The story
Les Volets Rouges is a bistronomy restaurant at 1 rue Vélane in Toulouse, recommended by the Michelin Guide in 2026. The dining room sits in the Carmes quarter and serves modern French cooking with Basque roots.
The name points to the Basque Country, the brothers' native land. Chef Paul spent more than ten years in Paris, training at Le Rech, Papillon, Septime and Le Servan, before coming back to Toulouse to open his own place. His brother Vincent left a career in financial audit, learned service and sommellerie at Le Servan, and now runs the floor.
Le Fooding, which also listed the restaurant in 2026, describes a line between retro bistro comfort and neo-gastronomic flair. At lunch that meant a butternut squash velouté with smoky bacon espuma, then stuffed cabbage with sausage meat and carrot, then a dark chocolate tartlet with salted caramel and pear. Dinner centres on a five-course tasting menu at 62€, and the à la carte has included line-caught sea bass with chili crisp and a cumin fish-bone jus.
The kitchen works from raw products chosen for organic or reasoned farming, farm-raised meat and sustainable fishing. The menu follows the seasons. The wine list favours natural and organic bottles, and a food and wine pairing is offered with the tasting menu at 35€ per person.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
Paul Du Bois De Maquillé (ex-Le Servan, Septime, Papillon and Le Reich) returns to Toulouse, reuniting with his brother Vincent (also trained at Le Servan) to open their own restaurant – a heartfelt tribute to their native Basque Country (think red shutters – naturally, burgundy paneling, coppery pink brickwork). In the kitchen, Paul puts his formidable CV to work, walking a fine line between retro bistro comfort and neo-gastronomic flair. That lunchtime: an enchanting butternut squash velouté topped with a creamy smoky bacon espuma, green oil, chervil and pumpkin seeds; followed by a deeply satisfying stuffed cabbage filled with sausage meat and carrot, slicked with a meaty jus, a dazzle of mint and crowned with a fried cabbage leaf; followed by a dark chocolate tartlet with salted caramel, fromage blanc and Comice pear. Come evening, the tasting menu leans a touch more ambitious while staying firmly in regional tradition: shallot and chorizo ravioli in rosemary butter; sea bass ceviche with Adour kiwi and broccoli rabe; Basque corn-fed chicken with carrots and a creamy Ossau-Iraty sauce. Bayonne and Toulouse have never felt so close! · Daisy Poppy
Location
Facebook
Instagram