When Style Weds Culinary Innovation by Devanshi Mody
Featured Hotel in Paris
Le Saint-Gregoire
See all hotels in Paris >
For the wildest gastronomic adventures, Paris is the place: embark on a journey of discovery at some of Paris’s swankiest restaurants with contemporary décor and innovative cuisine.
In this capacity, you cannot beat L’Arpege. The décor is minimalist, so it’s the food that lends colour to this restaurant. And, yes, the ladies will tell you that the mischievous chef Alain Passard adds spice to one’s experience there. This isn’t one of your snooty fine dining restaurants. Indeed, it can be disarmingly informal. The ambiance is convivial and casual. Young people even turn up in jeans and t-shirts for a meal that could easily cost 500 euros/head with wine.
Ah, the wine. Passard quite possibly has the best collection of wines and cheeses in all of Paris. But what L’Arpege is especially renowned for is the extraordinary preparations using the finest ingredients, especially vegetables, cooked to perfection. Ever heard of a smoked potato? Try it at Arpege. It’s the yummiest thing ever!
And, the risotto prepared with a rare type of spinach is the best I’ve had anywhere. Ravioli with fennel was wonderful, but I wasn’t convinced about the carrots in chocolate sauce. As for the dessert, the coffee soufflé is a revelation! It’s not for nothing that Chef Passard has three Michelin stars – the highest accolade in the gastronomic hierarchy.
William Ledeuil at Ze Kitchen Gallery might not have a Michelin star, but he is famed for his cuisine that fuses French and pan-Asian. When asked if his creations can be categorised as “fusion food,” he looks horrified. “Fusion food is when you throw in a bit of this and a bit of that. But, much thought goes into my dishes, so each ingredient counts.”
Indeed, his spinach ravioli in lemon grass sauce and chocolate fondant with coconut ice cream are most exotic, yet there is a harmony in the fusion of east and west. The homemade bread is the most delicious in Paris. The restaurant also attracts Paris’s trendiest. But, over the weekends, a lot of Americans come in, including John Malkovich and Laura Bush.
At Gaya, the décor effuses elegance. The cuisine is cooked to perfection a la française, and the flavours have an Asian influence. I much enjoyed the asparagus in a tangy orange sauce and the most beautifully cooked, gorgeously presented artichokes garnished with algae.
Such refined cooking is a welcomed change when even in some of Paris's most expensive restaurants vegetables can be overcooked and greasy. As for the chocolate dessert with a wild berry compote, it would be difficult to find anything more sublime and exquisite. But, expect nothing less from Michelin-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire.
For a confluence of culinary excellence with culture and style, there’s no better place than Café Minotti. One of only two Italian restaurants in Paris to be awarded a Michelin star, Minotti is a unique place. The restaurant has three different rooms, each with its own décor and personality. Lounge ambience reigns by the bar. Then, there’s the intimate Black Room, but my favourite is the red and black one with extravagant chandeliers.
The cuisine is Italian with a French touch, adding finesse and lightness to traditionally stodgy Italian dishes. The young chef has worked 11 years with star chef Alain Ducasse. He offers you a different risotto for each day of the week. Whatever you get on the day, rest assured it will be excellent. I must also recommend their pistachio and strawberry dessert.
The service, too, is most unusual. Refinement and elegance sum it up. Indeed, it was most interesting chatting to the managers about an exhibition of the paintings of Ingres at the Louvre. It’s not common to find people who work in the restaurant business who have the culture and the time to go to art exhibitions. But, it is this class that distinguishes Minotti.
Restaurant Helene Darroze, with two Michelin stars, is also unusual in that it’s one of the few restaurants with a woman chef: Helene Darroze herself. She recreates a very lush but homely ambiance with aubergine coloured walls, tomato and yellow pepper chairs. The dishes are garnished with colourful flowers, and she does wonderful garlic compote – very feminine. But, I was surprised to see so many businessmen lunching there. There was even a young man in his twenties who had come to lunch alone. Try her cheese with the spicy jam. Superb!
If food is of secondary importance and you’re more interested in a super swanky ambiance and glamorous clientele, then go to La Cantine du Faubourg. Nobody raves about the food, but everybody wants to be seen at what is one of Paris’s smartest addresses. Indeed, on the night I was there, the restaurant was being filmed for a programme called “Paris Chic.”
Taste the cuisine and live in luxury at one of our many luxury hotels in Paris, be sure to bring a large appetite.