Chez Justine

Longtime friend of the Oberkampf neighborhood, Justine is the newest member of the Triplettes de Belleville gang. Donning a cowgirl hat, she now welcomes guests into the saloon-inspired pizzeria, complete with imitation log and stagecoach benches, barbershop-style light fixtures and timeworn staircases. What’s on the menu? The flavors of her distant Neapolitan roots, wood-fired and ready to save stomachs that are dangerously full of mojitos. The night we went, it was a parade of trussed up homemade dishes: flame-charred eggplant purée with a soft-boiled egg (€8); smoked salmon with a bell pepper, ginger and coriander sauce (€8), sponged up with freshly baked focaccia barese (€4); octopus that was nicely cooked but poorly paired with oily cauliflower (€24); puffy pizza of the day topped with arugula and Parma ham (€16); and a Neapolitan baba au rhum with whipped cream (€8). To drink, there are mostly natural French and Italian wines: Alias, a Pinot noir from the Loire (€6 a glass), a fruity Morgon produced by Bouland (€30 a bottle), a white Givry from Michel Sarrazin (€40 a bottle). Cocktails €5-12. Pizzas €9-16. À la carte €22-44. // P.-H.B (with the friendly participation of Olivia Zaugg).