Bistros of the week

Mon Vieil Ami, 69 rue Saint Louis en l'Ile, Paris (00 33 1 40 46 01 35) offers accomplished Alsatian cuisine.

Yves Camdeborde reaches gastronomic heights with his millefeuille of beef, foie gras and truffles at Le Comptoir, Hôtel Relais Saint-Germain, at 9 Carrefour de l'Odéon, Paris (00 33 1 44 27 07 97; hotel-paris-relais-saint-germain.com).

Michelin-starred chef Jean Paul Lacombe's Le Bistrot de Lyon, 64 rue Mercière, 69002 Lyon, (00 33 4 78 38 4747; leondelyon.com), serves a definitive salade lyonnaise.

In Burgundy, try snails and jambon persille at Le Gourmandin, 8 Place Carnot, Beaune (00 33 3 80 24 07 88; hotellegourmandin.com).

Traditional tarte flambée is accompanied at Le Bistrot des Saveurs, 35 rue Sélestat, Obernai, (00 33 3 88 49 90 41) with decidedly untraditional cucumber soda water.

Frogs' legs meet ginger and garlic at Le Central, Place Jean Troisgros, Roanne, (00 33 4 77 71 66 97; troisgros.fr).

Wout Bru, at Le Bistrot d'Eygalières, Rue de la république, Eygalières (00 33 4 90 90 60 34; chezbru.com), is a Belgian master of Provençal cooking.

And Jouni, 10 rue Lascaris, Nice (00 33 497081480 jouni.fr) offers El Bulli-trained Jouni Tormanen's Mediterranean dishes.