2 and 3 star food

[Gary Marshall]

Having tried Guy Savoy and La Tour D'Argent last year for dinner i'm returning for a few days as part of my honeymoon, time and budgetary constraints this may limit the no-expense blow outs but where can i get the most bang for my euro?

I know LTA does its classic dishes at lunchtime on a prix fixe this is the sort of thing i'm interested in.

What's Pierre Gagnaire like at lunch? Has anyone tried Jamin? any others?

cheers

Gary

[fresh_a]

Gagnaire and Jamin are excellent, although even with the lunch menu, Gagnaire is really pricey!

Astrance is great value if you can get a table. Also the Bellecour is probably the best value in Paris for a one-star...if not, Bath's is a great one-star, and Guy Savoy a must in the three-star range.

[MartyL]

Fresh_a, thanks for your post.

If you have a chance, I'd love to hear more about what Bellecour and Bath's are like. Thanks.

[cabrales]

MartyL -- Note L'Astrance meals might no longer include wine in the price (at least for the surprise meal during dinner when I was last there). Jamin might not be pricey for lunch if one orders the prix fixe menus (there is more than one). Search for an old thread I started on Jamin, when I took advantage of a lunch under possibly 45 euros. Details are in the thread.

I have noted the existence of Lucas-Carton and Grand Vefour lunches, each at under 85 euros. I would recommend L-C, although Gagnaire is a good choice for those who like his food. Many of the two-stars also have reasonable lunches.

[nightscotsman]

I had lunch last May at Pierre Gagniere, and while I don't have a large amount of experience with starred estabishments, I thought it was amazing and well worth the price of 85 euros. The meal consisted of an amuse, 6 different appetizers, a main course, 4 desserts, and a generous 3 trays of mignardise. I was there for well over two hours and the service was impeccable and gracious.

[fresh_a]

I imagine all that was on the menu...not actually what you ate... last I knew it was : an amuse-bouche, entree,plat,dessert for 85 Euros..

[fresh_a]

Bellecour, is a great little gourmet restaurant in the 7th serving Lyonnais style food. They have one star in the Michelin Guide, and are not expensive...a great value.. Bath's is also a one-star, located on the rue de la Tremoille, near the Champs Elysees. Jean-Yves Bath once had a two-star in Clermond Ferrand, and decided to pack up and come to the big city.... their meats are excellent, and the veloute de lentilles with "bonbons" de foie gras (like potato puff-pastries, injected with foie gras) is amazing...

[cabrales]

At L-C, for the business lunch, one receives two amuses (served sequentially and not together) just like for every other meal I have taken there recently. The amuses are the types of amuses one receives during dinnertime (in fact, often the same ones, depending I am believing on what aperatif one selects). These are not little nothings. They are small servings of nice items (see the L-C thread for greater detail) with gastronomically interesting features. Then, the appetizer, entree, dessert and nice mignardises.

I have not purchased the prix fixe lunch at Gagnaire, but I wouldn't be surprised if dessert were many plates like it usually is. I don't find the restaurant's desserts appealing, though. Nor the rest of the food, for that matter.

Edited January 17, 2003 by cabrales (log)

[Beachfan]

Le Grand Vefour; do a search to see my previous post.

[nightscotsman]

I imagine all that was on the menu...not actually what you ate... last I knew it was : an amuse-bouche, entree,plat,dessert for 85 Euros..

No really, what I described was what I was actually served. 6 appetizers (small plates, served all at once) and 4 desserts (again, served all at once). I was stuffed, but it was all wonderful, so I ate every bite! No need for dinner that night.

[Pan]

Congratulations, Gary! I know you'll have a wonderful honeymoon in Paris.

[LuisMiguel]

Hello all,

I was wondering if any of you could help with a recommendation for a restaurant in Paris for December. I am after a 2/3 star restaurant though unfortunately on a budget of around 500Euros, which may rule out a lot of the 3 stars. My previous experience in Paris was at Le Bristol based on recommendations on here and it was truly an incredible experience and I was after something similar.

I've read a lot of contrasting things about Les Ambassadeurs and L'Astrance which are on my radar, but as it will be quite a unique experience I want to make sure I've made the best choice possible. What would your recommendations be? Thanks in advance for all suggestions

Edited September 20, 2007 by LuisMiguel (log)

[John Talbott]

Hello all,

I was wondering if any of you could help with a recommendation for a restaurant in Paris for December. I am after a 2/3 star restaurant though unfortunately on a budget of around 500Euros, which may rule out a lot of the 3 stars. My previous experience in Paris was at Le Bristol based on recommendations on here and it was truly an incredible experience and I was after something similar.

I've read a lot of contrasting things about Les Ambassadeurs and L'Astrance which are on my radar, but as it will be quite a unique experience I want to make sure I've made the best choice possible. What would your recommendations be? Thanks in advance for all suggestions

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You can kick start this by searching for star and you'll get about 10 topics.

[julot-les-pinceaux]

500 for two, right?

What exactly did you like? What do you expect? Les Ambassadeurs (or Le Meurice) are first and foremost gold and marble, 20ft high ceiling, hyper luxury. L'Astrance is kind of the opposite, a very simple restaurant that does not offer much choice (whereas palaces are supposed to be able to respond your every wish). If you liked le Bristol, why not go back?

Edited September 20, 2007 by julot-les-pinceaux (log)

[John Talbott]

If you liked le Bristol, why not go back?

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My thought exactly; how could you do better?

[LuisMiguel]

500 for two, right?

What exactly did you like? What do you expect? Les Ambassadeurs (or Le Meurice) are first and foremost gold and marble, 20ft high ceiling, hyper luxury. L'Astrance is kind of the opposite, a very simple restaurant that does not offer much choice (whereas palaces are supposed to be able to respond your every wish). If you liked le Bristol, why not go back?

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I loved Le Bristol in every way. The food was amazing, though was a couple of years ago so can't remember much detail. I'm after somewhere quite decadent ideally but the food is first and foremost in our minds. We want to be blown away.

As Le Bristol is my only starred experience in Paris I'm keen obviously to try something different in Paris.

We have never dined at a 3 star, only 2 stars in the past. I guess I am after another experience at a similar cost to Le Bristol where others feel the quality will be of at least an equal to it.

My list at the moment comprises of L'Astrance, Les Ambassadeurs and Le Meurice.

[LuisMiguel]

If you liked le Bristol, why not go back?

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My thought exactly; how could you do better?

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In that case, I guess I will definitely keep an open mind towards Le Bristol

But there's just something to be said for a new experience I guess and it will only be my 3rd time in Paris.

[John Talbott]

My list at the moment comprises of L'Astrance, Les Ambassadeurs and Le Meurice.

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I think the latter two far outpace the first but hey, all eating is personal.

[LuisMiguel]

My list at the moment comprises of L'Astrance, Les Ambassadeurs and Le Meurice.

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I think the latter two far outpace the first but hey, all eating is personal.

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Is that a good list John? At the moment I am focussing my research on these 3 and reading up on them before making a decision. Feel free to mention other personal favourites you think may be worth investigating. Thanks all for the suggestions once again.

[Ptipois]

Though I am not sharing John's disbelief in L'Astrance's qualities, I should mention that the experience you are going to get there is radically different from the one you will get at the other two. L'Astrance is quiet, discrete, aerial, the contrary of show-offy. It is like a breath of fresh air, the place to get a rest from the sometimes overpowering experience of dining at Parisian three-stars. It feels like lying on a sandy beach caressed by a nice breeze and recovering after attending a few elephant ballets. I have heard from various places that the place does not deserve three stars, I do think it does deserve three stars precisely for the reasons I mentioned.

Or if you want to stay in the other category, why not try Ledoyen or Guy Savoy?

Edited September 20, 2007 by Ptipois (log)

[LuisMiguel]

Though I am not sharing John's disbelief in L'Astrance's qualities, I should mention that the experience you are going to get there is radically different from the one you will get at the other two. L'Astrance is quiet, discrete, aerial, the contrary of show-offy. It is like a breath of fresh air, the place to get a rest from the sometimes overpowering experience of dining at Parisian three-stars. It feels like lying on a sandy beach caressed by a nice breeze and recovering after attending a few elephant ballets. I have heard from various places that the place does not deserve three stars, I do think it does deserve three stars precisely for the reasons I mentioned.

Or if you want to stay in the other category, why not try Ledoyen or Guy Savoy?

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I guess it's down to budget. The cost of each of the 3 stars is still a bit of a mystery to me. It would seem from what I've read that Arpege and L'Ambroisie are on the top end of the scale; around 700 Euros for 2 people eating a la carte with wine, etc. How do the 2 you mention above compare?

Edited September 20, 2007 by LuisMiguel (log)

[julot-les-pinceaux]

L'Arpege and Gagnaire are the most expensive -- it would be difficult to keep your budget there unless you go for lunch (in which case consider Savoy for an amazing lunch experience, with the 100 lunch menu, detailed review on my site). Same for Ledoyen.

L'Ambroisie is ca 220 per person + wine so the cost depends a lot on what you would want to drink (assuming no truffle and no caviar, that is). They also offer demi-plats for cheaper, just ask. The food there has orgasmic potential -- more often than not. I talk about it a lot on my blog -- please visit. Thing is, l'Ambroisie is often stupefying, but it is quite disappointing when it is not.

I would agree with Ptipois' characterisation of l'Astrance, though I would in the end share John's skepticism -- imo, this is a

restaurant for our overfed times. Actually, I share both their skepticism and would personaly consider none of these three restaurant for a wonderful time, especially if you liked le Bristol. But l'Astrance is definitely amazing, admirable, best ingredients and best cooking and seasoning. Worth the 3*. There again, I reviewed it at length. The evening menu is 270 w beverage so I guess this fits.

Le Meurice and les Ambassadeurs, mostly le Meurice imo, are great if you expect that kind of show-off and hyper-luxury, as Ptipois says. Better than Ducasse in that style. But they're not food lover, gourmand, places like le Bristol is. Rostang, l'Ambroisie, l'Arpege (all chef-owned restaurants) are.

Taillevent would also match your budget, with very good food, world class service, wonderful wine list reasonably price. But foodwise, we mentioned the best already.

[Ptipois]

Thanks Julot, your comments are spot on.

I went to L'Astrance last week and we took the L'Astrance menu, 170 euros I believe. Well worth the price. But perhaps it is only served at lunch.

[LuisMiguel]

L'Arpege and Gagnaire are the most expensive -- it would be difficult to keep your budget there unless you go for lunch (in which case consider Savoy for an amazing lunch experience, with the 100 lunch menu, detailed review on my site). Same for Ledoyen.

L'Ambroisie is ca 220 per person + wine so the cost depends a lot on what you would want to drink (assuming no truffle and no caviar, that is). They also offer demi-plats for cheaper, just ask. The food there has orgasmic potential -- more often than not. I talk about it a lot on my blog -- please visit. Thing is, l'Ambroisie is often stupefying, but it is quite disappointing when it is not.

I would agree with Ptipois' characterisation of l'Astrance, though I would in the end share John's skepticism -- imo, this is a

restaurant for our overfed times. Actually, I share both their skepticism and would personaly consider none of these three restaurant for a wonderful time, especially if you liked le Bristol. But l'Astrance is definitely amazing, admirable, best ingredients and best cooking and seasoning. Worth the 3*. There again, I reviewed it at length. The evening menu is 270 w beverage so I guess this fits.

Le Meurice and les Ambassadeurs, mostly le Meurice imo, are great if you expect that kind of show-off and hyper-luxury, as Ptipois says. Better than Ducasse in that style. But they're not food lover, gourmand, places like le Bristol is. Rostang, l'Ambroisie, l'Arpege (all chef-owned restaurants) are.

Taillevent would also match your budget, with very good food, world class service, wonderful wine list reasonably price. But foodwise, we mentioned the best already.

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Thank you so much for this insightful post. I think I have narrowed it down to Le Meurice as my first choice. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks again to all

[julot-les-pinceaux]

Thanks Julot, your comments are spot on.

I went to L'Astrance last week and we took the L'Astrance menu, 170 euros I believe. Well worth the price. But perhaps it is only served at lunch.

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Hi Ptipois, lucky eater! Are you gonna review that meal or what? Mine there was disappointing, but with so many L'Astrance enthusiasts out there, I would be ready to have my arm twisted into trying again.

In the evening, that's 170 for the menu, 270 with the wine pairing proposed by brilliant Alexandre. And they don't charge you for water then.

Edited September 21, 2007 by julot-les-pinceaux (log)