Oter proves less really is more.

The name of this “contemporary” French restaurant means “to remove’’ or “take off’’ and owners Tom Hunter and Kate and Mykal Bartholomew honour this by stripping their basement digs of all clutter, keeping the service unfussy and serving fare that distils French classics “to their core ingredients’’.

Chef Florent Gerardin — a student of culinary giants such as Joel Robuchon — telegraphs this mission with minimal menu descriptors, following through with dishes on Japanese-style ceramics that challenge expectations. From super fresh prawns — hot off a yakitori and glazed with pickling juices — to smoked fish wing coddled in a warm rosti waffle and boudin (black sausage) ornamented with a few glazed beets.

Oter whets appetites before you even decide to go a la carte or choose the menu du chef (five courses $90, eight $130). Tiny radishes land, ready for dunking in sea salt. Then crusty Chez Dre bread with beautiful butter churned in house. Enjoy these treats while you take in Oter’s superb French cheeses and blade-thin technicolour tarts.

If Gerardin has a signature dish, it is the tete de veau: the cheeks, brains and sweetbreads of a calf pressed into a brick of marbled meat. Cut through the gaminess with a flinty white from Oter’s French-leaning wine list, relying on the expertise of sommelier Jordan Marr.

This is not a place for everyone. The room itself is not one to sink into. But when it comes to simplifying things, Oter is simply great.

Must eat dish: tete de veau