-watering as some of the menu's spicier dishes.