I am in Paris for the weekend to catch my favourite pianist in concert just before term restarts, and how could I miss out on a few gourmet experiences on the side? This first evening was dedicated to Guy Savoy's flagship on Rue Troyon, a short walk away from the Arc of Triumph. This famous French chef has been decorated with the prestigious Légion d'Honneur by the Ministry of Agriculture in France and owns multiple restaurants across Paris, as well as one gastronomic restaurant each in a casino in the cities of Las Vegas and Singapore. Coming from the latter country, I thought it would be a much more authentic experience to visit the Paris flagship anyway, as celebrity establishments in casinos tend to be hugely overpriced (yes, even more expensive than in Paris!) and lacking in real personalised service, and generally the clientele there can generally hardly be considered gourmands even if they have lots of money to burn. But, I digress.
I actually had a 9.30 pm reservation - understandable as restaurants are always full on Saturday evenings and they need time to turn the tables around - but was contacted a few days before to say I could come from 7.30 pm, presumably due to a cancellation. Thank goodness I didn't have to starve till late evening!
The discreet façade reminded me of the exterior of posh Japanese restaurants. Pushing the sliding doors to enter, I was warmly and efficiently whisked to my table in the middle section of the main dining room, facing a German couple who looked alternately bemused and contemptuous at my constant photo-taking. I was slightly disappointed at my seat as I had asked to sit in a bright area of the restaurant, yet my table was almost completely covered in shadows. In fact, I found the whole space rather dark, which made it very difficult to take pictures without flash, and I must apologise in advance for the relatively poor quality of the following photographs as compared to those in my posts so far. I would have asked for an immediate change of table but the restaurant was jam-packed and I didn't want to be unduly difficult, so I settled down anyway. I was here for the food after all and I didn't really want to give up this reservation after having looked forward to it for two months.
To be honest, this place didn't give me a particularly good feeling to begin with - it was extremely crowded and the waiters were shuttling about at a rather frenetic pace. Too many covers and too little staff, perhaps? It just didn't quite have that exclusive, personalised and relaxed atmosphere that I expected, given my experiences so far at similar establishments. But at least, I hoped the food would knock me off the edge of my seat, for the price I was paying!
Chef Savoy is an avid modern art collector, and one already gets an idea of his whimsical and exotic taste from the initial table setting, with its clown-faced decorative plate and Moroccan-inspired containers for butter, salt and pepper.
In my reservation, I had asked to visit the kitchen and to say hello to Guy Savoy. Unexpectedly, I was invited in to witness the heat of the action soon after I'd placed my order (instead of after the meal), and there was the man himself supervising the orders. I must admit that my chef groupie heart skipped a beat in his presence. It is increasingly rare for celebrity chefs to take a full interest in their restaurants while doing all sorts of peripheral things like book tours and TV shows, but Guy Savoy clearly has his heart in the right place and that can only be a good thing for his cuisine. He is always stationed at this Paris flagship unless inevitable work commitments pull him away momentarily. He is admirably keen to please his customers and throughout the evening managed to go to every table 2 to 3 times to chat and to make sure that they were happy. Such a humble and charming man!
We didn't speak very much because his English was nearly non-existent and my French was extremely rusty, but he seemed very pleased that I was from Singapore and had come all the way from London to eat here. He was so nice that whenever he came round to my table to ask if everything was alright I had to say 'yes, that's perfect' even if I had my reservations about some of the dishes (but more on that later). By contrast, I found his maître d'hôtel somewhat impersonal and hurried, though the actual waiters who served me were generally pleasant and patient.
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| My best shot so far with a great chef I think! |
I opted for the 'colours, textures and tastes' menu, a 12-course affair - not the biggest tasting menu available but what I could just about afford. (Going à la carte would have been only marginally cheaper for a mere 3 courses!) Anyway, most of Guy Savoy's signature dishes are included in this menu and I was really excited to finally be able to try them myself, in the most authentic possible environment.
The menu comes in several languages including French, English, Mandarin, Japanese and Russian - more typical of a tourist trap than a triple-starred establishment. Good business strategy perhaps, but not always beneficial for the image of the restaurant. Indeed there were fewer French people than tourists this evening (and probably on any other given day as well), which worried me a little, but then again I figured that the Michelin inspectors couldn't go very wrong.
Some online reviews have spoken of a unique 'bread pairing' for each course, but I was totally unaware of that this evening. As far as I could remember there was nothing special about the bread service; pretty much the usual kinds were served and replenished as I ate them, and the waiters didn't mention anything about matching the breads they gave me to different courses either. (Hmm!!) The salted and unsalted butters from Jean-Yves Bordier in Brittany were truly excellent though - so rich and silky that I could have eaten them off the knife just like that. (This butter is also on the table at L'Arpège, which I visited and reviewed last August.)
Canapé: foie gras pâté club sandwich. This was as uninspiring as it looked - I'm pretty sure anyone with a toaster could make this at home. I would have expected much more refinement and subtlety from this restaurant in every single detail!
Amuse bouche: root vegetable soup with lemon salt, accompanied by turnip, radish, and a biscuit with asparagus.
Much better - a dish of real understated sophistication! The soup was really velvety and tasty, and the touch of lemon salt gave it a lovely fresh tang to stimulate the palate. The accompanying morsel was delightfully juicy and crisp, complementing the soup with utmost simplicity and elegance.
Course 1: clear ice poached oyster - raw oyster set over oyster purée and covered in seawater jelly.
I do like raw oysters when they are fresh and cold but this tasted like it had been left on the pass for a little too long - almost room temperature and a little tender and mushy to the bite. I'm sure it wasn't stale, but it didn't particularly appeal either. The bed of oyster purée was lovely and intense though, and the transparent (hence 'ice poached') seawater jelly draped over the oyster was an ingenious touch, imparting a fresh and delicate saltiness while enhancing the look of the oyster with a glistening surface. A small slice of carrot and sprinkling of black pepper improved the flavour of the oyster with a subtle sweetness and spiciness. This dish wasn't too bad overall, but I definitely wished for it to be served much colder in order to fully enjoy the clean taste and firm texture of raw oysters.
Course 2: blue lobster 'raw cooked' in cold steam - lobster tartare and lobster carpaccio, separated by a crisp praline and lobster coral pancake, and seasoned with lobster vinaigrette. Served with a tea of lobster consommé and vinegar.
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| 'Raw cooking' in cold steam - basically a theatrical dry ice display. |
The main dish itself was excellent and the portion was pretty generous by fine-dining standards. The lobster was fresh and sweet, with a firm and succulent texture, and a subtle tang from the lobster vinaigrette seasoning. The paper-thin biscuit layer separating the tartare and the carpaccio was particularly memorable. The combination of praline and lobster coral does sound very strange indeed, but this had just the right balance of sweet, nutty and salty flavours that complemented the lobster flesh perfectly! Its fragile crispness was also in line with the overall lightness and refinement of this dish. By contrast, the soup served on the side was rather disappointing; despite a nice frothy surface and seeming richness within, there was clearly an excessive use of vinegar rendering the resulting mixture rather acidic and unpalatable. I was really quite bewildered how an already concentrated consommé could be overpowered! I was also left somewhat underwhelmed by the gimmicky presentation - 'raw cooking in cold steam' sounded really intriguing and promising, but it ended up being nothing more than a dry ice display (hardly a new idea in fancy restaurants nowadays).
Course 3: fillet of sea bass grilled whole with the skin, on a bed of Swiss chard ribs and topped with a crispy chard leaf, with chanterelle mushrooms and a sauce of fish stock infused with vanilla and sweet spices. On the side, sweet spice powder (including pepper).
This was simply amazing! The fish was extremely tender and moist, with a nicely browned surface, and flaked effortlessly. Unusually, the scales had been left on the skin - not a good sign in most cases, but here the grilling was done to perfection, and individual scales had an absolutely crisp bite that was further enhanced by the leaf topping. The delicate flavour of the fish was augmented by a multitude of accompaniments that worked really well together: Swiss chard stems with a mild bittersweet taste, chanterelle mushrooms with a lovely meaty texture and a rich earthy flavour and aroma, and a very tasty fish stock-based sauce that was subtly infused with vanilla and spices for a touch of sweetness and warmth, without altering the savoury nature of the dish. A spice powder mix was also provided on the side as a dip, according to personal taste. On the whole, this was one of the few completely successful dishes of the evening.
Course 4: large poached green asparagus served with caviar, smoked butter sabayon and potato chips.
This was presented in a surprisingly theatrical manner. On a large serving tray, my server brought out the plate with the asparagus, another raised plate with the chips, and a side tray containing an eggcup with an open eggshell. He then proceeded to whisk the sabayon mixture within the eggshell gently into a frothy texture before pouring it over one end of the asparagus. I couldn't help feeling that this course was more style than substance. To be sure, the asparagus was excellent - very tender, sweet and juicy - and its fresh delicate flavour was wonderfully enhanced by a generous portion of caviar lining half its length, as well as the rich and aromatic sabayon mixture poured over the other half. However, the size of the asparagus was meagre, certainly not 'large' by any stretch of the imagination, and with only a single stem given, it was hardly surprising that a large bowl of potato chips had to be provided on the side to fill the stomach. Speaking of which, I completely failed to understand their presence - surely one expects more sophisticated and well-thought pairings from such a restaurant! Potato chips are junk food for a lazy evening on the couch, no matter how well cooked and tasty they are. Here, they just seemed so incongruent with the daintiness and refinement of the vegetable part of this course, that no amount of caviar could have justified the dish's pretensions to triple-starred status. In fact there were so many chips that I started to bloat prematurely. I decided not to finish them and to leave precious stomach space for the (hopefully) more worthy following courses.
Course 5: pan-fried duck foie gras served on a bed of braised endives, accompanied by a canon of braised endives stuffed with kumquat peel caramelised in vinegar, and surrounded by an 'infusion-bouillon with hints of bitterness' - duck bouillon infused with red beetroot and Japanese genmaicha tea. Garnished with crispy rice, Guérande sea salt, and red beetroot sprouts.
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| Duck bouillon left to infuse with genmaicha tea on my table while I was on the previous asparagus course. |
Thankfully, this was a brilliant dish to compensate for the disappointment from the previous course. Foie gras itself is always delicious of course, and this piece had a really lovely thin caramelised crust on the top and bottom surfaces from pan-frying. What made this dish really special, as with anything involving foie gras, were the accompaniments. The duck bouillon was quite phenomenal, having sat in the pot for a good while infusing with genmaicha (green tea with toasted brown rice) and taking on the full extent of its wonderfully nutty flavour, with a delicate astringency to balance the indulgent foie gras. The bouillon was already lush to begin with, possessing a rich gaminess with a sweet and earthy edge from beetroot. The toasted rice and sea salt toppings further enhanced the taste of the bouillon while also providing a lovely crunch that was delightfully set off against the luxurious and silky interior of the foie gras. The braised endives and kumquat peel, with their characteristic mild bitterness, were completely apt, and the latter contributed a particularly welcome touch of tanginess with its perfect sweet-sour balance. It takes a lot for me to be this impressed with a French gastronomic staple that many restaurants tend to take for granted!
Bonus course: lentils cooked with black truffle.
With compliments from the kitchen, so I can't really complain, but coming between two genuinely superb courses this seemed like a huge yawn. Presumably this was meant as a bridge to the next course, but despite the conspicuous presence of black truffle this dish was surprisingly bland, with hardly any aroma. It was just lentils in some black sauce, nothing more. (Admittedly, this is not the best season for truffles.)
Course 6: artichoke soup with black truffles, slices of black truffle and Parmesan shavings, with a side of layered brioche with mushrooms, spread with truffle butter.
Again the truffle flavour was rather weak, but at least the sweetness of artichoke, coupled with characteristically full-bodied savoury touches of Parmesan, made for a very comforting and enjoyable soup indeed. The real tour de force, though, was the accompanying brioche; it was incredibly light, crisp, and flaky, with finely-chopped mushrooms stuffed within its layers. The mushrooms had a most intoxicating earthy fragrance, which was simply lethal when combined with the oven-fresh buttery aroma of the pastry and the luxurious truffled butter spread. The spread was the only truffle derivative in this meal that came anywhere close to the taste and aroma of the real thing. After spreading the butter for me from a rather generous dollop, my server left the rest of it on the table for my use, and I was only too happy to further slather my brioche after each bite, as liberally as I pleased! On the whole, this course was still quite gratifying.
Course 7: On the main dish - roasted saddle of lamb stuffed with razor clams, roasted and smoked rack of lamb over a black shallot purée, with watercress and saltwort coulis, pan-fried potato gnocchi, small fava beans steamed in butter, and lamb jus. On the side plate - Champvallon-style shoulder of lamb, mixed with potato and wrapped in onion and crispy onion skin.
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| My friendly server Eric for most of the evening, plating the lamb. |
This was another exceptional dish. The texture of the saddle was simply incredible - this loin meat, precisely cooked and beautifully pink in the middle, was extremely lean yet so very tender and succulent that I had to tell Guy Savoy, who happened to pass my table at this moment, that this was the best lamb I've had in my life so far. The fresh taste of the meat was given a nice boost by pieces of razor clams set within, which also contributed a lovely firm bite. The roasted and smoked piece of rack, with a naturally higher fat content, was even richer in texture and flavour, especially when paired with an aromatic shallot purée. The shoulder meat on the side, minced and mixed with potato then stuffed into a hollowed-out onion coated with crispy flakes of onion skin, was similar to the rack in taste and texture, and just as wonderful.
Even the accompaniments on the main plate were not to be sniffed at. Good gnocchi is notoriously difficult to make, and these here had delightfully spongy and fluffy insides beneath a thin and nicely-browned crust from pan-frying. I found it hard to reconcile the heaviness of starchy potatoes with the sheer weightlessness of the end result. The fresh fava beans were delicately sweet and crunchy, while the coulis was an ingenious take on mint sauce that traditionally goes with lamb. The peppery taste of watercress, combined with grassy/piney notes from the saltwort with a slight hint of saltiness, made for refreshing moments of respite amidst the sheer opulence of this course. What a masterpiece!
Course 8: 'Spring' - flan of dashi stock and egg, topped with grilled avocado; steamed and pan-fried spirals of red and yellow beetroots, and orange and white carrots; marinated spirals of long turnips; green and purple oxalis shoots.
This dish of seasonal root vegetables was a compelling cornucopia of colours and a welcome relief after the indulgences of the preceding courses. The presentation was rather theatrical; the dish came with delicate spirals of vegetables distributed along the rim of the plate, which my server picked up with a small pair of tongs and unrolled with care to produce a colourful tapestry in the centre, as shown. The produce was indeed very fresh and sweet, but what really did it for me was the base layer of egg custard. Reminding me instantly of Japanese chawanmushi, this savoury custard had an incredible silkiness and lightness that belied its profound umami, thanks to the addition of dashi stock. The topping of grilled avocado added a further touch of luxury with its creamy texture and slightly smoky taste.
Course 9: salted meringue with milk sorbet, avocado cream and raspberries.
This was a substitution for the cheese course of which I'm not usually a fan, but I wondered if I had made the wrong decision. Its role as a transition between savoury and sweet courses was clear and promising; sadly, of all the courses I had this evening this was the only one which I found truly objectionable. Even as I had reservations about parts of certain other dishes, these were at least inoffensive. Here, the presentation was uninspiring and the flavours equally out of proportion; the huge meringue mound was extremely salty, and the tiny milk sorbet nestled in a hollow underneath it could not do much to temper the overall taste. The raspberries were also very tart and the avocado cream was at best limited in its balancing role. On the whole, the lingering impression was a bewildering mixture of saltiness and acidity, which as you can imagine was hardly palatable. Don't get me wrong, I love salted desserts and I had readily agreed to my server's suggestion at the beginning of the meal, but this was sorely disappointing. I'm sure many a home cook would have done far better!
A couple of mignardises followed before the actual sweet section of the menu. On the huge block of ice stood two ice lollies, one praline & chocolate and the other lemon & strawberries. On the side plate were two pieces of (mercifully unsalted) meringue, one plain & crunchy and the other soft & stuffed with apple jelly. A pleasant and refreshing interlude before the grand finale of desserts.
Course 10: rhubarb and nasturtium flower jelly with nasturtium infusion, rhubarb candy garnished with rhubarb compote, rhubarb sorbet with sabayon pepper mousse, mignonette pepper wafer.
This dessert was such a work of art that I almost couldn't bear to eat it. In terms of taste it was straightforward, crisp and elegant; predominantly tart and spicy flavours really helped to cleanse the palate before the heavier following course.
Course 11: dark chocolate orb garnished with pineapple jam, containing finely diced aloe vera and mango, and a banana and passion fruit sorbet. Melted open with a hot mango coulis.
One of Guy Savoy's signature desserts, and endlessly replicated in fine restaurants all over the world, this was a truly opulent way to end a meal. The presentation, as expected, was nothing less than dramatic; I could hardly wait to dig into the contents of the sphere once the other shell had melted away. The thick dark chocolate shell had a really intense flavour with hints of red fruit, just the right thing to wake anyone up from a food coma after such a long tasting menu. This heady indulgence was aptly balanced by its fruity contents, and the sorbet in particular was a brilliant blend of fruit resulting in a surprisingly thick and smooth texture (from banana), and a rich aroma and distinctive tangy taste (from passion fruit). The mango in diced and coulis forms was also very sweet and fragrant, and the contrast in temperatures was, as always, an delightful sensation for the palate.
In the true French gastronomic tradition of leaving the diner not only satisfied, but completely sated, a trolley full of pastries, confectioneries, ice creams, sorbets etc. was wheeled over soon after my last plate had been collected. A real dessert buffet! I was told that I could have as much as I had space for. You don't get anything like this in the UK, and needless to say I was in awe.
With this enormous variety, there was no way I could even try a bit of everything, so I asked my server to give me a selection of Guy Savoy's favourites.
Lightly-salted caramel ice cream - now this was one salted dessert that worked! It was incredibly rich and smooth in texture and flavour.
Grape clafoutis (a traditional dessert from the Limousin region, consisting of fruit baked in a custard flan) with almond milk sorbet - very light, aromatic, and not too sweet. The sorbet was an utter revelation; its warm nutty flavour with hints of bitterness was simply unforgettable.
An assortment of traditional and well-known French desserts - dark chocolate mousse, crème caramel, dark chocolate macaron and lime cheesecake. They were all superb, and the mousse and caramel were to die for - such richness and intensity in the mousse, and what a pleasure to savour the silkiest custard with a mildly salted and burnt spark from caramel in the mix!
Just when I thought I was really done with desserts, a final palate-cleanser was offered: Earl Grey sorbet with crème anglaise (custard cream) laced with spots of black pepper. Like the almond milk sorbet which I had just moments ago, this sent me straight to cloud nine - its refreshingly bitter flavour with strongly aromatic hints of bergamot was beyond any reproach. Combined with a mildly spicy custard sauce, this meal ended on a truly delicate and refined note.
It was now nearly midnight, and before catching the one of the last few metro services back to my hotel I had to take a couple of shots of the restaurant. As mentioned at the beginning of this post Guy Savoy happens to be a keen collector of contemporary art, and many beautiful and quirky pieces adorn the space.
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| This Buddha sculpture made entirely out of red matchstick ends was my favourite piece. |
Now for the verdict - would I return anytime soon? You might be surprised but I believe this will be a one-off experience. I know how expensive gastronomic restaurants in Paris are and I was prepared to pay for the culinary experience, but at that price level the food has to transcend technical perfection and deliver inspired sparks of ingenuity that go beyond mere style. Unfortunately, I could only say that of four courses I tried tonight - namely the sea bass, foie gras, lamb and chocolate orb, plus the dessert trolley - while others were very solid but not particularly memorable, and yet a few other courses had more than an acceptable share of hits and misses. With the exception of Eric, the service was not particularly warm or attentive either, due to the sheer crowd this evening. On the whole, I left this place feeling somewhat underwhelmed.
Come if the chef's name means anything to you and if this restaurant is on your bucket list of to-do's due to its celebrity status, but I believe that there will be better experiences to be had at other three-starred restaurants in Paris, if you're willing to fork out this much.
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