Onyx

Near the Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Onyx is a strikingly elegant restaurant that brings French gastronomy together with the techniques and flavours of Japanese cooking.

It opened in 2024, and its most arresting feature is a ten-metre onyx marble wall rising through two floors. The kitchen is led by the Japanese chef Yosuke Fukasawa.

The Far Eastern influence on the menu is pronounced. We shared a spread of different plates. The sashimi, cut paper-thin and dressed in its own sauce; the vegetable and mushroom tempura, kept light inside a crisp batter; the nigiri; and a creamy pasta finished with caviar all stood out. The plating is restrained, but the care taken over detail is immediately apparent.

What Onyx does best is to marry the rich sauces and cooking techniques of French cuisine with the precision of the Japanese kitchen. Quality of ingredients, contrasting textures and umami are what carry the food.

For anyone after something other than the classic Paris bistro, it is a fine address — for the room as much as for the kitchen.