Man does not live by bread alone.

Not even when it’s the traditional artisan kind baked in a wood-fired oven at French bakery Poilâne.

Making sure no one goes hungry today, Apollonia Poilâne has just expanded her family bakery business to include a proper restaurant. On the menu: tartines (open sandwiches) with smoked salmon, foie gras, marinated artichokes, butter beans or chicken served on sourdough bread along with a seasonal salad. Breakfast (boiled eggs, granola), tea (pastries and butter biscuits) and after-work snacks (soup, smoked duck burger) are also available.

The light-filled Chelsea space is simple and calming with communal tables and single seating for those who don’t want to be bothered. Fresh bread comes from her bakery on nearby Elizabeth Street, but a glass viewing panel looks down onto the pastry lab where croissants, brioche and pain au chocolat are made every morning.

No corners cut here.

Cuisine de Bar by Poilâne, 39 Cadogan Gardens, SW3 2TB (020 3263 6019 or poilane.com).

Photo: Courtesy of Cuisine de Bar by Poilâne