Arborescence

Arborescence, Imaginative Fine Dining in Croix

Arborescence is a fine-dining restaurant in Croix, in the Lille metropolitan area. The project grew from the free, inventive cooking of Félix and Nidta Robert and occupies a space in the former Edgar textile complex, near the train station. The interior was designed by François Muracciole.

The restaurant describes its approach as “imaginary cuisine”: a meeting of flavors and ideas seeking lightness and delicacy, with references to iodine, transparency, shadow, flowering, and warmth. Each menu is conceived as a story built from memories and landscapes.

The People Behind the Restaurant

Félix Robert grew up in Steenvoorde in northern France, around his family’s vegetable garden. He trained as a pastry chef with Alexandre Gauthier at La Grenouillère and continued his education working with fish and sauces at Troisgros and Ryugin in Tokyo. The idea of opening his own restaurant stayed with him throughout that period.

Nidta Robert Prathum was born in Uttaradit in northern Thailand and has lived in France since 2008. She grew up on a farm where rice and many varieties of fruit were grown, a background that led her to study wine service for five years at La Grenouillère and the University of Wine in Suze-la-Rousse. The two met at the hospitality high school in Le Touquet.

Tasting Menus and the Dining Experience

The menu is organized around three tasting menus: Pensée, Songe, and Rêve. Pensée costs €115, with an €85 option on Friday at lunch. Songe is €145, and Rêve is €185. The cooking draws inspiration from seafood.

Optional dishes and supplements include sea urchin “warmth” (€20), lobster shell (€35), sous-bois (€20), tiger ravioli (€15), pigeon and its shadow (€30), veal sweetbread laab (€30), and Oryzae (€15).

Nidta Robert selects wines from trusted growers and creatively made nonalcoholic drinks. Pairings include three wines for €55, six for €105, three nonalcoholic creations for €35, five for €65, and a mixed pairing of five wines and three nonalcoholic creations for €135.

Hours and Reservations

The restaurant serves lunch Friday through Sunday and dinner Wednesday through Sunday. Lunch seating runs from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m., and dinner seating from 7:15 to 8:15 p.m. Given the seafood-focused cooking, the restaurant recommends that guests not avoid those ingredients entirely. Out of consideration for other diners, it advises against bringing young children or pets.

Setting and Location

The restaurant is discreetly set inside the former Edgar textile site, without neon signs or an exterior signboard. A path lined with plants and the sound of bells lead guests to the entrance. Parking is available directly across from the restaurant on Rue des Ogiers. The listed GPS coordinates are latitude 50.6770254 and longitude 3.1418212.

Shop and Gift Items

The restaurant has an online shop with gift certificates and assorted items. Gift options include Penser au voyage (€150), Songer au paysage (€180), and Rêver d’Arborescence (€220). Other items include a “Praa” table knife (€220), a collector’s leporello featuring an illustrated menu (€35), the book Mémoire de riz (€18), Hélène Luzin’s 50 chefs de la relève gastronomique française… (€39.90), a notebook of stories and drawings (€10), and gift certificates in flexible amounts starting at €10.

The website has a contact form, reservations section, and recruitment page. Nuances Noires handled the project’s design, concept, and film, and Florian Domergue took the photographs.

Location and Contact

76 Rue de la Gare, 59170 Croix · Phone: +33 3 20 00 01 82 · Email: contact@r-arborescence.com · Hours: Lunch Friday–Sunday; dinner Wednesday–Sunday. Lunch seating: 12:15–1:15 p.m.; dinner seating: 7:15–8:15 p.m.