Hortùs

The story

Hortùs Toulouse – Modern Cuisine with Southern Soul | Michelin Recommended

A garden in the city

Hortùs takes its name from the Latin for garden, the potager – in Occitan, òrt. It is a fitting name for a restaurant rooted in the produce and traditions of the South of France. Tucked away on rue Croix-Baragnon, at the crossroads of the Carmes and Saint-Étienne neighbourhoods, the dining room is designed to be elegant and calming: clean lines, a warm atmosphere, a place where pleasure begins at the door.

The chef and his cuisine

Born in Toulouse, Clément Lessoud trained with Michelin-starred chefs in the South-West and in London before spending five years as sous-chef at Une Table au Sud in Marseille. That experience, he says, shaped his cooking profoundly. His cuisine of the South – “cuisine des Suds” – is informed by the Atlantic coast, the light of Marseille, and his native South-West. It is both reassuring and surprising, an ode to nature and terroir that calls up memories and stirs emotions. Lessoud and his team sign a sensitive, living cuisine that honours the products, the people who grow them, and the skills that transform them.

The menus

At lunch, a four-service menu at 37€ or the six-service Abysse at 60€. In the evening, five services (Prémices, 76€) or eight (Odyssée, 94€). A children’s menu is possible, arranged with the chef, at 18€. The kitchen notes that it cannot serve gluten-free or lactose-free menus.

Recognition

Hortùs has been recognised by the Michelin Guide, a testament to the precision and personality of Lessoud’s modern cuisine. The restaurant is open Monday to Friday evenings, closed Wednesday lunch, Saturday and Sunday.