Gavin Convery

A glorious spring day in Paris as we arrived by Eurostar at the Gare du Nord. A short 20 min taxi ride through the Place de Concorde and up the Champs-Elysee to the Hotel Georges V. We arrived early for our 1pm lunch, so went to the Bar for a couple of Kir Royale's (celebrating my friend's 50th). The bar was comfy with leather sofas done out a bit like a library. A french couple and child tucked in to the Hamburger and french fries (freedom fries?!?). Finishing our Kir Royales, and indicating that we were eating in the restaurant , the waiter followed us to the restaurant to add them to the bill. Le Cinq is located on one side of a central courtyard decked out with large pots but fairly bare other wise. The room itself mixes classic over the top french Louis the something style with some modern touches - the huge flowers (more like bushes) in oversized glass vases. The seats are soft and you feel a bit low down in relation to the table. The table for two is wide so not made for intimate conferring. Plenty of room for food and wine though. Perusing the menu, we received a plate on which was resting a spoon on which rested a round of smoked duck wrapped around a creamy (cheese?) filling then some miniature choux buns filled with spinach and cream cheese - nothing too special... As this was a special occasion, we chose the menu degustation - 9 courses for 190Euros. We requested that the sommelier match wines by the glass to each course - this they happily agreed to although there was no mention anywhere that this could be done. - Watercress soup with a watercress cream and sevruga caviar. Sancerre Nuance 2001 V. Pinard The deep green soup was in a small terrine, the waiter scooped the watercress cream with the caviar on top into the soup. This was delicious, deeply flavoured, the warmth of the soup contrasted with the cool of the cream and the textures of the caviar and other elements complimented each other. The wine was a fantastic match with an aniseedy, grassy nose - one of the nicest Sancerre's I have had in a long time. - Artichoke Tarte with perigord truffle. Marsala 20 ans de Bartoli My favourite dish - leaves of watercress on which rested a small pastry circle, then layers of artichoke, truffle finished off with a moussey cream apparently flavoured with red onions; a circle of an onion (?) and truffle sauce. The wine again perfect, picking up the sweet notes of this dish. If I were a vegetarian I could happily eat this for dinner every day of the week. - Leeks cooked with winter flavours and truffles. Maderia Sercial 1910 Barbeito The leeks were wrapped round a chestnut stuffing, the waiter spooned over the truffle sauce - taste wise there were similarities to the previous dish, but again delicious. The wine choice was again unusual but picked up the nutty notes from the stuffing. When were finished, the plate was lifted from its base to reveal a consomme onto which had dripped some of the truffle sauce through holes in the plate. It was light and undemanding. - Scallops poached with lentils and black truffle. Beaune 1er Cru Montrevenots 2000 JM Boillot A classic sort of dish - lovely sweet scallops, lentils, some finely diced bacon and truffle, a light truffley sauce. Can't argue with that. - Lobster in its shell, smoked and roasted with Correze chestnuts. Small pieces of lobster in its shell, gently smoked, the chestnuts matching the sweetness of the lobster, a light creamy sauce. My friend remarked that he doesn't normally like lobster (what!) or chestnuts but loved this dish. A quick interlude on the service - I had some apprehension that a place of this calibre in Paris might have some snooty attitudes going round. I've been to many 2 and 3 stars outside Paris but rarely inside. However, despite the grandness of the place, I have to say the service was perfect. We were in a celebratory and jokey mood, our waiter (actually more a sub maitre) played along with that perfectly, setting us a quiz to guess the ingredients of one dish, we joked about getting a free meal, he pressed his imaginary quiz master's buzzer when we got it wrong. Sounds a bit laboured when you write it down but it was fun. The sommelier had worked at Le Manoir aux Quatre Saisons, so his english was good and he appeared genuinely delighted when we told him we had come just for the day to have lunch at his restaurant. Back to the food. - Roasted venison with chocolate and peppered sauce. Cote Rotie 2000 JP Jamet The venison was on the bone like a lamb chop, covered with a crumbled chocolate coating, the sauce was poured around the venison, there were a few veg, but I don't really recall at this point. This needed some concentration to eat, as all the elements had to be eaten together to get the full effect - it was a grower as I wasn't sure at first but loved it in the end. The wine was a suitably peppery Rhone wine without being outstanding. - Cheese course This was the worst, the cheeses just lacked the sumptiousness of well kept cheeses, the portions were generous. Let's pass over that. - Comice Pear with prunes and jamaican pepper ice cream. Poire 2002 (a kind of sparkling pear wine...what we call perry in the UK) This was just simply delicious, the pear was poached and had a lovely complexity of flavour. I can't say the pepper stood out in the ice cream...but by this time alcohol was having some effect. - Irish Coffee prepared as a vacherin. Maderia Malvoisie Barbeito 1900 I think this means like a kind of soft ice-cream. It was as coffeeish as you need, crisscrossed with stick shaped biscuits coated with small pieces of chocolate. Lovely madeira. By this time we had been there 3 1/2 hours and it was time to get back to the Eurostar terminal. We were well content. All in all this was an excellent meal, at some points as good as anything I've eaten and other than the cheese course there was littlle to fault. Perhaps not the most cutting edge cooking, but combined with the excellent service, this was a very enjoyable experience that I'd be happy to repeat....although I think my Bank Manager might have a different view.....total cost of the meal was over 700 Euros and it was my treat!

Please report back...I would especially like to hear about Maison Bricourt as this is a favourite, but the prices seem to have gone up quite a lot recently. I remember when the set lunch was FF130 ( = $20 I think) and was one of the best meals of my life.

If you don't hate Conran, you can walk over Tower Bridge to his Gastrodome...several restaurants of varying quality. My favourite is the Blueprint Cafe - fabulous views!

How did you get reservations for Astrance - they seemed pretty insistent on calling exactly one month in advance, so that would mean end of March for you...?? BTW are there any French people here who can explain all these restaurants not opening on saturday...I know Gordon Ramsay does it here in London but he is one of the few. Or is it to keep the weekenders over from the UK out

JJS, thanks for that...certainly the rooms are rather grand at both places...something you don't often get in London these days, so I'll have to dig out my smartest suit. BTW their website says smart casual at lunch, did you experience any problems in that area? I gather that Paris is moving to a more casual approach to high-end dining but I know the French can be rather particular when they want to be... In the end,I think I'll keep my reservation and sacrifice myself to the greater good of letting you all know whether it is worth it.

JJS, What is your reason for preferring the Bristol over the Cinq?.....I still have time to cancel

Well, I have a reservation at Le Cinq on the 15th March and as there seems to be little experience of this restaurant I will report back....

Has anyone been recently to Le Bristol or Le Cinq - especially now it's elevated to 3 stars. Timeout didn't rate either but they aren't always reliable - but they loved L'Espadon. All are open on Saturday which is why I have a special interest....if my reservation at L'Astrance doesn't come off. Or is there something more cutting edge like L'Astrance which is also open on Saturday and centrally based...easy reach from the Eurostar terminal

I am planning a day trip to Paris for my friend's 50th and need to know a) which 3 or 2 stars are open for lunch on Saturday or Sunday b) Of those which is the best. Thanks...

I would pay a little extra for a room which has full length windows or french doors - the one we had had high ceilings but high windows too and we were only able to see the view when standing up - the view is phenomenal especially at sunset from the restaurant. We also travelled from Spain (Costa Brava) to Michel Bras in one day but we were driving and I can confirm the necessity of a car to get there - also with a car you could take one of their suggested walks - they will provide a picnic if requested.

I fully endorse the glowing reports on Pied a Terre - I was there last Friday and had the £55 8 course menu - stunning value for menu. The food was better than the Capital, much better - it's that simple. I have not had a better meal this year (which includes the Gavroche, Square and Capital). Sea bass for me also was the best dish - I could hardly contain my enjoyment of this dish. What was really stunning was that I could not fault a single dish - some were preferred to others but all were great - and there are few restaurants I can say that about. In addition I had the 7 wines by the glass for £45 which was excellent other than the Muscat (predictably boring) but not as good as the Capital selection. Service was good but no outstanding sommelier - also as mentioned, the main room in the restaurant is non-smoking - a definite positive for me. I didn't mind the closer tables especially given the non-smoking policy - the restaurant felt more relaxed than others at this level. All in all the best restaurant in London today?? Definitely the best value at this level. Flock there, Egulleteers. P.S. A boozy lunch at the Don confirms that this is the best in the City

After a fruitless search around other top london restaurants for a table next wednesday, I managed to get one at Pied a Terre. If the reviews are anything to go by then it should be good especially at £55 for 8 courses (tight northern bastard that I am), plus as the room has been recently been refurbished then maybe that will quash Andy's reservations. Anyway I shall report back......

I would also recommend Arancia which is on Southwark Park Road - there is something very unprepossesing about this place from the outside (and perhaps the inside too) but the food without being at all gourmet has a certain downbeat charm - it's all italian, the wine list is cheap and you can get 3 courses at lunch for £10.50.

Anybody been to QC then...I had never heard of it, so if it's good please spill the beans...

Ok, Guys now we really need to storm La Tante Claire - the latest TO Guide gives it a good write up and I think we need to find where it sits in the hierarchy. Once we've done that I think we all deserve a round of eggs, beans and chips at the local caff - that's all I'll be able to afford

I don't know if you've tried the wine per course pairing that the Capital do - there were some real revelations there including a textbook German riesling with the most petrolly nose I've ever smelled.

Gary, How hard was it to get a table, i.e. how far ahead did you have to book??

Simon, I have to disagree about the mushy peas - obviously I'm not a true northerner like you - but I loved their version. In all other respects I agree about Sheekeys which is about as enjoyable as English food ever needs to be i.e. not too poncey (mushy peas notwithstanding)

I found service at The Square bordering on the poor - that was probably explained by the sommelier (or one of the sommeliers) giving us a duff recommendation - a Puligny Montrachet when I was having a main course of John Dory with snails and a very meaty sauce and he also brought a german Riesling Auslese with a chocolate millefeuille with very alcoholic cherries which was much better served by a Maury which to his credit was not charged. The food was more robust than the Capital as mentioned but I found it just not as well balanced and slightly old-fashioned and although I would not consider the Capital perfect foodwise it certainly scored on service, particularly the superb sommelier.

I went to the Square on Friday for my wedding anniversary, I don't currently have time to post a full report but the management summary is: slightly disappointing,service especially. Current hierarchy of 2 stars, totally IMHO: 1) The Capital 2) Le Gavroche 3) The Square Haven't been to Tante Claire recently...

We went to Relais d'Auteuil about 3 years ago when confusion over reservations at Guy Savoy meant we had to find a quick alternative. We enjoyed it greatly - the food was delicious and the service was warm, plus the head waiter spoke perfect english - probably why it was full of other British people. I would recommend it on the basis of that experience.

Now, don't laugh but my nearest farmer's market is in Peckham on a Sunday morning near the new library - a fairly small affair but they have an excellent bread stall. They also have occasional French farmer's markets although I haven't been to one of those yet.....just shows you how even the dodgiest part of London is becoming gentrified.

Steve, Enjoyed your website but sad to see you didn't enjoy Michel Bras - I really enjoyed my stay there - will you be posting a review or have you already done so. Interesting to see you enjoyed Richard Coutanceau - I thought this was a good restaurant also but I can't agree about El Raco con Fabes although the restaurant was charming both my wife and I found the food strangely bland - maybe it was us I don't know......

This is probably nitpicking but I don't think Bocuse was ever considered the father of 'La Cuisine Nouvelle' - the likely candidates are Michel Guerard at Eugenie-Les-Bains and Gualtiero Marchesi in Italy. However, Girardet was certainly considered at one time the best chef of the world...so lucky you!

A difficult call especially as the time gap between the two experiences was about 5 years. But my overall impression was that I enjoyed Le Choiseul more than Domaine des Haut Loire - note I didn't stay at the latter. The food was more 'cutting edge' at Le Choiseul whereas DHL is more traditional although I went there on a trip that included Michel Bras, L'Aubergade and San Celoni as well as Richard Coutanceau in La Rochelle so I think it suffered slightly in comparison. Le Choiseul is also a very comfortable hotel with good to excellent breakfasts, a nice pool and gardens and right below Chateau Amboise