Le Meurice Paris Eng.
Setting & environment 96/100
(The
restaurant´s geographical area, surroundings and settings)
It couldn't
be much clearer in this matter. All better restaurants in Paris are in the central
area. But then again, what counts as central? When we travel to a place where
we are supposed to discover the gastronomy of a specific area, that place is
central for us.
Once again
we step into the enriching and absolutely wonderful Le Meurice, 228 Rue de
Rivoli, 75 001- Alain Ducasse's amazing restaurant. And the best of all –
we didn't think it was possible – but apparently it is…
Gastronomic idea 94/100
(What is the idea of the restaurant and how
unique is it?)
This
restaurant, that Alain Ducasse has created, is for us what the church is for
the most Christians. A place for us to reconcile our souls to the life of
gastronomy, to study perfection within culture, history and what will be the
next experience. The common theme, which we saw directly last time we were
here, wasn't as easy to see this time.
We are
always very honest, we don't find it hard to tell them when we don't understand
something or even when we don't like something. We're equally open to tell them
what is good. This time we had to stand up and give them a big round of
applause for one of the best lunches we ever had. The French kitchen, which
everyone finds fatty, sweet, saturated and lavish with calories, is for us the
total opposite. We see today a very light kitchen that is showing us a side
that we love. What has happened during the past year in Paris is pleasing. For
those of you who think that Paris is and old traditional town with only duck
liver, pike and cream, you have a lot to discover.
(Service
from the very first moment and through the whole dinner)
The big
black car we arrive in does not even stop outside the hotel before we have
three people opening the doors in an interaction called perfection. And even
before we take our first steps inside the big doors to the lobby, two beautiful
people are showing us the way into the classic bar that must be visited before
a lunch or dinner at Le Meurice.
We are being
seated and even before we has the chance to open the bar menu, the restaurant
manager Mr Frederic Rouen comes in to welcome us back.
We feel like
the most important guests in the world and what is even more amazing is that we
notice how every single guest is treated like the most important one, in that
typical French way we just love.
The service
during our visit has reached another top level since we were here last time,
the presence is better, more comfortable and there's more joy in everything
they do. You can just lean back and enjoy how all the waiters are moving in the
dining room, it is a really good show.
Food, season and preparation 95/100
(How good is the food? The preparation of the
food? Do they miss something? Are they working after season, which we prefer)
As usual we
get to see the menu and what is offered today, but more than that we don’t get
to decide. The restaurant manager Mr Rouen takes our menus and asks nicely if
he together with the chef Jocelyn can set up a special menu just for us on this
lovely day. And we are not going to blame him for that so we just smile and
say: “Yes please, it would be an honour.”
It does not
take long before we have several sommeliers around our table, each and every
one presenting a champagne in a flawless way. We have the opportunity to choose
between three different ones and as usual we are hassling a bit and want one of
each.
For this
serving, the classic vegetables are served after being blanched in salted water
and the dip sauce that comes with them is to die for.
We cannot
find any mistakes when we are looking into the schoolbook about decoration,
preparation or the choice of food. All parts of the menu has its own place and
the classic theme that we mentioned before, we can see through the whole lunch.
Another
thing worth mentioning is how well they have prepared the food for the person
who is celiac, usually in France they don’t care about celiac at all and you
just have to help yourself, but at Le Meurice they take it seriously and will
take care of you in a perfect way. Thank you so much!
The pace
between the servings couldn’t be better and there is something going on at the
table most of the time but without us feeling stressed or someone in the way
being pushy.
We will
never stop admiring the power all the female waiters possess in this dining
room. They, together with the restaurant manager, are controlling everything
into the very last detail. With the blink of an eye or a small hand gesture,
they get the waiters to move like ballet dancers over the soft floor. Beautiful
to see them all work in this amazing dining room.
Drink menu and its knowledge 90/100
(How is the beverage menu? Big, small and the
pricing. How big is the beverage knowledge among the staff and the sommelier?)
A wine
cellar for the most picky ones – here we find producers and areas that we
believe a restaurant like this should have. There is also a wide range of
vintages and there are verticals that would have been amazing to order if you
had ta wallet that size, because it’s everything but cheap. There are wines
that are so overpriced that we can’t believe it ourselves.
We would
probably have done the exact same thing and Alain do have those kind of guests
that are willing to pay for it. However, we decide to go for the wine pairing
that their new head sommelier, Elina, had put together for us. And also regarding
the wines and the service from the sommelier, it has become better than last
time. More combinations that are daring and a very interesting choice of wines
for the food menu. What we also must say is that we are not always the most
easy customers, we ask about everything all the time but Elina does a terrific
job answering them during our whole stay. She must believe in herself more and
stand up for her thoughts, because when it comes to combining wines with food
she is a genius. Thank you Elina for your way of being a perfectionist. We
loved your wines!
(A final judgement)
We feel at
home here and it’s mainly because of a young talented waitress that took great
care of us during our first visit. We have been longing so much after being
taken care of by her again – this young but already so talented waitress. She
does everything with great joy, she's passionated about her work, the
restaurant and the guests. All she does is so real and she does it with lots of
love, so talented already that it’s going to be a pleasure to follow her
career. Thank you Mademoiselle Julie!
Everyone in
the staff are very friendly and helpful, we really don't want our stay to come
to an end. We can’t wait to come back and feel the pulse in the kitchen again.
In the end we do the usual walk around the kitchen and this time we get to
visit Cederic Grolet patisserie to see all his most famous work. When we are
back in the dining room, time has rushed by and all staff members are sitting in
the dining room for the review of the evening, but when they see us everyone
comes up to us, thanking us for being a part of their day. I do admit that I
can feel a tear on my cheek as we are saying goodbye to all these amazing
people and we immediately start counting the days until we come back to be
amazed by Chef Exécutif Jocelyn Herlands amazing gastronomy once again.
Drink menu
Rasin, caviar, Racines au gros sel
2006 Champagne Laurent Perrier Le Millésimé
Belles langoustines croustillantes, fenouil/
citron
2015 Jurancon Sec – La Virada Camin Larredya
Bar de ligne ”ikejime” á l`écaille, petits
pois et rhubarbe
2015 Alsace Rielsing Grand Cru – Scholssberg
L´inédit – Domaine Weinbach
Veau ”grain de soie” anguille, olives
2012 Chateauc neuf du pape – Piedlong
Fromage
2012 Rivesaltes Ambré – Mas Delmas
Pêche á la verveine, poivre rouge de Kampot
10 ans Maderia Boal - Barbelito
Final grade of stars: 4,5/5
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