The three suggested all fit #2 above. But, let's look at what we consider French cooking. We seem to be comparing apples and oranges here. All these restaurants look delicious, but let's look at the type of cuisine.
Big sauces covering the meat are sort of a thing of the past, except for in home cooking, and Le P'tite Troquet comes closest for sauces with two stewed dishes and two grilled meats with sauce on the side, and one very interesting fish dish. Le p'tite Troquet is comfort food. This is what we serve friends and family in France, stew or grilled meat. This is what makes a hungry husband happiest. If there were a thread for French people, asking what foods they miss while living overseas, this would be it--stews, pâté, etc.
L'Ange 20 looks solid, with 3 grilled meats, one fish, and one saucy chicken dish. It does have an agneau de sept heures, ie: 7-hour lamb, too, (which I make at home) that should give you some sauce. It's all the little accompaniments in this restaurant that look tasty, too. Again, these are dishes people make at home but with a bit of a twist.
The other two seem to have a finer, more researched menu. Les Petits Papiers has modern, cuisine with a lot of vegetable dishes, more fish, some olive oil sauce, and a Bernaise in one dish, 3 grilled meats, including a hamburger, on the menu. This is market-fresh cooking, original, but not elegant. However, for creative dishes served, Pottoka looks interesting. Their dishes appear the most original and may be the closest to what your are describing in your question. This is what I mean by needing to establish what are the different kinds of French cooking: comfort foods, company food, grilled food, and creative cuisine.
Another with original cuisine, first recommended here by Janettravels, is l'Initial. I've gone twice and recommend it for flavor and creativity. It's an elegant fixed menu with amuse bouche, many small plates of food, including foie gras, a soup, a fish, a meat, two desserts, friandises after dessert. You will find only a dash of sauces on the food (and at most of these restaurants, probably), enough to highlight, but not cover. Myself, I'll try Potakka, Les Petits Papiers and Ange 20, but that may not be the type of food you are seeking.
This is simply my observation after 40 years of cooking French food at home for a hungry Frenchman and going out to eat in France. I didn't look at the prices. Bon appétit.
