paulbrussel

Well, I think there is a major competition going on between Michelin (which has been attacked seriously in the past few months) and GaultMillau which explains much more why a restaurant gets its high ratings. Besides, there are several other serious guides in France, like Champérard.

Sounds very interesting! I haven't been to Guilbaud for a long time, spending my lunch time rather at Thornton's which seemed to me more creative. But I think it's worth going to Guilbaud again, although my impression has always been very good of what he was doing!

You are quite right: I did express myself badly. The (lunch) menu isn't more expensive at Sketch compared to PG. The extreme prices at Sketch are for the drinks. I think I had a glass of champagne at Sketch for 25 €... The bottle of wine was expensive too, but the sommelier advised a very nice wine in the cheapest section. (By the way: most of the staff is French, I believe.)

I do fully agree with this opinion. I have been several times to PG in Paris, and visited Sketch last November; in a way I was disappointed by Sketch which hadn't the perfection and creativity I always experienced at PG. And Sketch is indeed far more expensive as PG.

The book of Pascal Rémy has been published now, but I was very much surprised that the book of Olivier Morteau, Food business. Enquête dans les coulisses de la gastronomie française, has not mentioned here at all. This book is written by three journalists very much involved in the culinary field under the name "Olivier Morteau" and deals with all the different guides, the weaknesses and the top cuisine-business in France. It has caused scandals in France and I found the book, as far as I have been able to read it very good and very critical about the whole food business and the guides like Michelin and GaultMillau. Has no one else read the book?

What was told to me by phone by L'Astrance is: the reservations start one month in advance at 9.30 in the morning. At 10 the restaurant is fully booked. So try as early as possible and several times. And as said before: why don't you try lunch - will be easier perhaps?

The best restaurant in Scheveningen is Seinpost - seafood, right on the beach. Le bon mangeur is good too. Cap Ouest I found quite disappointing. The dinner buffet restaurant in the famous Kurhaus is horrible. In the Hague the best restaurant is Calla's - the most modern one. Marc Smeets (Hotel Corona) is reasonably good as well. Then Koesveld should be nice too. About breakfast I know nothing at all.

That's what I think too. And I have the impression that the sommeliers mostly taste the wine in the top restaurants, at least when I am there :-).

Thank you very much to have posted this! It makes me think I should go there again soon. Interesting is also the point about ordering à la carte or the menu. I myself have always ordered the lunch menu which I always enjoyed and already gives for less € a good impression of Gagnaire's cooking, I think. But I will change my mind perhaps next time. (Edit: sometimes I have the impression that in France as in Belgium, ordering a menu is not very commonly done; also in Belgium top-restaurants guests tend to order à la carte. May it be related to a country, such a choice?)

http://www.restaurantabac.biz/ http://www.canfabes.com/ Of Alkimia, I don't know whether they have a web site. Edit: Alkimia, C/Industria 79, 08025 Barcelona, 93-2076115

It all depends whether you like more innovative or more classic cuisine. If you like more innovative cuisine, I would go for Alkimia or hisop. For the more classic, but modern cuisine, I would take the trip to Can Fabes in Sant Celoni (about 40 minutes from BCN by train?). If you want to stay in BCN, and you would like to have more the Can Fabes style of cuisine, I would probably go for Àbac. But all the restaurants you mentioned are modern cuisines, although some more innovative then classic.

Cata 1.81 - C/València, 181 - Barcelona - 93-323-68-18 Is not expensive at all, and interesting! Prices between 1.70 and 7.25 €; 20 € (Menú Degustació) and 29 € (Menú Degustació First Class).

As said before, it mostly depends on your personal taste and expectation. Gagnaire indeed is avant garde (the 2004 edition of GaultMillau guide even thinks he is going too far...). Le Meurice has a beautiful dining room, although I think the most beautiful in Paris is that of Hotel Crillon; both are big dining rooms in classic, almost baroque style. Le Meurice has gotten good marks lately since a new chef arrived (I haven't eaten there since he arrived). La Grand Véfour is nice too, but there is not a quiet, intimate table to get, and during lunch time full of tourists. Le Carré des Feuillants seems to me personally the most interesting, since it is quite possible to have an intimate table, it has been re-decorated last year in a more modern style, but the food is a mixture of cuisine de terroir and very modern influences; besides, it is perhaps the best value for money when you take the 138 € menu. Le Bristol is really a very large hotel dining room (and I wasn't impressed at all by its 60 € menu in 2002). Since I haven't been to Taillevent, Savoy, Les Elysées and Jamin, I couldn't comment on those. But on eGullet many more experienced diners have commented on those very eloquently.

That's what they always say in the guides: "Stars: Certain establishments deserve to be brought to your attention for the particularly fine quality of their cooking." For the one star restaurants, they indicate: "A very good restaurant in its category. But beware of comparing the star given to an expensive "de luxe" establishment to that of a simple restaurant where you can appreciate fine cuisine at a reasonable price." So the number of forks are related to the accompanied one Michelin star.

Thanks for the report! We had quite a good experience in December 2003 when we ate in the kitchen at the chef's table. However, when we moved to the beautiful dining room, we discovered a big chance, for the worse. The cheese platter was extremely poor; most of the normal cheeses were not available. Service was poor too, so we were not too happy with moving to the dining room with these negative effects. Still, it remains in my view a good kitchen. Perhaps pricy, but it is of course the most beautiful hotel of the Netherlands; I am afraid you pay for that as well. It is not as modern and exciting as the other good two star restaurant in Amsterdam, Vermeer, and perhaps not as good as the two star restaurant De Bokkedoorns nearby which has about the best service of the country and very good wines that go with the dishes.

http://www.gaultmillau.fr and: http://www.gaultmillaubenelux.com/ I don't see anything about the magazine, but the Nouveau GaultMillau Magazine comes out every two months; it's only in French.

The NY Times has an article today on this 'scandal'. Derek Brown is quoted: "Mr. Brown did not specify how many full-time inspectors there were in France. But he said that 21 of 70 inspectors who work for Michelin's seven European guides helped produce the 2004 guide for France, which will appear on bookshelves on Friday."

The last issue of GaultMillau Magazine has an article on Zagat Paris and that sort of guides.

This might be Au Pied de Cochon on rue Coquillière, near Les Halles. Well, I think there are different views on Au Pied de Cochon, but I am not sure whether this touristy and quite expensive 'bistro' is worthwhile going to. And eating fish on Sundays, I am not sure whether that is a good idea either.

OK: I do understand your points now and I do agree. By the way, the most foreigners I noticed at Comerç 24, although it hasn't got a Michelin star. More foreigners I noticed also at Àbac, but I think the latter will really need them, since he is the most expensive chef of BCN, I think.

Do you really think so? [Edit: I mean, that Spanish chefs are much more depending on Michelin stars?] As you know I do love BCN cuisine. But when I went there, it was rare to see foreigners, most of the guests are locals. Even when I went to Sant Pau and El Celler de Can Roca last November, I didn't notice any foreigner accept myself, as I didn't in Can Fabes a month before. In the three starred restaurants in Paris, I think it is quite different: many foreigners, but Parisians as well. In my experience indeed: more foreigners then locals, and especially Japanese and Americans.

Indeed: I do agree; of my last visit, Alkimia and hisop impressed me the most. On the other hand: I was disappointed by Comerç 24.

Reservations are not really necessary. For lunch at Alkimia I just dropped by and got a table without any problems. Comerç 24 I visited for dinner and reservation for dinner is absolutely necessary, a few weeks in advance, I would say; I don't know for lunch.

Diner 9/2003 (second visit) [my personal appreciation: 16/20; one star in Michelin since its guide 2001] Chef: Xavier Pellicer; website: http://www.restaurantabac.biz Aperitif: cava: too light and without much taste; on the side: chips (too old), green olives: very nice. Menu de degustacion: 75,13 (most expensive of BCN) White rioja: Placet 2001 (19,31 €): nice und bodied. First amuse: Nicoise salad: mousse of salad, jelly of tomato, sliced cucumber: just nice. Second amuse: Rabit ravioli: ravioli of rabbit with a sauce of aceto balsamico: very nice (but very hot: temperature)! First dish: Tartar of mushrooms, avocado and crab: tartar of crab with champignons de Paris, a quenelle of ice of avocado: excellent and original, interesting combination of different ingredients. Second dish: Mackerel with caviar, celery milk: mackerel on cake of celery; sauce of celery came apart; on top the caviar. The fish was cold, the rest was warm: interesting mix of temperatures here. Caviar was dominated by the rest and I could not taste it. Sauce was excellent. Third dish: Potera's squid with ceps and lemon: potera was explained as a very rare sort of squid. It came with wild ceps, all on a sponge of lemon, accompanied by some rucola. Squid was very nice, and combined very well with the mushrooms. Being a bit allergic for sour tastes, I left the lemon aside. Fourth dish: Mediterranean fish with polenta and tender almond: fish was sea wolf; it came with polenta, young red grapes and an andalusian sauce based on the same red grapes. Hardly salted and peppered fish and there fore quite plain. But the rest was very nice. Main dish: Iberian suckling pig from Sierra Mayor: the suckling pig came with cêpes, baked small potatoes and confit d'ail. Quite heavy but very good. After the main dish I had cheese. Then desserts: Plums with ginger, mascarpone and pistachio: nice dessert, followed by a second dessert: White xocolate with advocado and vanilla, chocolate with vanilla ice cream; I took a glass of sweet wine: Peter Jackob Spattesse 2001 which was nice.

I have been to Àbac twice: November 2002 and September 2003. To El Raco d'en Freixa I have been only once: in may 1997. (The latter must have changed a lot, I suppose. I have reserved there years later by fax since my first experience was quite good, but I never got a reply back and when I went there the very evening, it was closed, contrary to the information in the Guide Michelin.) Àbac is more upscale, I think, in various ways. It is one of the most expensive restaurants of Barcelona, luxury is every where. It is cooking in a modern way on a classic basis. This seems very logic to me, because when I had quite a long talk with the chef during my meal, he admitted his main influence came from the chef of Can Fabes and not from El Bulli. (If interested I can give details on the meal at Àbac I had in September. If you are more into modern cooking, I would suggest either Alikimia or hisop.)