The distinct highlight of our recent weekend in Paris was an incredible culinary experience at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, located on Rue Montalembert. So much so that it deserves its own thread.

We decided to dine there after JonesWineNo1 mentioned in a Paris thread that this was a restaurant that he would someday like to try. (Thanks JW!) A little further google searching reveals that L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon is the highest ranked restaurant in Paris and #4 in the world as chosen by an international panel of more than 300 restaurateurs, chefs and critics in Europe-basedRestaurant Magazine ’s 50 Best Restaurants in the World for 2004.
(list is here) (French Laundry took the #1 spot).

Go for lunch or early dinner, since no reservations are taken. There are no tables in the place, only 40 tall red-leather bar stools in a U-shape surrounding the kitchen. The décor is quite contemporary - dark wood, black granite or marble and red trim. Hanging from the ceiling over the kitchen are country hams, sausages, and bacon. On the countertops and shelves are bottom-lit bowls of fruit on mounds of ice, jars of peppers and preserved lemons.

The Menu “Decouverte” (Discovery) was a 9-course gourmand’s delight. Simply one of the most unforgettable meals we’ve ever had, and was very fairly priced at € 98 per person:

L’Amuse-bouche palourde farcie à l’ail violet et aux champignons
A small clam stuffed with garlic and purple mushrooms.

Le Foie Gras dans un pâté de veau en croûte aux pistaches de Sicile
Encrusted veal pâté terrine with Sicilian pistachios.

La Châtaigne fin bouillon au fumet de céleri et lard fume
Foamed chestnut celery soup, with smoked bacon and a single cube of sautéed foie gras. Delicious.

La Langoustine dans un ravioli truffé a l’embuerrée de chou vert
Tender lobster ravioli in a truffle butter sauce served over green cabbage. Perhaps the most flavorful food that has ever entered my mouth. Unbelievable.

La Noix de Saint-Jacques cuite en coquilleau beurre d’algues acidulé
One large juicy scallop served on its shell with seaweed lemon butter and a dusting of pink peppercorns. My wife’s favorite course.

La Cèpe en crème légère sur un œuf cocotte au persil plat
A multilayered masterpiece done in three layers. Served in a martini glass, the first layer was a parsley puree, then a poached egg, and on top a foamed crème of cèpe mushrooms. Outstanding.

La Caille carmélisée avec une purée à la truffe d’été
Crispy and tender quail with a truffle puree.

La Riz Rond en quenelle mousseuse au caramel et sa glace au lait
Tapioca pudding and ice cream with an incredible caramel sauce

Les Fruits Exotiques dans une nage acidulée avec sorbet au basilic
Exotic fruits (some of which I could not identify) bathed in a citrus sauce, and basil sorbet. The basil sorbet added a wonderful cool aromatic element to the dish. Brilliant and distinctive combination.

The wine list was well-selected, with bottles ranging from €35 and up, including a bunch of Kistler chardonnays for €334 (almost $400) apiece! We decided to explore the Languedoc-Roussillon region during this trip, so we chose a2002 Clos Marie Pic St. Loup “L’Olivette” for €48. It was a nice earthy, peppery medium-bodied wine that paired particularly well with the truffles, mushrooms and quail. I’d give it around 88P.

Service was outstanding. Because it is a countertop setup, the rapport with your server is like that of a bartender and patron. Our server was a twenty-something guy named Vincent, who smiled all the time, answered our questions patiently and with good humor (in excellent English when necessary).

This place gets my highest recommendation. It’s a top-notch dining experience that is unique, relaxing and memorable – a rare combination. In fact, the couples sitting on either side of us came back for a second day in a row. I can certainly see why.

Cheers,

Otis

Sounds fantastic Otis!

Your write up sounds better than this quick blurb from e-bob.

E-bob

Sounds great to me too, otis. We're going to be in Paris for 4 or 5 days this coming July, and hope to be able to eat there.

Also, unless it's changed in the last year, Rubichon was the executive chef at the Astor Hotel, which I take to mean that he designed the menu but doesn't actually do the cooking. It provides a good introduction to his gustatory style, and is also priced quite fairly. (1 Michelin star last year)

If you are going to be there for four or five days then don't forget Pierre Gagnaire (number five on the list Otis hyperlinked but number one on my personal list).

Nothing will be forgotten. Thanks.

We're thinking 2 gourmet dinners and 2 bistro dinners, on alternating nights (cholesterol now being an issue for me). We'll also be in Spain, headquartering in either Seville or Madrid, for 3 weeks after that. El Bulli is an awfully powerful temptation. though unfortunately it's just north of Barcelona and a hell of a drive from either of those cities. Still, who knows when we'll be anywhere near that area again, so...

Supposedly El Bulli is booked through 2005.

Fortuntately, the 6th best place in the world is often acceptable.

We'll be in Paris sometime in the fall, so I will bookmark this.

JasonH: thanks for the link. We went on a Saturday just before noon and the sun was brightly shining through the front windows. Maybe the black interior is darker at night, but we felt the room was well lit. Also, I thought the portion sizes were perfectly appropriate if you are trying to get through 9 of them. We were certainly fully sated by the time we pushed back our bar stools and headed for the Pompidou Centre.

JW1: thanks for the reco on Pierre Gagnaire. We'll try and get there next time. I have only been to three restaurants on the Top 50 list, but interestingly, they are all in France (Robuchon, Tour d'Argent, and Auberge d'Ille).

Seaquam: have a great trip! If you are in the Marais neighborhood, I recommend stopping by a little wine bar calledLe Coude Fou (12, rue du Bourg-Tibourg) for a glass of 2003 Pelle Menetou-Salon and/or the 2001 Domaine de Lavabre Pic St.-Loup. It is a cozy little spot and a perfect place to stop before dinner.

There is also a wine shop calledCaves Marcel Bossetti in that area (34, rue des Archives) that has a remarkable amount of older Burgundies available for under 50 euros. I bought a 1974 Gevrey-Chambertin for 38 euros. The shopkeeper said the wine is fine and delicate for 20 minutes and then falls off a cliff, but I figure I'll open it for a bunch of people and we'll all get a sense of what a 30-year old pinot noir tastes like. I know it's not a very good vintage, but hopefully it will be a worthwhile learning experience for a relatively small expense. Bring a Burgundy vintage chart and you might find a steal.

Cheers,

Otis

Great writeup, Otis. Sounds incredible! Man I need to bookmark this link so I get back here for tips if and when I ever get to Paris.

Was the original Nobu in NY or London?

Jones, what should one anticipate paying for a dinner for 2, with a medium-priced bottle of wine at Pierre Gagnaire (incl tip)?

TIA.

Kimber,

No first hand experience, but the link I posted to the E-bob thread in the second post has reference to price for one. Hopefully Jones can help better than that.

About a thousand dollars (you will be there for so long you will want two bottles of wine).

We went to L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon last Friday night. We ordered the "Découverte Menu" (the discovery/tasting menu), which is still 98 Euros. I've read that the discovery menu is Robuchon's "greatest hits" - so we figured it was a good choice. Here's what we had:

1. L'Amuse bouche - gazpacho (cold tomato soup) with tiny croutons served in a martini glass. Very tasty, and the small serving was the right amount.
2. Le Tourteau - cremeaux au coulis d'avocat et amandes fraiches. A bed of crab meat buried under an avocodo puree, and topped with almonds and a dash of red pepper flakes.
3. Les Palourdes - farcies a l'ail violet et aux champignons. Three tiny clams sitting on a bed of rock salt. The clams were cooked with oil, garlic, parsley and mushrooms. Very tasty - and the quickest dish to disappear. Give me more than three little clams, please!
4. La Volaille-en friand aux saveurs exotiques a l'aigre doux. A small chicken wing that was deep-fried and served in the middle of a thinly sliced pineapple.
5. La Morue - fraiche en imprime d'herbes aux sucs de legumes. Steamed rock cod draped with a thin pasta square (think wonton wrapper) with a green leaf imprinted into the pasta. The rock cod was served in a light broth with some chopped tomatoes and celery. This dish was one of the prettiest of the night, but a bit bland.
6. L'Oeuf - cocotte et sa creme legere de girolles. Another dish served in a martini glass. (The martini glass has lost its originality.) A poached egg floating under some foam and on a bed of greens (spinach maybe) and some wild mushrooms.
7. L'Agneau de Lait - du Vauduse en cotelettes a la fleur de thym. Two lamb chops served with mashed potatoes. The potatoes were very creamy - I've read that it's a mixture of 50% butter and 50% potatoes.
8. La Framboise-dans une nage de litchis a la vanille de tahiti et son sorbet pampelmousse. Grapefruit sorbet served on top of a lychee sauce with vanilla beans and fresh raspberries. (I don't like grapefruit, so the sorbet didn't work for me.)
9.Le Chocolat Sensation - glace au chocolat sur au cremeaux araguani. Rich chocolate ice cream over a chocolate mousse.

Wine: There is a healthy selection of wines by the glass. About a dozen whites and a dozen reds were offered by the glass. The wine list featured wines from various regions around the world, which is very uncommon in Paris. Unless they were holding back on us, the list was fairly short - only a few pages long. We opted to let our server make a few suggestions, and we chose the following wines by the glass to pair with the tasting menu:

NV Ch. Bruno Paillard, Champagne
03 Dme. Thierry Germain "Insolite," Saumur
01 Ch. Lucas "Joel Robuchon Selection," Cote de Castillon

A few thoughts for people who are thinking of going: (1) Because everyone sits at a bar (there are no tables) that snakes around the open kitchen, the setting is better for one to three people dining together. IMO, it's hard to carry on a conversation if the group is more than two or three people. (2) If one really wants to eat here, it's very easy to get in as long as eating at 6:30 pm is okay. I called late Thursday afternoon and made a reservation for Friday at 6:30 pm. (The downside is that the 6:30 seating is comprised completely of tourists.) After the 6:30 seating, it's by wait list only and they told me the next earliest seating is at 9:00 pm.

There were a number of service issues, and unfortunately, while trivial, service gaffes have a way of diminishing the overall food experience. Nonetheless, for 98 Euros, this is a "good deal." (Dinner for two, including the food, wine, and coffee, was 293 Euros.) So, if one has the time and is trying to cram as much "haute cuisine" into a Paris visit as possible, this is a worthwhile place to try. However, if you only have time for one or two restaurants, I would not put this on the short list.

Sounds like the same tsating menu they served us a few weeks ago. I recall not knowing which was the proper way to consume out of the martini glass....spoon it, drink it? The maitre'd was the only "rude french person" I came across the whole trip but we had excellent service, once seated.

Mrs. O and I had another memorable lunch at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Paris last month. We once again ordered the Menu “Decouverte” – a 9-course progression for €98 per person. A superb value for a bona fide gourmet experience, IMO.

Here is a description of the food and wines we had. I’ve included some photos on this slideshow link.

WINES

We started with a glass of Bruno Paillard Champagne Brut NV (€16/glass) that was fresh, lively and balanced (92P).

Then we ordered a bottle of 2002 J-M Colin Chassagne-Montrachet “Les Caillerets” (€114). Fantastic aromas, elegant yet creamy body, with veiled but vibrant structure and acidity (93P).

For a red, the wine steward informed us that they were opening a double magnum of 1998 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion for €26/glass. We jumped all over that. Of course, it is years away from its prime drinking window, but the wine’s herbal/earthy components showed quite well with some of the courses (91+P).

We finished with a lovely 2004 San Stefano Moscato d’Asti (€11/glass) that was loaded with bright mango flavors. (90P)

COURSES

As you can see, it’s all about layers at Robuchon. Different textures and flavors on top of one another, rather than separated or melded together. Most of the time it worked beautifully.

L’amuse Bouche: Crémeux de foie gras comme un cappuccino (not pictured)
This “foie gras cappuccino” was an outstanding kickoff. Underneath the foam was a foie gras/mushroom custard that provided a counterweight to the light but intense froth on top. Probably the best dish on the menu. It didn’t rally pair well with the champagne and was decent with the white burg.

La Coquille St.-Jacques crue, marinée aux graines de pavot grillées
Scallop carpaccio with poppy seeds, pink sea salt and microgreens. This was mildly seasoned and a little too oily. The champagne was a better pairing than the white burg with this one.

Le Pied de Cochon truffé sur une tartine gratinée au parmesan
Another one of my favorite courses and the best pairing with the Chassagne-Montrachet. This was a pig-foot hash (tasted like a corned beef hash made out of bacon), spread on truffle accented toast, with dandelion greens. The smokiness of the dish brought out the best of the oaky elements of the wine. Deliciously melt-in-your mouth good.

Les Champignons dans une royale, au coulis de persil et croustilles d’ail
Mushroom royale, with a parsley coulis and garlic crisps. This nice earthy dish that was almost too rich, but the parsley gave it a pleasant lift. Surprisingly, the white burg was clearly the better pairing. The parsley in the dish brought out too much of the green-ness in the LMHB.

Le Rouget sur une vierge aux agrumes et àla coriander fraîche
Baby red mullet with citrus and coriander cream and crispy skin, fresh yellow tomatoes, and rocket greens and a beet reduction. The mullet was a little too fishy tasting , but the grapefruit/coriander sauce was delightful. Went well with the Chassagne-Montrachet.

La Chataigne en fin bouillon au fumet de céleri et lard fumé
Another contender for best dish, this chestnut celery soup had fascinating texture contrasts between the seared chunk of foie gras in the middle of the bowl and the crunchy chestnuts. The flavors were deep, rustic and complex. It brought out the latent acidity of the white burg terrifically. The earthy notes of the LMHB came to the fore here.

L’Agneau de Lait des Pyrénées en côtellettes à la fleur de thym
Suckling lamb chops (in fact they were so small, my wife called them “womb chops”) with potato puree and thyme sauce. Wonderfully tender and succulent. A killer pairing with the La Mish.

La Tequila givrée aux fruits exotiques
A tropical fruit parfait of sorts with really cool carmelized pomegranate chip on the top. A superb combination with the Moscato d’Asti. Yum.

Pistachio Soufflé
By his time, we had a nice rapport working with the servers and they threw in this soufflé as a bonus course (not that we needed one!). Very light and tasty.

Le Chocolat sensation avec sorbet ivoire sur un crémeux Araguani
This one was sort of like chocolate pudding with cocoa puffs on the bottom and oreo crumbles on top. Very nice, but nothing sensational.

This was our second time at L’Atelier JdR. Never been there for dinner. Lunch is much less hectic, as I understand it. We love the setup of counter-seating around the kitchen so you can watch the chefs in action. The service is terrific, with a friendly (English-speaking) staff. I highly recommend it.

Cheers,

Otis

Here is an excerpt on L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon from Anthony Bourdain’s current book – The Nasty Bits (a real fun read, BTW – how could a book dedicated to “Joey, Johnny, and Dee Dee” not be?):

"Over the years, chefs have accumulated many happy experiences at counters. We liked them. We wished we could have one for ourselves. Maybe the earliest, loudest shot across the bow – and the one that caused the widest ripples – was the opening of L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Paris.

Robuchon, of course, is one of the very best chefs on the planet, one of the French masters, and L’Atelier was, then, a radical departure. The elegant but casual space in Saint-Germain is almost entirely kitchen, with counter space and seats snaking at angles around its perimeters. Black-clad counter “help” act as combination server-sommeliers, clearing and setting, suggesting and pouring wines, and chatting informally with customers as one would expect at a favorite diner. The precisely plated and delicious food would be perfectly at home in the dining room of a traditional three-star restaurant, but in fact benefits from the more comfortable ambiance.

I recently sat alone and had a nine-course menu découverte and never felt the awkwardness of the solitary diner. The servers were talkative, and the usually jaded, seen-it-all Parisians on both sides and across from me were positively effervescing with pleasure, as if recently released from prison. Eating jewel-like fare like La Langoustine dans un ravioli truffé au choux vert, Le Cèpe en crème légère sur un oeuf cocotte au persil plat, and Cochon de lait en cotelettes dorèes (accompanied by Robuchon’s ethereal yet butter loaded mashed potatoes) – even an ironic tribute to the classic Le Riz rond – was a joy.

Gone was the stodginess, the ceremony, the invisible straitjacket that usually accompanies a meal like this. Customers felt free to tear at bread from baskets placed above them on the sushi-style display case and mop sauce with abandon. It felt liberating. I left feeling as if I’d seen the future. (Or at least very much hoping I had)."

Other restaurants that he extols in this chapter (titledCounter Culture) include Blackbird (Chicago), Casa Mono (NYC), and (very enthusiastically) Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal.

Cheers,

Otis

There is one of these in Las Vegas and a friend went and said it was the best meal he ever had. The wine pricing is aggregious though and corkage is not allowed.