Introduction
Born in Grenoble and raised in Brittany, Julien Dumas built his career step by step in recognized Parisian restaurants, before opening his own restaurant. He spent many years at Lucas Carton, a restaurant with a strong classical heritage, where he developed a solid command of sauces, game and structure. He later moved to Saint-James Paris, where his cooking became more personal and product-driven. Long before opening Zostera on rue Pergolèse in Paris 16th district, Julien Dumas was already a well-known and respected chef.
I first visited Julien Dumas in May 2025 with Fahri Gediz, a mutual friend who had recently moved to Paris. Vedat went shortly after on his own. We later returned in together to share the experience, except for Fahri, who was held back by professional obligations.
Our menu was built around fish and game, allowing us to see both sides of Julien Dumas’s cooking.
Amuse-bouche
Kohlrabi cut thin like the petals of a flower in cylindrical form sitting on a small mushroom tart or biscuit, dusted with cocoa. This is an appropriate start for a degustation menu inspired by a ‘kaiseki’ meal around a seasonal theme. Unmistakeably the season is fall which is fully underway.
Dish 1: Saint-Jacques & Huîtres
Scallops from Saint-Malo, cooked in their own juices. The flesh is soft, translucent and naturally sweet. The cooking is precise, letting the scallop express itself without interference.
A Belon oyster, No. 2, placed on top and chosen for its balance, brings a measured iodine note that stretches the sweetness instead of cutting through it. Warm seaweed adds depth and a subtle bitterness, while an oyster leaf finishes the plate with a fresh, saline touch. Served hot, the broth plays a central role. A precise dish built around the quality of the product, rather than a display of technique.
Dish 2: Maquereau & beetroot sauce
The maquereau is matured and has a clean, firm texture that feels perfectly under control. A touch of caviar brings a saline note.
The beetroot sauce is the key here. Clear, deep and gently sweet, it shows a level of control and balance. The sauce reaches the level of precision comparable to that of Chef Arnaud Donckele at Plénitude Paris. Sorrel sharpens the finish and keeps the plate lively.
A confident dish in its execution, where the sauce carries as much meaning as the product itself.
Dish 3: Homard bleu & pomegranate
The lobster is cooked just enough to keep the flesh firm and juicy, its natural sweetness fully intact. Pomegranate appears in several forms – fresh seeds, juice and a light biscuit, bringing acidity, fruit and a gentle crunch that frame the lobster.
The sauce, built on pomegranate juice, is precise and vibrant. It adds tension and lift without masking the lobster. It’s a combination, where sweetness, acidity and texture stay in balance.
Our only remark concerns the quantity: the dish is so convincing that you can’t help wishing there were a little more lobster on the plate.
Dish 4: Sole fish & Coques
The sole fish is roasted with precision, its flesh pearly and delicate. It is placed on a base of immature tomatoes that bring freshness and a gentle vegetal tension. On top, Nasturtium flowers add a light peppery note, and finger lime delivers small bursts of acidity that sharpen the palate.
An emulsion of olive oil matured with coques bring a clean marine depth and a subtle iodine finish.
A refined and balanced dish that feels fresh and clear from start to finish, with the sole fish always kept in focus.
Dish 5: Encornet & Squid ink
The encornet is entirely worked by hand, carefully cut with a knife and then briefly blanched to recover the texture and appearance of a true encornet.
At the center, the so-called pâtes are in fact part of the squid itself. Thinly cut, they bring a new texture and sense of mouvement to the dish.
Inside, a sashimi of white fish brings purity and freshness. Squid ink is fully integrated, joined by ginger, seaweed and a touch of verjus that keeps the dish light and vibrant. Mint and kaffir lime add lift and sharpen the palate without disturbing the balance.
A signature dish from Julien Dumas, which reflects his personal experience in Osaka. We were impressed by the precision of the work and the clarity of the flavours.
Dish 6: Canard sauvage & Prunelle sauce
The wild duck is cooked skin-side down until crisp, with the flesh left deep pink and juicy. It iş served with a prunelle jus in two expressions: a darker, more concentrated syrup that brings depth and a slight bitterness, and a lighter, fresher prunelle sauce that opens the dish.
Alongside, a jus de chasse, made from the duck carcass, is poured over.
It’s a generous and expressive dish, where the sauces give real character. Julien Dumas is best known today for his fish dishes, but this course shows just how convincing his game cooking can be.
Dish 7: Râble de lièvre
This is clearly one of the strongest dishes of the meal. Deep, slightly wild flavours make lièvre such a demanding and rewarding product. What we have here is râble de lièvre – the saddle, the most noble part of hare, the back part, where the meat is tender, dense and full of flavour.
The râble de lièvre is cooked precisely, left tender and with full character.
On top, the bitter leaves (mesclun and sage) are essential to the balance. They bring freshness, a dry vegetal bitterness, and a sense of relief that keeps the palate engaged.
Beneath the meat, the jus, made from the hare’s offal and cooking juices, is dark, powerful and long.
Julien Dumas surprised us with this dish, as he delivered one of the most striking expressions of game cooking in the meal.
Dish 8: Lièvre à la royale
The meat is dense and compact, deeply flavoured, and from the first bite the hare slightly wild character is fully present.
Julien Dumas masters the sauce and showed this here once again. Dark and glossy, made from the blood and the offal, it gives real depth and length to the hare and stays on the palate.
Julien Dumas’s lièvre à la royale clearly ranks among our top three, alongside those of Jérôme Banctel at Le Gabriel and Le MaZenay.
Dessert: Chesnut & Sea Urchin
The dessert plays on the pairing of chestnut and sea urchin, though the balance clearly leans toward the chestnut. The texture is soft and creamy. A comforting chestnut flavour dominates from the first bite.
The sea urchin note is present but very subtle, more a background impression than a defining taste. Overall, it’s a thoughtful dessert.
Fin: Chocolate
To finish, the table is set with small chocolate pieces served on wood. The iced chocolate ganaches are intense and sharpened by a touch of apple vinegar. Cocoa nibs and cocoa husk bring bitterness and crunch.
Beside on another wooden plate, small cocoa tartlets add structure and comfort, with a light siphon cream. It’s an ending, focused on bitterness, freshness and texture.
Our Wine chose
Julien Dumas’ wine list is curated by Samuel Inglaere, a well known sommelier. It reflects a clear, confident vision, and a rich selection across Burgundy, Loire, Rhône and thoughtful discoveries with independent wine producers.
The coefficients are fair, making it possible to drink great bottles at reasonable prices.
We chose 3 wines that night to form a coherent line: freshness, depth and finesse.
2022 Richard Leroy Les Noëls de Montbenault
We started with this Chenin built on energy and precision, the kind of wine that wakes up the palate without taking over.
Richard Leroy is a meticulous vigneron, working old Chenin wines with minimal intervention, always aiming for clarity. In the glass, the wine shows tension more than richness: ripe orchard fruit, a clear mineral line, and a saline finish.
It was the right way to begin and Richard Leroy’s Chenin is perfectly aligned with the first seafood dishes.
2023 Coche-Dury Meursault
Coche-Dury is a wine producer that Vedat has admired for many years, especially for the whites, which he has collected over time. The Meursault village we had is in a beautiful drinking window, despite its young age.
The wine will of course gain more in complexity with age, but it is already open, expressive and rich. It offers ripe yellow fruit, a comforting texture and a clear mineral line that keeps the wine fresh and precise.
The pairing works naturally, especially with the lobster. The wine follows the sweetness and texture of the flesh and stays lively enough to keep the lobster balanced.
2022 Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin Village
Gevrey-Chambertin Village 2022 stayed too discreet for the game dishes. In the glass, it showed soft red fruit and a light touch of spice, but overall it lacked expression and depth. The structure was there, but the wine never really opened up or gained momentum.
With the game courses, especially the hare, it struggled to keep up. The wine felt a step behind the intensity of the meat and the sauces. The tannins were fine, the finish clean, but the wine didn’t bring the weight or energy needed to truly engage with the dishes.
Conclusion
Zostera left us genuinely happy, and more importantly, it confirmed what each of us had felt on our own visits: Julien Dumas is a highly prominent chef, whose cooking shows maturity, clarity and confidence.
Beyond the precision of the plates, what stands out is his work with sauces. Julien Dumas is reaching a level usually associated with three-star restaurants, very much in the lineage of chefs like Arnaud Donckele.
Julien Dumas is also entering a new phase. The restaurant will soon be renovated, with an open kitchen, reflecting his desire for closeness and exchange with his guests.
At this point, it’s hard not to see recognition coming from Michelin Guide. For us, Julien Dumas stands out as one of the most compelling tables we experienced in 2025.
