olivier

Prices are always quoted VAT+service included in French restaurant, so this meal must have cost something like EUR470 and not EUR600 !

Had lunch at the Mini-Palais two weeks ago. The main of duck magret was sub-par, but still OK (I mean, not particularly enjoyable, but not disgusting either). I however hated the cheesecake. These two dishes + one glass of wine + a coffee cost me something like 30EUR (sorry, I don't recall the exact price): all in all, way too expensive for what it is. The setting (outside terrace) is quite nice, though.

Funny you mention this one, because it's one of the course I liked less (except for the sauce Poulette, which was yummy) when we went there a few months ago. Maybe they improved it since April, though. Sorry you had a bad experience... I understand some people have been disappointed with PG recently. I haven't, but my expectations were probably different from yours. However I think it's the first time I read about bad service there. It was really good when we went and the maitre d' was particularly delightful.

No no no. If your heart says no, don't go. We should start a topic on this. There are places, such as l'Astrance, Ze Kitchen Galerie + Itineraires where honorable eaters disagree; we should respect that. We should each speak our piece, but tastes differ and that's life. And information as to where to go. ← I agree that we don't have to agree, but since you (and the three harshest critics you know!) were so enthusiastic, who am I to dig in my heels and refuse to give it another try? I intend to go back and hope to be won over next time. (I'll take a couple of critics along as well to make sure.) ← From my recent dinner at Itinéraires, I'd say that even if it's good overall, some dishes are way better than some others (and I can understand why some can be enthusiastic about it, at least I am). John pointed that in his review, somehow, and I think he was spot on. Maybe you were "unlucky" in your choices... And I also think Itinéraires is about more than the food. Couldn't say why exactly, but there's a nice feeling there that already makes me want to go back before they go on holiday.

From the Amazon description, I think it's exactly what I was looking for. Not too expensive for a 1K+ pages book (or maybe cookbooks are just cheaper than your average academic book?)!

The Camdeborde et al. looks interesting, and I might end up buying it, but from what I see on Amazon, it doesn't look as if it's really what I'm looking for. I mean, it seems to be mostly recipes (this would be the "how") but nothing (or not too much) about products (what I call the "what" and the "why"). Still, "Qu'est-ce qu'on mange ce soir" might be really useful, thank you.

I went a few months ago, and have the same opinion about l'Os à Moëlle. It's good food for the price (36EUR, 5 courses, IIRC), but I wasn't blown away at all. Soups were great, I had some good wild boar (my girlfriend scallops were OK, nothing spectacular about their quality or the execution), but desserts stood out by being quite mediocre, at least that's what we thought.

Bumping this very old thread as I'm looking for cookbooks. More than a recipe collection, I'm looking for something that will have lots of information about products, techniques, maybe even some history. I'm probably at least as interested in knowing the "why" as the "how". An example of what I consider a good one is the Pierre Herme "Secrets Gourmands": there are pages about basic products used in pastry (what makes a good one, how to use it, etc.), and the recipes are simple enough to do at home and all-in-all very good. Are there similar cookbooks for all-around cooking? It doesn't really have to be in French, BUT if it's a foreign-language book or a translation, I'd like to have something that is exempt of translation/unit conversion errors and that uses products you'll find at every other store here in France. I'll try to browse through a few books that were recommended in this thread, but in the meantime, if anyone knows about something that I could like, please share!

I'm not sure anyone's really interested but just so you know, I ended up with booking a table at the Ledbury, mainly because it's open on Sundays and, well, I've read good things about it here. Would have loved to try Tom Aikens, too, but that's for next time, I guess. Anyway, thank you all for your advice. I'll try to report about the Ledbury in the appropriate thread!

It's for the 27th of this month, which is a Friday, so yes, it's probably on short notice... I guess I'll try it next time!

I wanted to make a reservation at TA and got an email back telling me they do have a table, but only for 2 hours & a half (6.45PM-9.15PM). I usually like being able to take my time to fully appreciate a good dinner: isn't this a bit short to get through a full menu at Aikens? We sometimes spend something like 4 hours for a meal... Has anyone been here recently on dinner and felt rushed out of the dining room?

Both seem to have a decent, albeit pricey, beer selection, which is a big plus in my book: if the mussels are up to it, that's a really good tip! Well, I've been "raised" with moules de bouchot during the 25 years I spent in Calvados, and indeed, I'm not sure I would want to taste any other kind of mussel. And I'm not the conservative kind of guy usually... never tasted Picardie mussels, though. All in all great advice, thank you!

It seems like Aikens would be ideal for us... unfortunately it's close on week-ends, and I'm not sure I'll be in the best condition to experience this kind of meal on a day I'll have to wake up at 5AM. Oh, nothing a nap couldn't fix after all. Thank you all for your kind advice.

By the way, any recommended place to get some good "moules-frites" in Paris?

Hello, I'm going to London at the end of June, and I plan on having one fine splurge dinner there. From what I've gathered here and elsewhere, safe bets in that area seem to include restaurants like Ramsay at Hospital Road, Gavroche, Aikens, Hibiscus, The Square and maybe a few others. However, it seems that there aren't as much reviews of UK restaurants as there are for NYC or Paris by example, so I'm not too sure about my choice yet. And that's the purpose of my post: where do you think I should go? I'm looking for a big splurge meal, with a "wow" factor (not necessarily because the food is innovative, I have no problem with eating outstanding ultra-classical cuisine), and possibly good wine pairings. Possibility to split dishes would be a plus (tasting menus are fine by me, but I like my free will). Oh, and I don't really have a budget constraint. Maybe I'm thinking too much, and any of the restaurants I've listed would fit the bill, you tell me! Thanks in advance for your advice.

Splitting dishes seems like a great idea. However, what about the size of what you get in your plate? Is that enough to fully enjoy those dishes? I know I'm sometimes disappointed by the size of some tasting menus items. Not because I'm a glutton (which I sometimes am), but because I often can't really appreciate something with just one bite. Or because it's too good, and I need more. I've read about splitting the tasting menu: isn't that even "worse". I mean, the portions must already be quite "small", but cut in half..?

Oh I would totally love to have a great lunch, but I'm afraid it's not really an option unless we take (half) a day off, which may not be possible. Maybe that's something I'll try to consider, though. By the way, I reckon there are no lunch menu at l'Ambroisie?

Not unlike our dear host, I am looking for restaurants where one could have dinner for a set budget. However, I'm looking for something that would probably be pricier. The thing is, I'm looking for a place to have dinner for my birthday. I'd like to be able to have some kind of a "splurge" dinner, but as I also have other plans than eating out this month, and considering that my budget is not unlimited, I guess the usual suspects like L'Arpège or L'Ambroisie, which I really intend to try this year, though, are out. The ideal budget would be something around 300-400EUR, 500EUR even, for 2, all included. The idea is I don't want to think about what I order food- and wine-wise. I'm also looking for something more elaborate that the usual parisian bistrot. The ideal restaurant may be something like Senderens, which I'm considering, but where I have already been. I am also thinking about le Relais Louis XIII (I don't care how "old-fashioned" it might look, but haven't read much about it, especially about the food), Gerard Besson (which I wanted to save for game/truffle seasons, but as far as I know, there's no law against going back to the same restaurant several times), maybe l'Agapé... L'Astrance would be almost perfect, too, albeit a little bit pricier. Any idea?

What about Le Versance ? The food is good, the setting is quite nice, it's a bit fancy and it shouldn't be too hard to have a full dinner w/ wine for less than EUR100 (last dinner there, 180EUR for 2, with 2 glasses of champagne, wines, 3 shared desserts and digestive/tea)

I didn't hear about Dammann's prior to reading this post a few days ago. However, we had a (work-related!) picnic in the Tuileries today and we were standing not too far from the fountain that is nearest from the Concorde. There was a Dammann's wagon a few steps away from us. Unfortunately, we had to leave in a hurry and I forgot to pick up an ice-cream cone... I have no idea of the opening days/hours either, but I can confirm it's there.

Been to l'Os à Moëlle a few months ago, and it was a 5-course menu for 36EUR, with two items to chose from for the starters and with a bit more for the main and dessert if I remember correctly. Oh and you don't chose the cheese, which can be different from a table to another. I thought it was OK, but I expected more. Went to La Régalade for the first time a week or two after, and well, this one blew my expectations. Could just be a matter of taste, too.

My favortie mille-feuilles would probably be Aoki's, however, I havent had it for some months now, and I don't remember what exactly made it so good. One of my staple is the one from Secco: very good puff pastry (although it has been subpar a few times, maybe because it stayed in the shop the whole day...), the creme is perfect in taste and texture, and not too sweet. As a follow-up to this thread, I went to Pichard last week and had a very good one, quite close to Secco's version, but I still prefer the latter. I tried Herme's a few weeks ago and was underwhelmed: it's good overall but too stuffy for my taste. Had the one at Senderens, and thought it was awesome, too. This is the kind of pastry that benefits a lot from being ultra-fresh, I guess. One that is very astonishing is at Le Pressoir, a 1-star restaurant in Caen (Lower Normandy). It's called something like "mille-feuilles haut comme un gratte-ciel" ("skyscraper-high millefeuille"), and it indeed is enormous. Not easy to eat at all, but it's excellent. They also pour some vanilla syrup which I would like to be able to take home with me. But I'm partial to anything vanilla.

Thanks for the tip. I'm new enough to the "restaurant scene" that I'm not sure what it is i really like yet. Well, I am exaggerating, as I actually have a pretty solid idea about what my tastes are, but I still have (many) things to discover, and, most of all, I'm trying to enjoy my gastronomic naivete while it still lasts. I guess this is slightly off-topic...

That's something I noticed when planning my upcoming trip to NYC: most of the restaurants seem to be cheaper than in Paris, even if the exchange rate was around 1/1 (well, maybe not Masa, but I'm not even going with the current EUR/USD rate). Of course, the quoted prices don't include taxes nor tips, but still, a 2-courses, 1 dessert lunch at Jean-Georges costs $36 (so you have to pay something like $45). I don't know (yet!) how this restaurant ranks next to other comparable lunches in Paris, but what could explain what seems to be such a huge difference? Do they receive more customers every day, by example?

I can't resist to second julot about La Régalade. I was (and still, am) trying to have dinner at a different restaurant each time since I'm in Paris, but since I've been to La Régalade, I always find myself wanting to go back, bring friends there, etc. It's just too good not to go!