Dandelion: Interview with Morgane Souris, Co-Founder
We met Morgane Souris (formerly of Parcelles), who founded the restaurant Dandelion with Antoine Villard (formerly of Septime and Double Dragon). A future institution.
Which institutions do you visit, and what are your habits? Do you and the team have a specific place you like to go for dinner or a break?
We have been open for six months, so we haven't had much time to establish habits or organize team dinners. However, we had our first team dinner together at Chez Soces, a place we love for the food, the wines, and everything else.
The bistro we adore, a place we often like to go to celebrate a birthday or an occasion, is Le Bistrot Paul Bert. The pepper steak, accompanied by a very good bottle of Burgundy or Jura wine, is a moment we eagerly anticipate. Le Bistrot Paul Bert is incredible.
There is also another place that I look forward to visiting each time, but since we have the same opening hours, it's a bit complicated. Le Dauphin remains, for me, the counter, the place where I always want to go for the food and the ambiance. Antoine wants to go there as soon as we have a moment when we're in Paris and we're closed.
For a cocktail bar, I find that Marie-Céleste is an incredible institution. We always pass through the Marais. There is always a moment when we stop at Marie-Céleste, whether it’s at 4 PM, midnight, or lunchtime, to sit on the terrace and sip something, whether alcoholic or not. It's a place we always want to return to.
For lunches, dinners, and a large part of the wines, food, service, and ambiance, Parcelles is a place where we always want to celebrate an occasion, set up a big table, and indulge in a good bottle.
How would you define the term “Parisian Institutions”?
I would say it’s a place where you always want to return, where you feel good, where the welcome is warm, and where there is ambiance.
What places do you like to frequent? What are your habits?
Every time I go to the Fondation Louis Vuitton, I am in love with this place. You have to cross all of Paris to get there, it’s a 40-minute bike ride, but the journey is great. When you arrive, you're in a magnificent place, I love this city.
I also really like the Jeu de Paume, right in the center of Paris, where there are always incredible exhibitions. It’s been a while since I last went, but I used to go often. I really like their selection.
Castor Fleuriste is a reference for me.
I must say that here, we work with Studio Ortie, a new florist who has been in business for a year and a half. They provide us with all the flowers for the restaurant, which are truly incredible in terms of art, composition, and research. It’s a future institution; that’s what an institution is.
There are no strict rules for defining an institution. It’s really a spirit that you feel on site, when you make the place your own. It becomes our own institution, a place where you want to return. And to see the people who work there, who run the business. I love seeing Jérémy, who runs Ortie. It creates bonds; we have coffee from time to time, it’s great.
How long have you been in Paris?
I have always lived in Paris. These are real habits. I have never traveled much or lived abroad. So these are places I have loved for a very long time.
When you talk about a future institution with Studio Ortie, for example, how do you feel about being qualified as an institution? How do you see your establishment? How do you want people to perceive your institution?
I believe the primary idea for this restaurant with Antoine was really to have a place, a restaurant above all. Not necessarily to create a brand image, but to have a restaurant that resembles us. We have worked a lot to have a place that resembles us, that is warm and simple. A place where you eat very well, with refined and precise cuisine, but in a relaxed atmosphere.
