La Piscina, a dive into Arnaud Brand’s cuisine
On the rue des Sources in Plainpalais, this new restaurant isaptly named. This former swimming pool has now been transformed into a convivial space where you can eat and drink. By night, La Piscina is decked out in blue lights that have been attracting passers-by since November 13, 2024, but it’s by day, for lunch, that we dive intochef Arnaud Brand’s worldtogether!
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La Piscina ©India Belce-Kennedy
A smooth entry
Behind tinted glass, once you cross the threshold, you’re straight into the atmosphere. Inside: a central bar stretching across the entire room, tiled floors, blue and white striped cushions, you feel like you’re on a lido in Italy. And even if the weather‘and even if the weather is not favorable for a coastal setting, we let ourselves be persuaded to have a drink. It’s the Pesca cocktail, with its aromas of peach, agave and apricot against a background of tequila, that gives us that sunny feeling. After all, you can’t go wrong with‘a signature cocktail in a dining bar!
After hesitating over the burrata and its beet caramel, the choice fell on another vegetarian option. Let’s start gently with a hummus served with pomegranate, black lemon powder and pickles. In a perfect blend of sweet and sour, we finish this appetizer with a flourish, taking a piece of bread with our fingertips and wiping off the last of the zest.
Controlled balances
One Scarpetta later, it’s the pork from Jussy that wins the vote. A confit of pork belly glazed with miso and sake, served with potatoes and glazed vegetables. A kiwi sauce, served on the side, enhances the meat’s sweet flavors. Despite its less-than-elegant appearance, this‘is a real job well done in the kitchen. The pork’s skin is crispy, yet the meat melts in the mouth, a sign of languidly mastered cooking. In a different register, a grilled sea bass fillet or a vegetarian suggestion of the week are also on the menu.
Now it’s time for dessert. Two options: chocolate or cheesecake. Today, we choose the former. Beneath its minimalist name lies a fondant accompanied by a dark and white chocolate ganache. With vanilla aromas and a salted butter caramel coulis, it’s a balance of bitter and sweet that you feel on the palate. With peanuts and roasted hazelnuts, these three textures bring us to the end of this meal.
Under the heading “dining bar” lies a place where even lunch has its own identity. And it’s undoubtedly in the evening that we’ll (re)discover La Piscina and dive into the deep end.
