Loulou, trendy dining on the Louvre gardens

Good-bye Saut du Loup (with no regrets, given the poor quality of its cooking lately!), this restaurant nestled between the historic walls of the Louvre has been taken over by the owners of Monsieur Bleu Bleu, Le Flandrin and Petrus. The restaurant of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs has a new name, and a beautiful new decor by Joseph Dirand, who divided the ground floor dining area into several warm and inviting salons, featuring wall mirrors hung with cannage, a marble floor, Tulip chairs by Eero Saarinen, burnt orange bench seating, and circular alabaster tables with gold metal trim. Shockingly chic! But if the weather’s nice, you won’t hesitate a second to settle onto the vast terrace that seats two hundred in the shade of giant white parasols. A truly bucolic paradise! No cars or pedestrians passing by your table here, just a breathtaking view over the gardens and the historic Louvre buildings. An idyllic location to enjoy the top-flight Italian-Mediterranean cuisine of talented Italian chef Diego Compagno, who skillfully concocts sunny dishes like this exquisite eggplant parmiggiana (€16), nestled on a bed of sublimely stewed tomato sauce. Keeping with this theme, we followed with the delicious linguine with Sardanian bottarga (€26). A succulent raspberry millefeuille (€15) was the perfect close to this flawless meal… The same can be said for the atmosphere: Bruno Costantino orchestrates an impeccably professional service, and reserves a warm welcome for the lovely clientele who are making themselves at home here. The next Parisian must!

Noon to 3pm and 7:30pm to 11pm
Open daily
Average price: €60