Designed by Tokyo firm Daikei Mills, Parisian restaurant Dersou is named after the title character in the 1975 Akira Kurosawa film. According to Daikei Mills, the project “began with an email from Amaury Guyot and chef Taku Sekine, who came to us with a potential location and an idea for a restaurant open to eclectic influences and bouts of inspiration, centered on a nightly tasting menu paired with cocktails.”
Located near the Bastille, the original restaurant space was centuries old and had “layers of history,” as the designers say. “We were inspired to adapt our ideas on site to achieve the kind of space we aspire to create—one that feels ‘undesigned,’ with no unnecessary frills.”
Here’s a look.
Above: One Yelp reviewer notes that the restaurant has a “Brooklyn, Tokyo, Paris vibe.” The ceiling pendant is similar to the
![dersou restaurant in paris 1](http://www.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/dersou-paris-2-733x440.jpg)
Above: The designers installed a metal backrest against one wall; it’s an “inserted element that quietly punctuates the space, which is otherwise filled with natural materials,” they say.
![dersou restaurant in paris 2](http://www.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/dersou-paris-733x440.jpg)
Above: The bar, with industrial and warm wood elements.
![dersou paris restaurant crushed ice](http://www.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/dersou-paris-restaurant-crushed-ice-733x489.jpg)
Above: Hand-shaved ice, used in cocktails.
![dersou paris excavated walls](http://www.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/dersou-paris-excavated-walls-733x489.jpg)
Above: The designers stripped away layers of wallpaper to reveal the original walls.
![A Graphic Designers Redone Victorian Where the Pantry Takes Center Stage portrait 1_204](http://www.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/dersou-paris-floral-arrangements-733x864.jpg)
Above: An informal flower arrangement in a recycled jar.
![dersus paris restaurant japanese ceramics](http://www.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/dersus-paris-restaurant-japanese-ceramics-733x733.jpg)
Above: Japanese ceramics.
![dersou paris chefs](http://www.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/dersou-paris-chefs-733x489.jpg)
Above: Japanese-born chef Taku Sekine and restaurateur Amaury Guyot.
![dersou in paris, photo by isariert 8](http://www.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/dersou-paris-5-733x916.jpg)
Above: The nightly menus are hung up with butcher’s twine. Photograph by @isariert via @dersouparis.
![dersou in paris 9](http://www.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/dersou-paris-4-733x632.jpg)
Above: The restaurant at night.
For more low-key, characterful Parisian restaurants, see:
- Expert Advice: 11 Under-the-Radar Parisian Dining Spots
- Fashion’s Favorite Restaurant in Paris: Clover on the Left Bank
- Scandi Meets Shaker in a Parisian Japanese Restaurant by LSL Architects
N.B.: This story has been updated with new photos and information; the original post ran on July 12, 2018.