Loïc Portalier

The caramelised onion tart at Louise has become something of a signature. Comté cheese, vin jaune and brioche feuilletée, a dish that began as a Christmas dinner Loïc Portalier cooked for his family after a decade away from France. It was too good to keep to himself, so now it is on the menu. That same instinct runs through everything he has done since taking over the kitchen. Downstairs at La Terrace, he has expanded the offering into something looser, more casual, but no less considered. A pineapple tomato with yellow peach and shoyu-basil dressing has become the dish we find ourselves describing to friends the next day. Simple. Extremely flavourful and refreshing. He trained in kitchens where technique is religion, but what he has brought to Louise is something else: a willingness to let a dish be simple if simple is what it wants to be. He cooks with the confidence of someone who knows what he likes and trusts that we will too. That is the quiet work of a chef, taking a restaurant that was already very good and making it more interesting, dish by dish.