Restaurant Review: Bonnotte, Boulogne-Billancourt – 2025 starts with a meal that needs to be talked about

Despite dining alone, I couldn’t stop myself from murmuring, “Damn, this is gorgeous.” The poise. The plates. The whole experience at Bonnotte felt like a quiet revelation. I held back from announcing it to the well-heeled crowd around me—after all, I’d already confused the waitstaff with my English accent, perfect French, and the fact I was dining solo. But trust me, Bonnotte deserves to be talked about.

With my birthday approaching and January’s dreariness lingering like a bad hangover, I cut my own hair and splurged on a midweek lunch at Bonnotte, widely regarded as the best restaurant in Boulogne-Billancourt. I booked for 12:15 to catch the rhythm of the room. Instead of watching the kitchen, I let the winter light do the heavy lifting while I soaked up every moment.

The Food

• Poireaux vinaigrette: Leeks poached to silkiness, kissed with vinaigrette, and scattered with hazelnuts. Paired with white wine from a magnum that sang in soft minerality.
• Lamb effiloché: Served with cabbage, kale, and chestnut purée. The surprise? A chilled, pickled cabbage note that cut through the richness. It was the kind of detail that catches you off guard, then wins you over completely.
  
  Lunch menu: €32 for two courses, €42 for three. An absolute steal.

Service & Vibe

By 1 p.m., the room was full of the effortlessly chic Boulogne crowd—polished business folks and elegant lunchers. The service? Flawlessly attentive, just guarded enough to remind you: this is France. It may feel stiff at first, but it’s not cold. It’s earned.

Bonnotte doesn’t open up on your first visit. It unfolds slowly. Return, become a regular, and the warmth will find you.

The Bigger Picture

What does this place *mean*? Is it a local gem, a gentrified cliché, a tourist trap with surprisingly good desserts? Place it in the larger food world.

Would I come Back?

Restaurants like Bonnotte don’t try to impress you with flash. They impress by showing restraint, balance, and a quiet confidence. The north side of Boulogne has long felt like unfamiliar territory to me—until now. Discovering Bonnotte felt like unlocking a hidden part of my own neighbourhood.

👩‍🍳 The People Behind Bonnotte

Bonnotte is the brainchild of Manon and Antoine Guichard—a duo who understand both precision and pleasure.

Manon, leading the kitchen, draws from her Corsican and Provençal roots, crafting plates that are instinctive, vegetable-forward, and deeply personal. Her CV reads like a love letter to French fine dining—George V, Semilla, Lasserre—but what lands on the plate is soulful, not showy.

Antoine brings equal firepower from the front and back. Raised in a family-run hotel on Noirmoutier and trained at Ledoyen, Taillevent, and under David Bizet at Peninsula Paris, his presence is exacting but never stiff. On the floor, he makes hospitality feel effortless. Behind the scenes, he brings finesse that only decades in top kitchens can shape.

This isn’t a bistro resting on Paris’s laurels. It’s a neighborhood restaurant run by people who know what they’re doing—and care deeply that it shows.

What Others Are Saying About Bonnotte

Bonnotte isn’t just beloved by locals—it’s quietly made its way into the hearts (and feeds) of critics across France.

Google Reviews holds a stellar 4.8/5 average, with guests consistently praising the “inventive cuisine,” “polished service,” and “unpretentious charm” of this Boulogne gem.
Read their Google reviews here.

Tripadvisor gives it a more reserved 4.2/5—though let’s be honest, that site’s not exactly built for subtlety or bistronomy nuance.
Check out their listing.

Michelin Guide hasn’t handed out stars (yet), but notes Bonnotte’s “low-key contemporary bistro setting” and its fresh, modern approach to bistronomy cuisine.
View the Michelin write-up.

Le Fooding, ever the rebellious younger sibling of French gastronomy media, says it straight: “On ne peut accorder qu’une très bonne note à Bonnotte.” A very good score, well earned.
Read their review here.

Gilles Pudlowski, in his typically poetic tone, praises the four-handed talent and lightness behind the cooking: “ils cuisinent à quatre mains avec talent, idées et légèreté.”
See the article.

Le Figaro calls Bonnotte a “bistrot de bon ton” and paints a vivid scene of white-collared locals swooning over their pithiviers, describing its crust as audible from across the room.
Read the full review.

And if you’re still not convinced? Watch François Simon on TikTok wax poetic about Bonnotte in a voice that’s practically beurre blanc: gentle, decadent, and impossible to ignore.
Watch the video.

Bonnotte, Boulogne Billancourt

Chef Tris

Food Tour Guide

From the bustling streets of Paris to the heat of a professional kitchen, my life has always revolved around food. A Brit who moved to France at 16, I trained as a chef in a Parisian palace kitchen at 18 and have spent decades cooking, eating, and living like the French.

By day, I run kitchens and events, but Eat Like The French is my side hustle—a way to share my passion for French food through writing and food tours. After a detour into tech recruitment, I returned to what I love most: cooking and storytelling—one dish, one tour, and one bite at a time.