Flora and Helene Darroze

[MobyP]

I came across this review in the Independent (3 May - Tracey Macleod) of Hélène Darroze's place in paris - recently awarded its second star.

For those New Yorkers out there, Ms. Darroze was recently featured in the NYTimes food section.

Click here for the review

Edited May 8, 2003 by MobyP (log)

[Louisa Chu]

Meow. Or as they say here in France, miaou.

[Paul Bell]

Didn't really think this was her best review, she seemed to quite like the food (apart from the chicken) but got really hung up on the fact that they kept giving the wrong food to each of them.

We quite enjoyed ourselves when we went there, don't see how it got two stars though (although we went a couple of years ago). service wasn't great then either, it took me about 40 mins to get the bill.

The armagnacs of Helene Darroze's brother were quite good though.

Paul

[Bartow]

Greetings-

As this is my first post, please visualize me standing just inside the door, nervously gazing at the linoleum as I ask this question: I'm taking my daughter to Paris for a long museum (her) and food (me) weekend on the 20th of this month. I've had several good meals at Flora Mikula's previous restaurant, Les Olivades. Do any of you know how her new place (Flora, near the George V hotel in the 8th A) is?

Also (don't know if I can do this on an academic's salary), I've heard good things about Helene Darroze's restaurant. Does anyone have first hand info?

Hm! I must have a thing about female chefs - I think Susan Spicer walks on water...

Merci beaucoup!

Bartow

[PaulaJK]

What a lovely plan!

We went to Helen Darroze last Feb and were

bitterly disappointed to the point that we felt

ripped off. When we returned, several posters

added negative comments. Perhaps you might

wish to try some place else. Also, lunches

in Paris are often equally elegant but at a

far lesser $ price tag. You may wish to consider

a ritzy lunch. Either way, enjoy....and share

your experience upon your return.

[pim]

I think Hélène Darroze is wildly inconsistent. I've had lovely meals, but also pretty awful ones.

I was at Flora a few months back, the meal was so blah that I couldn't even bring myself to writing about it, niether here or on my blog. My friend Clotilde wrote about it on hers though, you could read the review on her blog: Chocolate & Zucchini.

Edited January 11, 2005 by pim (log)

[Poppy Quince]

I can't speak from experience re Flora, but a friend who had very much enjoyed the food at Les Olivades several years ago (as did we) tried Flora shortly after that eponymously named restaurant opened and reported being disappointed, perhaps partly because it was no longer Provençal in focus, but also because it seemed to be trying too hard and not quite succeeding.

As for Hélène Darroze, I was quite unhappy with the experience we had in the upstairs restaurant; the service was amateur at best, we were seated in a corridor where both servers and guests passed regularly, and the pacing of the meal had us waiting a long while for some courses and feeling rushed through others. The food, while fine, wasn't worth the problems. On our next visit we tried the downstairs "tapas bar", which didn't make us any happier.

[fresh_a]

I think, for a good meal Flora is fine. Just don't go expecting a mindblowing gastronomic experience.

[John Talbott]

Greetings-

As this is my first post, please visualize me standing just inside the door, nervously gazing at the linoleum as I ask this question: I'm taking my daughter to Paris for a long museum (her) and food (me) weekend on the 20th of this month. I've had several good meals at Flora Mikula's previous restaurant, Les Olivades. Do any of you know how her new place (Flora, near the George V hotel in the 8th A) is?

Also (don't know if I can do this on an academic's salary), I've heard good things about Helene Darroze's restaurant. Does anyone have first hand info?

Hm! I must have a thing about female chefs - I think Susan Spicer walks on water...

Merci beaucoup!

Bartow

←

Flora; very much yes, altho the lunch menu is no longer the bargain it was when she moved from Les Olivades.

Darroze; awful, hyped, a real bamboozle.

But there are lots of great places that are very reasonable for lunch (and I know academic salaries as well as TIAA/CREF payouts afterwards).

Places like Au Bon Acceuil, Ze Kitchen Galerie, La Cerisaie, Pre Verre, etc etc, but please check out our Forum's threads and you'll find much of interest.

[emsny]

I'm interested to note the uniformly negative comments about Darroze. I too had a grim experience there. The food was okay. It was certainly not outstanding, and too much of it was served stone cold. The service was appalling. Afterwards I wrote Darroze a letter - friendly and constructive in tone, I thought - which went unanswered. That says a lot about the level of hospitality. Nice dog, though - really nice.