Les Ambassadeurs

[cabrales]

Gayot reports the following on the two-starred Les Ambassadeurs:

"Chef Dominique Bouchet, of Paris' Les Ambassadeurs in the Hôtel de Crillon, has tailored lunch service to fit business schedules by installing 'un dejeuner rapide,' guaranteeing a three-course lunch served **in approximately 75 minutes,** Monday through Friday at €57 per person. The meal includes a green salad with tomato preserve, asparagus and Ventresca de Bonito; pan-seared red mullet on stewed vegetables; chicken fricassee in morel mushroom cream sauce, tagliatelle with butter; and strawberries au gratin in lemon zabaglione cream. Les Ambassadeurs, Hôtel de Crillon, 10, place de la Concorde, Paris, 01 44 71 16 16."

This might be appropriate if one were attempting to take a flight home after lunch.

[PRS]

Any experiences/opinions with lunch at Les Ambassadeurs? Thank you.

[CyN]

Had a great dinner there 3 years ago.But this year they have lost their second star. There must be a reason. I am bypassing it on my trip this year.

[fresh_a]

It's a shame, a great team and a beautiful dining room... The hotel is really suffering as well, with an occupied room rate of %12 or something like that. During the early days of the Iraq war, as they are located next to the American Embassy, the whole area was blockaded, including the entrance of the hotel!

[bobsdf]

Has anyone been since Jean-François Piège became head Chef? If so I'd love to hear any comments you might have.

[Lateralus]

I heard JFP has left Les ambassadeurs....And has already talkin reins at new spot in Paris....does anyone know anything????? Les Ambassadeurs is closing for 2 years for renovations???

[Matthew Grant]

I had dinner at Les Ambassadeurs 16th June, relatively brief because I didn't take notes and my memory is like a sieve. We chose the degustation which we meant that we could have 3 courses of our choosing in half portions plus cheese and dessert. We started with the TV dinner as previously described by Degusto on Gastroville, the crayfish with chicken liver was superb. For our main dishes we opted for the Langoustines with caviar which we got to specify as Iranian despite the higher cost. A single superb quality Langoustine in a light crisp fried pastry served with a Langoustines with a relatively bland (not in a bad way) creamy sauce topped with a generous serving of caviar. Another serving was of a small piece of raw scallop which had a clear, Asian influenced, broth poured around it which we were advised to leave it until after the first Langoustine so that it could cook a little in the broth. Delightful dishes due mainly to the quality of the Langoustines. Rachel had opted for spider crab which came as a "sushi" with horseradish and I've gone blank on the other preparation. Again good quality ingredients but not mind-blowing in its preparation

Turbot with carrots followed, a good piece of Turbot with a rich sweet sauce heavy with carrots, a small amount of carrot mixed with mustard and on the side a carrot mash , if this was a half portion I 'm glad I didn't order full size ones! A great dish which would have been fine without the puree on the side which added little to the overall dish and went largely untouched, the combination of carrot and mustard was excellent.

Chicken with Foie Gras followed, two small pieces of PdB stuffed with Duck Foie and served with a truffle sauce. Alongside the legs served in a "bladder", in reality some clingfilm sealed so that it blew up like a balloon with small pieces of leg and foie gras which was opened at the table. I would say that the sauce was a touch over reduced but not too much to its detriment, the balance of the leg and Foie Gras was a little out, the cooking juices were great and rich with foie gras flavour but a big spoonful of what I thought was mainly leg nearly made me choke when I realised it was nearly all Foie Gras. Now I enjoyed this dish but it was really quite old fashioned and for me was wrong for the season, for Rachel it made her declare that she was bored of 3 star dining, which surprised me as she normally likes this classic style of dish (I knew we should have gone to Gagnaire instead ).

Excellent cheeses but no 4 year old Bernard Antony Comte available, only 2 year . Desserts were a never ending procession, Ice lollies covered in chocolate (pleasant but not earth shattering) "reconstructed" Cherry Clafoutis was Ok but perhaps lacked a little something to make it a true 3 star dish, the Sponge element being too dry. Rachel had a great vacherin of gariguette strawberries if I remember correctly and this did tick all the boxes even if I can't remember the details now. Bon Bons and macaroons (way too sweet) followed and a great trolley of fresh herbs which were cut in front of you to make infusions.

Overall some very good cooking but for me lacking a certain spark.

[pierre45]

We lunched today at this luxurious restaurant at l'hotel Crillon.

The setting is a far cry from the usual bistrot and the service is smooth and gracious.

L'amuse bouche consisted of 5 offerings:two small glasses of different liquids, one a pink lemonade with a meat flavored foam, the other a warm veloute with pieces of ecrevette; a small ball that burst in your mouth; a "cigarette" filled with snail cream and a silver foil wrapped "candy" of black truffle butter to be spread on baguette toast. This was the best amuse bouche that I've ever had.

For appetizers we chose the foie gras de canard. Two versions were served. A bowl with two sushi shape pieces of foie gras were in the center. A duck reduction and cherry broth was poured . The intensity of the broth in contrast with the duck liver was extremely enjoyable. This was accompanied by a pate "sandwich" of two layers of foie gras with a center of gelee and topped with cherry preserves. The contrast of the sweetness of the cherry and the buttery richness of foie gras was heavenly.

The main course Cuit-cru de thon "Blue fin" (Blue fin Tuna) consisted of two cylinders of high caliber tuna, barely cooked, and topped with a small piece of foie gras. A champagne coupe filled with fine "noodles" of salted fried potatoes and a plate with a parsely salad and a small brick of foie gras with a topping accompaned the fish. The two dishes together were outstanding.

The meal was a bit too rich because of the presence of foie gras in almost every so its the only only negative comment. The excellent Chablis from raveneau we drank went very well with the lunch.

The dessert cosisting of predessert,dessert and after dessert were:

1. Chocolate covered mango sorbet pops.

2. Strawberry and cream "hamburgers" accompanied with 3 kinds of petit fours

3. A thin chocolate ball filled with coffee ice cream and cake, with warm chocolate sauce poured over it.

4. An assortment of chocolates served in a silk covered box.

To eat like this, in sumptuous surroundings, with smooth service, at 75 Euros, is a steal.

[grace3]

Yes, that certainly was a good buy!! I enjoy Les Ambassadeurs. A few years ago I dined there for Christmas dinner. It was lovely.

When I was in Paris in February I tried their l'Obelisque restaurant for lunch. I had expected quite a business crown due to its location. Not so. I had a most enjoyable lunch, in very pleasant surroundings.

[MobyP]

Very enjoyable meal here on Saturday. Pics.

[kerriar]

Lunch has now gone to €80 - not bad for somewhere at that level if you have an occasion to treat yourself.

Are MobyP's photos really from this lunch menu? If so, it's something of a comparitive steal.

[MobyP]

Our lunch wasn't from a lunch menu. As my bank manager, creditors, and the guy standing outside my house with a bat will all attest.

Lunch has now gone to €80 - not bad for somewhere at that level if you have an occasion to treat yourself.

Are MobyP's photos really from this lunch menu? If so, it's something of a comparitive steal.

←

[ajgnet]

Had a really nice meal there last week, and took lots of photos. Both the photos, and my thoughts, are available here.

[Bu Pun Su]

Thanks for the nice report and pictures anyone

So Moby, you're back again to Europe ... look forward to the rest of the dining review

[MobyP]

Sorry - here's a review. I won't upload the pics here because I find imagegullet a bit of a pain in the arse. But follow the link above for images.

This was a meal I was really looking forward to, though I'm not entirely sure why. The gloss has gone off a lot of haute food for me. I'm not not entirely sure why that is either. I'm becoming a grumpy gourmand. I get really pissed off with any food that isn't entirely exceptional within its category. Still, I think once Degusto (as he's known on the boards - see Gastroville) had made his pronouncement about the quality of the ingredients (call me a faddish teenager, but I tend to listen to what the guy says when he calls a turnip a turnip), I guess the combination of such a high degree of obvious technical skill combined with that filled whatever shameless criterion I have left.

I don't know that this was a religious experience. Or rather, I do know that this wasn't a religious experience. But there was enough really exceptional food, respect for ingredients, and interesting ideas executed cleanly, that I wouldn't hesitate to return. In this case, two dishes were superb, three were very good. The lobster, surprisingly, was a clear dud.

To start, bread with bordier butter. It was fine, but I wonder if my palate isn't getting used to it. Had a pound of the stuff at Arpege. Half a pound at L'Ousteau. Some at Robuchon. More here.

The TV dinner Platter -

Chicken liver royale (Tendret/Chapel) with crayfish and foie foam (back left), carrot lemonade, onion cromequis, escargot chantilly, truffle bonbon. The glass at the back had a variation on the Chapel/Tendret chicken liver combo with chunks of crayfish. Delicious. The glass upfront was "Carrot lemonade." There was a herbal hint that I couldn't identify. Delicious. The croquette was onion. A perfectly thin shell burst in the mouth. Lovely. Didn't identify the tube as escargot, but it was tasty and the fragility of it was nice. The truffle butter 'bonbon' seemed a little superfluous after all of that bordier.

Oeuf coque 'sans coque' - écrevisse au cerfeuil/trompettes

The egg. This was really a masterpiece. I'm told that he suspends an egg yolk in a cool butter shell, which he then dips in bread crumbs and egg. This is fried. When you break into the sphere, the yolk is still runny. A superb dish. The shell was even throughout, and thin. But what really impressed me was how the dominant flavour was of the wonderful quality egg yolk. None of the other ingredients dominated it. In combination with the mushrooms and crayfish it was excellent. Definitely my choice for breakfast every day.

Langoustine with Iranian Caviar (different guises)

This was not underwhelming, but not as successful a dish as above. The thing that let it down for me was the caviar - it had a rather quiet flavour profile. Given the sheer quantity that you see in the picture, you would think it would dominate - it actually had a hard time coming through with those other flavours. Texture-wise it was almost invisible next to the langoustine, which was of good quality, but didn't shine for me as the Pacaud examples. The broth at the back was quite aggressive next to the quietness of the other flavours.

Turbot, galette de Bretagne, coquillages au vert

Some nice turbot, cooked properly, wrapped in (I think) whole wheat crepe, served with a shellfish sauce. This was very good, and the sauce showed a great amount of restraint. The shellfish juices perfuming the sauce, rather than overwhelming.

Lobster, velouté de tétragone,

This was a bust. The lobster had little flavour and was cooked unevenly. He had placed some awful disks of parmasan - I want to say - gum over each piece, which had then been melted. It was fairly unpleasant. The sauce was innocuous.

riz croustillant, citron confit

This was actually the more pleasant part of the dish. The crunchiness of the rice was fun, and the mitts were cooked perfectly.

Lièvre de Sologne à la Royale, chestnut pasta with truffle

This was a masterpiece (all thoughts of lobster fled when this came). Fantastic hare. The sauce was rich and scented without being overwhelming. The hare was perfectly moist. And he pulled off a magic trick. An accompaniment of chestnut pasta flavoured with browned garlic and black truffle was superb. He pastas were excellent (I really hadn't expected them to be). But you could take a bite of the hare, then a bite of the pasta, and all of the flavours came through. Nothing dominated anything else.

2 different sweetbreads with spaghetti carbonara

Very very satisfying dish. The sweetbreads were of high quality. The two different preparations were both cooked sensitively. The quality of the pasta was I thought very good, and the inclusion of the custard in the center and the line of whatever that stuff is on the top, made it absolutely delicious. A fun plate of food.

We had the Bernard Anthony cheeses. They were of good quality, the comté was excellent, although the portion was small.

Then the parade of desserts. Oddly - and perhaps cleverly - they bring the mignardise before the main dessert. Probably a good idea, or we wouldn't have had the room.

A chocolate dome which melted. I didn't get to taste this.

Frais de bois with verbena ice cream and meringue cage.

The best frais de bois I've ever tasted. Just extraordinary, and a great note to end on. The combination with the verbena was pitch perfect.

So, a lovely meal. With 2 glasses of wine each, the meal came to a pretty substantial 800 euros, placing it in the upper price bracket. That lobster dish aside, I see no reason why this isn't a 3 star place.

Edited November 23, 2007 by MobyP (log)

[Bu Pun Su]

When I’m going to Paris, I usually put more emphasize to dine at the 3-star restaurants. But, I find that it’s also fun to visit 1-2 star restaurants and observe when the chef is still improving him/herself. The results so far have been mixtures: I like Le Bristol, but not really inspired by Carre des Feuillants or Senderens. This time, I give the chance to Les Ambassadeurs, the establishment which many claim should have been 3-star. Is it?

Food/Wine (94/92)

- the amuse here is quite good. I enjoyed the “black truffle” butter for the bread

- I chose their standard degustation menu and began with its classic dish – langoustine and oscetra caviar. The tempura style, while tasty, it’s a bit oily. I prefer the sashimi version – fresh and firm. My favorite is actually the cream (mixture of ginger parfum, shellfish, and lemongrass) of caviar served in a small bowl

- the fish – line of bar was actually a rather disappointing. The presentation was not too bad, but the seabass itself – cooked in fillet style is rather tasteless and soulless. Moreover, the morels were already out of season (the 2nd week of June), I think it’s the left over ones – the flavor was simply not there. This dish is inferior compared to the fish prepared by Gagnaire (bar) and Passard (turbot)

- the chicken was unfortunately not part of the tasting menu, so I choose another seafood dish for my main course – blue lobster served with its jus and cream of spinach. The lobster has good texture; the spinach’s cream enhanced the flavor. The mushrooms served as side dish was not too bad either. Overally, very good

- the cheese selection is good as expected (supplied by Bernard Antony) except the comte with slightly not matured – served 6 months later will be better. For the rests, I had: Abbaye de Citeaux (very good - mild and soft to the palate), Brie de Mieux (creamy with distinct smell) and Saint Nectaire (also good).

- pre-desserts and petit fours. Similar to Alain Ducasse’s, there are many sweets served before and after the desserts such as: a box of chocolate truffles, marmalade macarons, almond coated sorbet etc.

- I had 3 small desserts served together in one plate: custard tart, cherry black forest and verbena ice cream – they are fine, but not outstanding

I admitted that almost all the dishes here is beautifully presented, very artistic plating; but I don’t find the result in my mouth to very good. Consistency was one of the issue I suppose – not sure since chef Piege is not in the kitchen that day; nevertheless the langoustine and lobster are good enough for me to give the food here: 94/100 (a high 2 1/2* star, 1 pt above my meal in Le Bristol)

The wine selection here is good, the presentation of the list is not intimidating (not “bible” wine list). The head sommelier, David Biraud, only oversaw his junior staff – most of the time, the young sommelier served the guests. This time I drank a glass of 2004 Dagueneau Blanc Fume de Pouilly - This sauvignon blanc from Loire Valley is rich with some lemon zest and white flowers. It has a long and riveting finish. Another one would be a glass of Chateau de Chamirey Mercurey Blanc - medium acidity with long and elegant finishes as well as well-balanced with fruity aromatic, especially citrus. A lovely wine to enjoy with my lobster dish

Service/Decoration (91/93)

Like any other establishments located in the hotel, most of the staffs speak good English – so communication was not an issue here. The waiters often are not around the guests, so sometimes a little bit difficult when you would like to ask something, but the service is still friendly and attentive. It’s just the flow is not as smooth as the one I found in other places. The décor, as most people already knew, is palace-like aka luxurious. It’s dominated by colored marble and gilt chandeliers. The table is quite big and comfortable, the distance between tables is also quite far – a very nice place to enjoy and pamper yourself. The overall experience for my lunch here is 92.5/100 (a low 2 ½ star). There are still many aspects where the restaurants could grow, so I think Michelin get it right by giving this place 2-star so far. With this, I conclude my reports from my Euro trip at the end of Spring this year. Here is the link for the pictures:

les ambassadeurs summer 07

[Bu Pun Su]

Some comparisons

ADPA vs Les Ambassadeurs (LA)

Since Jean-Francois Piege is the former chef of Plaza Athenee restaurant, I simply could not help but to compare between the two. The way I see this place (some of you may not agree), Les Ambassadeurs is like “mini” Alain Ducasse Paris. In what sense? Pretty much in almost every aspect.

The décor – well, the basic idea is they want to make it as luxurious as possible to give the impression that it’s very expensive. The painting along the ceiling and the top part of the wall are beautiful, but ADPA has much better chandeliers and bigger tables. Even the way the menu is presented, LA also uses a holder, but simpler – the Ducasse version is more convenient (also I like the sliding “bar stool” to put my camera or bag for the ladies). Service wise – monsieur Courtiade’s brigade (ADPA) is more professional; they walk around effortlessly without overwhelming the guests. At any time during your meal, you will hardly find any difficulties to approach any of them and they’re all very knowledgeable as well as helpful.

Food wise – being the apprentice of Alain Ducasse, it should come as no surprise that we can still find the influence of his master in chef Piege’s cooking. The langoustine caviar is probably the most obvious one – the bouillon’s taste is similar, then the idea of using prawn and caviar (as the “only” ingredients) to create the dish. If not mistaken, LA also has “homard au coco/curry”, so does ADPA even though the presentation and the way they’re cooked could be slightly different, but the idea is that they’re quite similar and so far I find that ADPA execute them better while the plating are about equal. Wine – both places serve extensive selection, but again ADPA has more selections.

With this, even I see that LA is a “copy cat” of ADPA. I believe chef Piege is very talented. I hope that he would push himself as far as possible from Ducasse like when he created his egg dish. Nothing really wrong with being similar to ADPA, it’s just that … perhaps Michelin might think LA is not unique enough to be the restaurant that stands on its own – too many aspects are still overshadowed by ADPA where unfortunately they perform better than Les Ambassadeurs, hence LA does not deserve to receive the 3rd star yet. Well, it’s just my random thoughts.

Here are pictures for my meal at Alain Ducasse Paris if you’re interested

ADPA Spring 06

Edited December 16, 2007 by Bu Pun Su (log)

[sethd]

Sorry - here's a review. I won't upload the pics here because I find imagegullet a bit of a pain in the arse. But follow the link above for images.

This was a meal I was really looking forward to, though I'm not entirely sure why. The gloss has gone off a lot of haute food for me. I'm not not entirely sure why that is either. I'm becoming a grumpy gourmand. I get really pissed off with any food that isn't entirely exceptional within its category. Still, I think once Degusto (as he's known on the boards - see Gastroville) had made his pronouncement about the quality of the ingredients (call me a faddish teenager, but I tend to listen to what the guy says when he calls a turnip a turnip), I guess the combination of such a high degree of obvious technical skill combined with that filled whatever shameless criterion I have left.

I don't know that this was a religious experience. Or rather, I do know that this wasn't a religious experience. But there was enough really exceptional food, respect for ingredients, and interesting ideas executed cleanly, that I wouldn't hesitate to return. In this case, two dishes were superb, three were very good. The lobster, surprisingly, was a clear dud.

To start, bread with bordier butter. It was fine, but I wonder if my palate isn't getting used to it. Had a pound of the stuff at Arpege. Half a pound at L'Ousteau. Some at Robuchon. More here.

The TV dinner Platter -

Chicken liver royale (Tendret/Chapel) with crayfish and foie foam (back left), carrot lemonade, onion cromequis, escargot chantilly, truffle bonbon. The glass at the back had a variation on the Chapel/Tendret chicken liver combo with chunks of crayfish. Delicious. The glass upfront was "Carrot lemonade." There was a herbal hint that I couldn't identify. Delicious. The croquette was onion. A perfectly thin shell burst in the mouth. Lovely. Didn't identify the tube as escargot, but it was tasty and the fragility of it was nice. The truffle butter 'bonbon' seemed a little superfluous after all of that bordier.

Oeuf coque 'sans coque' - écrevisse au cerfeuil/trompettes

The egg. This was really a masterpiece. I'm told that he suspends an egg yolk in a cool butter shell, which he then dips in bread crumbs and egg. This is fried. When you break into the sphere, the yolk is still runny. A superb dish. The shell was even throughout, and thin. But what really impressed me was how the dominant flavour was of the wonderful quality egg yolk. None of the other ingredients dominated it. In combination with the mushrooms and crayfish it was excellent. Definitely my choice for breakfast every day.

Langoustine with Iranian Caviar (different guises)

This was not underwhelming, but not as successful a dish as above. The thing that let it down for me was the caviar - it had a rather quiet flavour profile. Given the sheer quantity that you see in the picture, you would think it would dominate - it actually had a hard time coming through with those other flavours. Texture-wise it was almost invisible next to the langoustine, which was of good quality, but didn't shine for me as the Pacaud examples. The broth at the back was quite aggressive next to the quietness of the other flavours.

Turbot, galette de Bretagne, coquillages au vert

Some nice turbot, cooked properly, wrapped in (I think) whole wheat crepe, served with a shellfish sauce. This was very good, and the sauce showed a great amount of restraint. The shellfish juices perfuming the sauce, rather than overwhelming.

Lobster, velouté de tétragone,

This was a bust. The lobster had little flavour and was cooked unevenly. He had placed some awful disks of parmasan - I want to say - gum over each piece, which had then been melted. It was fairly unpleasant. The sauce was innocuous.

riz croustillant, citron confit

This was actually the more pleasant part of the dish. The crunchiness of the rice was fun, and the mitts were cooked perfectly.

Lièvre de Sologne à la Royale, chestnut pasta with truffle

This was a masterpiece (all thoughts of lobster fled when this came). Fantastic hare. The sauce was rich and scented without being overwhelming. The hare was perfectly moist. And he pulled off a magic trick. An accompaniment of chestnut pasta flavoured with browned garlic and black truffle was superb. He pastas were excellent (I really hadn't expected them to be). But you could take a bite of the hare, then a bite of the pasta, and all of the flavours came through. Nothing dominated anything else.

 

2 different sweetbreads with spaghetti carbonara

Very very satisfying dish. The sweetbreads were of high quality. The two different preparations were both cooked sensitively. The quality of the pasta was I thought very good, and the inclusion of the custard in the center and the line of whatever that stuff is on the top, made it absolutely delicious. A fun plate of food.

We had the Bernard Anthony cheeses. They were of good quality, the comté was excellent, although the portion was small.

Then the parade of desserts. Oddly - and perhaps cleverly - they bring the mignardise before the main dessert. Probably a good idea, or we wouldn't have had the room.

A chocolate dome which melted. I didn't get to taste this.

Frais de bois with verbena ice cream and meringue cage.

The best frais de bois I've ever tasted. Just extraordinary, and a great note to end on. The combination with the verbena was pitch perfect.

So, a lovely meal. With 2 glasses of wine each, the meal came to a pretty substantial 800 euros, placing it in the upper price bracket. That lobster dish aside, I see no reason why this isn't a 3 star place.

←

It is always a great pleasure to read your reviews, accompanied by wonderful pictures, of your dining experiences in Paris. Brings back my own wonderful memories of my meals in Paris over the last 18 months. I agree with you that there is a difference in two and three star dining in Paris. I also enjoyed my meals at the Bristol and at Les Ambassadeurs. I think that Le Bristol is a better, more interesting restaurant, than LA. I also think that your comparisions of ADPA and LA are right on. I would love to read your reviews of Le Cinq.

[Bu Pun Su]

Thanks for your nice comments

Actually, I've never been to Le Cinq. I planned to go there before, but there have been many not-so-good reviews about the restaurant. Moreover, they just lost the 3rd star earlier this year plus there's rumour that chef Legendre would leave the establishment. I think it's still a decent place to try - the tasting menu is priced about the same as Les Ambassadeurs, but there are more dishes - perhaps similar to Le Meurice's

[sethd]

Thanks for your nice comments

Actually, I've never been to Le Cinq. I planned to go there before, but there have been many not-so-good reviews about the restaurant. Moreover, they just lost the 3rd star earlier this year plus there's rumour that chef Legendre would leave the establishment. I think it's still a decent place to try - the tasting menu is priced about the same as Les Ambassadeurs, but there are more dishes - perhaps similar to Le Meurice's

←

I have been to Le Cinq both before and after it lost its third star. Couldn't see the difference or why it was demoted. Legendre was cooking in September; my last meal there.

On another front: I have commented on your wonderful recall regarding all the meals and dishes you have had in Paris. Do you take copious notes during your meals. What is your secret?

[Bu Pun Su]

Actually yes

I wrote in my small note book (not laptop) some comments about the food in particular or the restaurant in general. Because of this, many staffs often thought that I'm a chef and somehow assumed I'm from Japan - it happened several times

[Louisa Chu]

Food wise – being the apprentice of Alain Ducasse, it should come as no surprise that we can still find the influence of his master in chef Piege’s cooking. The langoustine caviar is probably the most obvious one – the bouillon’s taste is similar, then the idea of using prawn and caviar (as the “only” ingredients) to create the dish. If not mistaken, LA also has “homard au coco/curry”, so does ADPA even though the presentation and the way they’re cooked could be slightly different, but the idea is that they’re quite similar and so far I find that ADPA execute them better while the plating are about equal. Wine – both places serve extensive selection, but again ADPA has more selections.

With this, even I see that LA is a “copy cat” of ADPA. I believe chef Piege is very talented. I hope that he would push himself as far as possible from Ducasse like when he created his egg dish. Nothing really wrong with being similar to ADPA, it’s just that … perhaps Michelin might think LA is not unique enough to be the restaurant that stands on its own – too many aspects are still overshadowed by ADPA where unfortunately they perform better than Les Ambassadeurs, hence LA does not deserve to receive the 3rd star yet. Well, it’s just my random thoughts.

Here are pictures for my meal at Alain Ducasse Paris if you’re interested

ADPA Spring 06

←

It was Piège who created the langoustine caviar dish - and most of the signature dishes during his tenure at ADPA.

[Bu Pun Su]

What other dishes in ADPA that Piege created during his tenure if you don't mind sharing?

I learned from Gastroville that "a tiny cup containing shellfish broth with some subtle agrumes and ginger flavors" for the langoustine only created after Piege left

Perhaps beyond the food, other similarities would be:

Butter presentation - salted and unsalted

ADPA: put on 2 different "cup", LA: in similar fashion, put on one "stone", also with 2 containers

The cart for the tea or a gift of brioche at the end ... could not help but remind me this place is somehow "Ducasse"

Again, nothing is wrong, but I expect more "creativity" from somebody as talented as Piege and his team

[kiliki]

How far in advance should I reserve for a May lunch?

[julot-les-pinceaux]

why wait?