Loyo - Review - Montmartre - Paris - The Infatuation

"There's nothing terribly homey about this spot, which looks more like a nightclub than a restaurant. But trust the regulars who treat Loyo like an extension of their living rooms, gabbing with the casual staff. They specialize in dishes from Côte d’Ivoire and Reunion Island that are imposing in both size and flavor. Sip a house-infused rum cocktail or a homemade bissap-ginger juice as spicy as it is tart while you wait for vegetable achards generously spiked with turmeric or freshly fried cod accras, fluffy pillows of dough that aren't shy with the spice. The house special is ostensibly the ultra-savory coal-roasted chicken buried beneath a mountain of mayo-slick onion-tomato salad, but the charred whole sea bass is the underdog, paired with a fresh tomato-scented salsa that dares to treat onion like a vegetable. The side of sweet, deep-fried plantains is an absolute must." - Emily Monaco