L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon

[John Whiting]

A French friend has just sent me this via email:

Some of you may already know this - but I just read it in today's Figaro: Joel Robuchon is opening a new restaurant in Paris next January.

Called L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, it will be in the Hotel Pont Royal in the septième on the Left Bank.

Five of his former chefs are joining him, the restaurant will seat 60-odd and be open non-stop from 11am to 2am. It will not take reservations. He will be cooking there some days.

The food will be French but there will be a lot of good wines available by the glass (still a rarity in France).

He says an average meal with wine will be about 50 euros - though much less if you just pop in for one dish and a glass of wine.

Chic but not expensive is the motto.

[Steve Plotnicki]

That's excellent news since I am often in that neighborhood. There has always been a dearth of good places to eat in the 7th on that side of Invalides.

[Bux]

The hotel reopened maybe three years ago after being closed for many years. (Like maybe 10 years.) We spoke to the manager not long after 9/11 and they were seriously affected, along with other hotels, by the loss of traveling Americans. They had stiff competition from the Montalembert hotel next door and I recall a restaurant in the hotel that seemed like a half hearted attempt. Either they only served lunch at the time or it was Sunday and the restaurant was closed, but I recall an American a the front desk wondering what he was going to do for dinner. I think he was asking the concierge for the name of the closest restaurant.

As Paris becomes more New Yorkicized, I suppose this Robuchon venture is a no brainer, but I don't see it aiming for anything more than a star, if that. It sounds like a great place for the day you arrive from North America jet lagged and in need a small meal at an odd hour.

[robert brown]

As I was saying in the "Last Restaurant in France/Mirazur" thread!!! That a chef the stature of Robuchon creates a restaurant of the sort described above to make his reappearance in public says a lot, I think.

Don't stay at the Pont Royal. They removed all the old French charm when they redid all the rooms and made them smaller and tasteless. My wife also had a $100. bill taken out of her suitcase. As a result I still have two free nights coming to me that I haven't used in the three years since.

[Bux]

The rooms can be very small. I believe those at the Montalembert next door are also quite small. I am however surprised about your experience with theft. We found the staff very friendly and had no problems with anything left in the room.

[Steve Plotnicki]

They screwed up that hotel but good (Pont Royale that is.) I stayed at the Montalembert for years, always ogling the Pont Royale as I fantacized how much fun it would be to be a hotelier in Paris. So when I heard that it was finally going to be renovated I thought that would be a good thing and I would end up having a choice between the two places. But they did it so tacky, in a faux Nina Campbell style. And yes the rooms at the Montelambert can be a little small but they are so well appointed and organized that it never bothered me. But if you want to have a treat sometimes, reserve room 81. It's an attic room with a large picture window with an unobstructed view of the Eiffel Tower. It's like living in the Chagall painting Paris out my window.

[robert brown]

Bux, at the time my wife's "C" note disappeared, a Pont Royal employee told my wife that she wasn't the only person to have been robbed in the recent past. It happened two years ago, not three.

[cabrales]

John -- Thanks for the update. I was unaware of Robuchon's plans, although I am disappointed the restaurant model he has chosen would appear to be rather, shall we say, different from Poincare and Jamin.

[vivin]

We stayed at the newly renovated Pont Royal this past Feb. Very nice albeit not as chic as Montalambert. The rooms were not that small. Nice quiet neighborhood and good service.

The restaurant was nothing to speak of and seemed to be closed most of the time.

thanx for the news...

[Bux]

Our room was exceptionally small, but I believe they gave it to us for the view. We may have been on the top floor, but a high floor for sure and had a view looking north and could see the a large part of the right bank as you looked pretty much down rue du Bac and over the pont Royal. I'm less a fan of the neighborhood as it's quiet, but it's also an accessible location and a short walk to the right bank and the Louvre. I also thought we had good service and found the staff very pleasant. Of course they knew my wife was a travel agent and this was a bad period for tourism, so it stands to reason we may have particularly nice treatment. One of the reasons we were there was because my wife didn't know the hotel and one of her clients whose taste she respects insisted on staying there over the course of several trips and thus she felt a need to check out the hotel in regard to recommending it to other clients.

The decor left me cold, but we didn't spend much time in the room and when we were there, I looked out the window or I was in bed. Plotnicki may not have liked the decor of the whisky bar on the ground floor. My own abode is so spare and brutally undesigned that I enjoy all sorts of well padded environments, no matter how tacky. I maintain that appreciation by always opting for the spare minimalist interiors when I have a chance or a say in the matter. Ditto for restaurants.

Because the neighborhood is quiet, a restaurant of the sort planned, might really be a shot in the arm for the neighborhood as well as the hotel. A good serviceable restaurant more than a destination restaurant is what any residential neighborhood generally wants.

[cabrales]

Below is a link to a Bonjour Paris article on Robuchon:

http://www.bparis.com/newsletter1464/newsl...m?doc_id=119363

Encouragingly, Robuchon noted: “Yes [i will be cooking], and **from time to time I plan to feature some of my classics such as the gelée de caviar, the truffle tarts and the foie gras soup**”. Note that the Bonjour Paris website has certain timely and interesting articles on restaurants in France, with fairly good coverage of Paris.

Speaking of Robuchon, he was one of two French judges on the Iron Chef panel for Pierre Gagnaire's battle with Sakai (French IC) in a Chateau in France -- broadcast Sunday evening on FN. The other judge was Pierre Troisgros. The battle, part of a series, was won by Gagnaire, although the decision was 2-2 (split along French-Japanese lines) by judge count. The point score count was rather decisive, with at least one of the French judges having accorded Sakai less than 15/20. The theme was homard (lobster), with each chef having been asked to seek out ingredients to complement the theme ingredient. Gagnaire procured unusual oysters, among other things, on which Robuchon commented. Gagnaire looked unusually frazzled and stressed out during the entire match. He seemed intent on moving very quickly -- to prepare six apparently complex dishes in one hour -- and his person (and his particular his hair, which seemed untidy and quirky) was almost comical. After the battle, but before the judging, Gagnaire responded that he did not think he could win. When he learned the outcome, Gagnaire noted the match had meant a great deal to him, in view of his prior IC loss in Japan. Robuchon and Troisgros were making snide comments, such as an indication Sakai's asparagus were not soft enough for the French palate, Sakai had utilized asparagus in more than one of his four dishes, etc. Robuchon accorded high praise to Gagnaire.

[NewYorkTexan]

We stayed at Pont Royal hotel in the fall of 2000 and had a good experience. We received an upgraded room that was fine, not huge but not small by European standards. The concierge was wonderful, including getting us a car service to the airport during a “sudden” strike that practically shut down Paris.

The trip was a last minute extension to a London business trip and I picked the hotel because of the location and value. I check my notes and we paid $215 USD per night. The only problem I had with the hotel was no cab driver knew how to find the street where the hotel was located on.

[Steve Plotnicki]

From years of staying at the Montalembert, I'm a pro at describing that location to a cab driver. "A la cote (can't make that accent) de rue de Bac." Or, "rue Montalembert et rue Bourgogne c'est a meme rue." They both work like charms every time.

[Bux]

"rue Montalembert et rue Bourgogne c'est a meme rue."

Close, but no cigar or maybe you need to better define your appellation.

Rue Montablembert leads into rue de Beaune. Rue de Bourgogne is another street further west. It runs into the back of the National Assembly.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Bux - Actually you are right and I did used to tell them rue de Beaune. But they are both Burgundian aren't they ? I stopped staying there about 4 years ago so I'm a little rusty. Rue de Bourgogne is that lovely street that leads into the rear of the Assembly Nationale where that nice silver shop resides isn't it? And that tea salon just off the Place.

[Bux]

Indeed they are both Burgundies, but Beaune is a bit more select and I would expect you, of all people, to appreciate the difference.

I know the street because there was a little hotel that my wife used to recommend as a budget hotel. It was quite charming and they've renovated the whole place so it's less of a budget hotel now, but the rates top out where the Montalembert and Pont Royal start. The area is dead at night, but very safe with all the gendarmes on the street protecting the Assembly and the Ministeries. Presumably there are good lunch places around for the politicians and ministers. It ends just a half block from the Musé Rodin, but I suspect few tourists know the street.

[Steve Plotnicki]

And of course it is spitting distance from Arpege . Friends of mine who are in the art world stay at the hotel Sued which is on rue Sued a few streets over. I've gone there to pick them for dinner on a number of occassions and the neighborhood is really quiet at night.

[magnolia]

And of course it is spitting distance from Arpege  . Friends of mine who are in the art world stay at the hotel Sued which is on rue Sued a few streets over. I've gone there to pick them for dinner on a number of occassions and the neighborhood is really quiet at night.

Speaking of Rue de Beaune, I used to stay in an apartment on the second block away from the Seine. There was an outstanding bakery there that made ice cream creations - huge fruit shapes that were faithful to the fruit they represented, down to the stone in the middle - for example, if you got a peach, it would be peach flavored ice cream in all different peachy colours, the inside the same colour as the inside of a peach, and way inside, almond flavoured ice cream the colour and shape of a peach pit. Same with apples and melons, which had a green "rind" and a melon coloured inside with tiny 'seeds'. Outrageous. But last time I was there, the shop was gone. Anyone know where these can be bought? They never fail to impress dinner hosts !

Back on the subject of Robuchon, the Le Figaro guy told me that Robuchon is restless and needs to be in the thick of things so he will probably be very involved, not just lending his name.

[cabrales]

The November 2002 edition of Food Arts notes the following:

"The Hotel Pont-Royal, in the heart of Saint-Germain des Pres . . . At L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon [not to be confused with the book of the same name featuring Robuchon and his top five disciples], which **opens in January**, up to 40 diners will settle on stools at a counter encircling the kitchen . . . . Thematically 180 degrees from Robuchon's former three-star kitchen, L'Atelier will be relaxed and casual . . . . Although no reservations will be taken, ** hotel guests will be given some priority**."

[cabrales]

Do members have any updates on this restaurant?

[Bux]

Do members have any updates on this restaurant?  

The web site says the restaurant will be opening soon ("prochainement" en francais). Apparently it is to be called "L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon."

[Hopleaf]

I just like saying Robuchon. Rro-BOOSH-ohn!

[Bux]

Latal yay doesn't do it for you?

[Hopleaf]

Latal yay doesn't do it for you?

no, it sticks to the roof of my mouth.

[Louisa Chu]

Do members have any updates on this restaurant? 

Cab, not open yet. The hotel says mid-Feb.