L'Instantané

The story

L'Instantané | Michelin-Recognized Bistronomique in Clermont-Ferrand

L'Instantané

In the historic heart of Clermont-Ferrand, chef Julien Chabert runs a kitchen that feels both immediate and deeply considered. His restaurant, L'Instantané, is a bistronomique where the day’s market dictates the menu. “Cuisine des produits,” he calls it — a cooking style that follows the seasons, not the other way around. In summer, that might mean beautifully ripe tomatoes; in winter, cabbage, carrots, or celery. The produce is fresh, local when possible, and treated with the kind of respect that comes from a chef trained in some of Paris’s most exacting kitchens.

Chabert’s path to his own stove includes stages at the Hôtel Ritz, Restaurant Lasserre, and the Plaza Athénée. He opened L'Instantané in September 2015, and the restaurant has held a Michelin recommendation — the Assiette — every year since. The guides praise his “plats mitonnés avec passion”: beef braised for twelve hours in its own caramelised jus, slow-cooked veal, roasted fish, all accompanied by small seasonal vegetables. The menu, served only in the evening, offers dishes like a fondant of braised beef with a rich jus and creamy purée, a pâté en croûte maison, or a poached egg from the Combrailles region with seasonal vegetables. Desserts include a salted butter sablé with roasted peach and vanilla cream, and a chocolate choux with diplomat cream.

The dining room is a vaulted space where you can watch the chef at work. It’s described as sober, discreet — the kind of room that lets the food speak. The restaurant is closed on weekends, a rarity that makes it a dependable Monday-night option in the city. Chabert also runs a weekly YouTube channel, A_table_Juju, where he shares recipes and techniques, bringing his kitchen’s calm precision to a wider audience.

L'Instantané is modern cuisine built on old-fashioned values: good produce, patient cooking, and a chef who believes that the best inspiration comes from the market stalls of Auvergne.