Reviews of Paris restaurants: Tour d’Argent, Le Cinq, Ange20,...
 

You might say that I piggyback on Woin's best restaurants thread, but I have no intention to steal his thunder ^^

Many people have been asking around if this and that is good for eating, and sometime the menu is so expensive you do have to wonder if it's worth it, and how exactly it's worth it. I enjoyed my meals, and enjoy looking at it from all aspects, so I thought why not detail them. I'm in no ways a picky eater, nor do I have sharp senses, but I worked in some restaurants and some kitchens for a while so I care for them.

Rating and the price of my meal will be given at the end of each post (rating is by 5 muffins maximum).

Part 1: La Tour d’Argent (as promised)

Link for review, rating and photos:
https://moveablefeastofamess.wordpre...dargent-paris/
If you don't want the photos to spoil your upcoming venture to the Tour, below are the text only:

I have tried many restaurants, some of them of 3-Michelin stars, but none of them achieved the well-rounded flavor of the Tour. They might have a better service, or better wine pairings, but there was always a side dish, a sauce, a spice that went wrong in their full course (according to my very me-oriented opinion, of course). For the Tour, none of the foods went south. The price is 230 euros/a duck for 2 persons, so 115 euros/person, a very good quality/price value.

As you might have known, I meet a Fodor friend there. I was silly enough to ask for a first meeting outdoor of the restaurant, in the freezing cold of December. But the door staff kindly insisted that I waited for my companion inside, and they would inform my companion when he/she arrived. So I hung around in the beautiful waiting room, to observe their bathroom. For me, the bathroom is the definite criterion of comfort for any establishment. If your living room demonstrate Picasso paintings but your bathroom isn’t shining, then, my friend you’re not a winner. I would even suspect that your Picasso is fake.

For that matter, the Tour’s bathroom is old. Not the kind of antique, imperial old, but real creaky old. Some other restaurants, though nowhere as near luxury, have much more convenient bathroom. Don’t worry, the Tour’s one was still very clean, and more pretty than my house’s one, but I try to think like a picky inspector: perhaps one star was lifted in the past due to this sheer mistake.

My companion arrived, the staff then took us in the lift to the dining room. Everything around was old-fashion and elegant. There was a gorgeous view of Notre Dame and the Seine river, but our table was far from the window (you can probably asked to have it near, though).

We ordered a pressed duck and plain water (they billed the water, I think they don’t serve tap water in such a place). But it wouldn’t be just a duck. First, amuse-bouches arrived in two services, at least 5 different pieces for each customer. There was some kind of peach soufflé, some vegetable mix served with a cream soup. All in all, delicious and delicate.

They then presented our duck on a wood wheeled table, with flowers stuck out of its neck. Cool. Boy, it looked enormous! I wondered how the two of us could finish it. They wheeled it away to prepare it in details, and the sauce master was working his silver pressing machine in front of us.

The machine costs 9000 euros if you want to buy it on spot! If I was Gordon Ramsay, why not. The breast was served rare, with its sauce, fruit jelly, berry tart and potato soufflé which might be my favorite of all kind potatoes. I also think that the Tour is specialized in soufflé.

The duck, ah! could it get tender than that? The bone & marrow sauce added much to its virtue: meaty yet mild, brown and condensed yet light. The name “blood sauce” that someone used, might be misleading: it sound bloody and heavy, and even scary. The reality is nothing like that. Their lunch menu is cheaper and can serve to one person, but I doubt the “caneton” listed there is the same dish. It may be without this special sauce.

The reconstructed dug leg came in the second service. Another kind of sauce (red wine sauce?), but tasty nonetheless. Then, a feast of palate cleansers, caramel candies, pepper icecream and a nut chocolate cake to take home. The service was formal but that is expected. They’re correct and not cold. At some moment they even suggested to take a photo for me. They have a cute duck toy collection, and photos of famous visitors lining the wall, together with some dark humor.

I can’t for the life of me explain why the second star was lifted from the Tour. Likely because of undeserved wine pairings? We didn’t order wine so we couldn’t guess. We all know that Michelin inspectors look at all kinds of standards: whether the waiter rushes to you quick enough when you drop a spoon, or if the waiter himself drop it etc. Of all the high-end restaurants that I’ve attended, the waiter always drop something: spoon, menu, even bread. They are human being. Sometimes their hands tremble. I don’t see no need for ordinary customers to dissect them.

Overall, we had a very satisfying meal. Now I simply discard the articles which, after the Tour’s “downfall” back in 2006, jumped on the wagon and wrote that the Tour was rather a national monument than a gourmet treasure, that people came to the Tour not by reasons of hungry (I’m looking at you, NYT). It’s not a perfect institute, but it’s the best I could find out there.

Rating: 4.5/5

Price: 122 euros/person, included a full course and water (thanks Ger - OReilly for idea)

Disclaimer: none of my reviews are sponsored or for commercial purposes.

That should read as *in the freezing cold of February, not December. Last December was not very cold either.

Thank you! It makes me want to eat at Tour d'Argent my next time in Paris :-)

Thanks so much. Very useful review. It is on our list for our next Paris trip!

Am I correct that one must pre-order the duck?

@travelhorizon: you're welcome. And remember that the duck is served only for 2 people or more, not for a single person. Drink is not mandatory.

Kathie: yes, you must pre-order the duck, at least 2 days before the meal. Probably because they need time to pick the wild flowers to put into its neck ;)

Great review, Fury! Please keep them coming.

Actually, it's the law in France that restaurants are not allowed to bill you for tap water (they aren't allowed to bill you for bread, or the dishes or silverware, etc., either, unlike some other countries)--at least if you order a meal. I think there may have been a change to the law that they can if it is clearly notated that they charge on the carte or something, but I'm sure La Tour d'Argent doesn't do that. This is the law:

http://www.economie.gouv.fr/dgccrf/P...au-verre-d-eau

I suspect it's just they figure they can get away with it in such an expensive place and customers won't challenge them. If you just ordered "water" without specifying, that's probably why, of course they can bill you for bottled. But if you ordered a carafe of tap water, I think legally they have to bring it. And of course, a water should ask you which you want if you don't specify, and if they didn't, it's because they want money out of people and figure they won't ask. I will never eat in such a restaurant, I'm sure, but I suspect those that do would think it tacky to have tap water on the table or order it. I could be wrong, just a guess. Personally, I wish the whole world would stop with the bottled water as it is contributing to the destruction of the environment, as long as they live in a place with safe and good water. If I ever go there, I'll ask for tap water to see what they do.

They lost a star many years ago becuase it was thought of getting old and stale. They have a different chef now than when they lost that star, I think they hired him fairly recently to try to get it back. So what you had was not the same as when they lost the star. I don't think they got it back this year, maybe not long enough time.

Fury, Thanks for the review. We have 18 days planned for Paris in October. We have been several times before but decided this time to indulge ourselves a little more (not getting any younger and all that), so watching for ideas about great restaurants.

If you order "de l'eau en carafe," you should get free tap water. They are not trying to get away with anything. It's just that it is assumed you'd want bottled water if you simply ask for water.

Thank you everybody for the advises and comments.
Okay I didn't tell them "une carafe d'eau", I just said "de l'eau svp". I'll remember it for the next time.

Thanks, FF. Bring on Part 2!

Very interesting, I don't know many people who have eaten there but did watch Julia Child's segment filmed years ago.

Also waiting for Part 2!

Thank you all for the compliments ^^

Here is Part 2, about restaurant Le Cinq.

My review and photos:
https://moveablefeastofamess.wordpre...le-cinq-paris/

Restaurant Le Cinq belongs to the beautiful Four Seasons George V Hotel. The hotel is famous for its flowery decoration and the color attack would blind you.

I dressed properly for the occasion. Gentlemen are asked to wear suits inside the restaurant – it’s another old-fashioned Parisian hotel. But if you don’t wear suit, no problem, they’ll provide one for you, as long as you’re not as picky as Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets.

For aperitif, they suggested 3 kinds of champagne. I already tasted Taittinger at its house, so I took another kind, a fruity champagne, which was very refreshing but a little cup of it costed me more than a whole bottle of Taittinger bought in Reims. Well, I’m not surprised, that’s the kind of price in these big name places, but lesson learned.

I asked them if I could go to the other corner to take a picture. I knew it’d bother other customers, I just asked to see how they replied. They politely told me No and explained. Good staff.

I ordered the Gourmet Lunch, which is less expensive than dinner menus, as usual. It’s a complete course that can fill the stomach of a grown man and fill the eyes of admirers. Amuse-bouches were cute, the main dishes were good, but for the first time there was some taste that I wasn’t a fan. The raw sea urchin was fresh but I didn’t like its strong seafood smell. Maybe it’s just me. I normally don’t have difficulties with raw sashimi or oyster, if eaten with the right spice (wasabi, lemon etc.). Then, the molecular-ish French onion soup was creative and certainly looked more chic than the traditional one, but I prefer eating the latter. Not to mention, when you break that bubble in your mouth and hot soup pours out, your tongue might get burnt. It’d have been better if the waiter had warned me of it.

Otherwise the red mullet with its crispy scales are delicious. I heard that eating fishes with their scales, fruits with theirs skin, vegetables with their roots, will get you a longer life; just don’t apply it to crayfish or pineapple.

The deconstructed lemon meringue tart was pretty and still conserves all of its beloved flavor. I think this chef likes bubbles and deconstructed things. Some palate cleanser, a Norwegian omelet for dessert, then, surprise, a kouign-amann as a specialty from the Breton chef. Did I mentioned that I loved Breton chefs?

They pushed a dessert cart and a cheese cart around. I can almost swear the ornate cart is as eye-pleasing as the chocolates it holds. I was too shy to take more than one tiny little-finger chocolate piece, but they gave me a small box of caramel candies to take home. I still keep those candies, and only give one to the best of my best friends.

Overall, though there were still small things to be improved, but the meal was superb and the staffs were impeccable. When they saw that I took many pictures of the foods, they joked “We will check all the photos when you leave. None of the bad ones would go out of this door.” Then they suggested to take one for me, so now I have a souvenir pic of myself among those vast flowers. I also heard that the wine pairing there was top notch. After all, the manager of the restaurant is a World Second Best Sommelier, if that means anything.

Rating: 4/5

Price: 145 euros/person, lunch full course, plus 30 euros something for the champagne.

I very much enjoyed that review as well - thank you. I'm not sure whether to add that to our list for our next trip or not. I will look forward to the third review you have promised us.

Great stuff.

Regarding your photos, there's a cartoon that has floated around where the waiter says something like this to his customer, "Did you not find the food satisfactory? I noticed you didn't take any pictures."

((H))

I love reading these detailed restaurant reviews, because I love food. Thank you, FF. I could never indulge in such a meal, though. It would take me a week to get through a menu like those. I don't know how people consume these quantities of food. I wish I could.

Thank you for your comments, I'm glad you enjoy the reviews. Part 3 will come up soon, which is a more economic and less elaborated meal.

StCirq: those dishes were actually tiny, the amuse-bouches were as big as coat's buttons and the main dishes are smaller than my hand's palm. After I left Tour d'Argent or Le Cinq, I could have easily eaten another cake. The one menu that was too much for me is Akelarre's in San Sebastian: a long course which lasted for 3h and contained 8 dishes, amuse-bouches not counted. In the middle of the course I was full up to my neck and couldn't appreciate the rest. There are not any cheaper or lighter choices for menus, whether for lunch or diner. I find that a little bit too stiff. If I go back to San Sebastian, I'd prefer the pintxos bars.

If I have to rate Akelarre, which doesn't belong to this Paris thread, I'll give it a 3.5/5 muffins. It's by no means a bad note: I still enjoy the lunch there very much, but a half menu with half the price, would be better.

Your detailed food descriptions are quite valuable. Awaiting part 3.

"
If I have to rate Akelarre, which doesn't belong to this Paris thread, I'll give it a 3.5/5 muffins. It's by no means a bad note: I still enjoy the lunch there very much, but a half menu with half the price, would be better."

Interesting. A friend of mine ,who took a food focused tour of Spain , did not enjoy
Akelarre at all.

Very nice!

StCirq: those dishes were actually tiny, the amuse-bouches were as big as coat's buttons and the main dishes are smaller than my hand's palm. After I left Tour d'Argent or Le Cinq, I could have easily eaten another cake.>>

the only one of these that we have been to is le cinq, when it had "only" 2 stars, and we were completely stuffed when we left. We took advantage of what was then their €85 lunch menu, which though advertised as 3 courses, was in fact more like 6, and reckoning that this might be a once in a lifetime splurge, had a glass of the house fizz each followed by a bottle of the cheapest house wine which though it was "only"€50 was still pretty good. After champers, amuse bouches, starters as per the menu [oysters prepared 3 different ways I think] another free course, the main course [which I have forgotten!] some free cheese, a dessert platter and chocolates, we rolled back to our hotel in a state of some disorder and went to sleep! The total bill with coffee was €300 odd but as the advert says, the memories are priceless.

AJPeabody and cafegoddess: thank you for liking it^^

danon: there were some dishes in Akelarre that I didn't quite like, so it's a possibility that your friend did not enjoy
the restaurant at all. That's why I only gave it a 3.5/5 note (not a bad note, but not a high one either). Perhaps my menu was so long that I found several dishes I appreciated in it.


annhig: maybe the reason I wasn't stuffed in Le Cinq is because I didn't drink wine or coffee, and didn't take the free cheese (I was too shy to enquire them if the cheese was free or not, so I just said "No").

annhig: maybe the reason I wasn't stuffed in Le Cinq is because I didn't drink wine or coffee, and didn't take the free cheese (I was too shy to enquire them if the cheese was free or not, so I just said "No").>>

lol, FF, are you suggesting we were a tad greedy? you're probably right. But it was a lot of fun.

Thanks for the thread - it's probably the closest I'll get to the other restaurants you are reviewing so I'm keen to read every detail.

Hey FF,

>I was too shy to enquire [of] them if the cheese was free or not, ...

You must work hard to overcome this flaw in your character.

Think of all of the terrific cheese, etc that you have missed due to your shyness.

Work at overcoming it by asking at every resto you visit:

Is ______ free?

((I))
Thanks for your reviews.

I would have had to ask if the cheese was included. At our only starred lunch in Paris, awhile ago, they served the cheese. Three small pieces but very delicious.

FuryFluffy:

Thank you - this is wonderful, and truly appreciated :)

I have eaten in many One-Star Michelin restaurants, and several 2-Star - mostly business dinners, when it was acceptable to do so (not any more).

The only 3-Star I have eaten in was about 15 years ago on my birthday - https://www.ambroisie-paris.com/. It cost about 250 Euros for lunch on Saturday, with wine. It was an experience I will never forget.

My problem in eating in these establishments is that I MUST have wine - it is my genetic heritage that drives it unfortunately, and that generally doubles the bill.


Keep going!

Best regards ... Ger

My problem in eating in these establishments is that I MUST have wine - it is my genetic heritage that drives it unfortunately, and that generally doubles the bill.>>

me too Ger [though I can't blame my genes!] - and it did!

<though I can't blame my genes>

Well, neither can I Ann, it is just an excuse, as it was far away from the lands of the Vine that MY tribe came from :)

I just cannot eat good food without having good wine. And it is always at least doubles the bill. However, in France it is better than London, where it is often MORE than that, for wine of far less quality.

Thank you everybody for your comments.
Fortunately I don't have that wine gene^^
I appreciate a good wine to accompany good food, but I can live without it.

On the other hand, the shyness is in my genetic heritage - have been fighting it for years without results. Again, I can live with it!

Logically, my heritage would dictate that I have a beer gene, but somehow that tanked sideways when I fell in love with France. I mean, you just cannot, cannot drink a Guinness with magret de canard and pommes de terre sarladaises (OK, I get the rich tradition of potatoes in my heritage, so that's all good).

And shyness is not my strong suit. I would have been ALL over the cheese.

Sure, StCirq, one's genes change when one fall in love ^^
I adopted my sweet tooth for that matter.

A very nice write up of both restaurants. I had dinned at LT back in the 80's and at Le Cinq when Legendre was chef and enjoyed both meals. I do like wine with my meals but found that one can find a very nice and inexpensive bottle to go with one's meal by chatting with the sommelier.

Topping

Awaiting Ange 20 review.

Yes, I'm awaiting Ange 20 as well.

Thank-you FF for sharing your great reviews.

Thank you everybody for the waiting and for your compliments. I'll post about Ange20 in the next hours ^^

Part 3: L’Ange 20 and Maison de Victor Hugo

I decided to go to L’Ange 20 after Ger’s Paris Trip Report (thanks Ger). Fortunately the menu has changed from Ger's time, because I'm not a fan of pintade in general...

Photo and review:
https://moveablefeastofamess.wordpre...ange-20-paris/

Text and rating only:

L’Ange 20 proposes a bargain that’s hard to beat in the city center of Paris: A lunch menu, not during weekend, of 19.5 E for Starters + Main dish + Dessert, or 16.5 E for two courses among those three. I chose the latter. If you want to keep the price down at 16.5, there’re only 1 choice for starters of this formula: warm goat cheese with salad, so I didn’t take it and opted for Main dish + Dessert, for which I could choose from the dessert menu, among 7 different kinds of sweets and cheese plate. If you look at the website of L’Ange 20 in english, you won’t see this lunch formula, only “A la carte” menu. The online menu, both english and french, are not really up-to-date either, at least for the day I was there.

The restaurant is a tiny bistrot, with a very typical Parisian look (for what I’ve experienced so far). The decoration is retro and friendly. The kitchen is open and in the room, you can ask to have a table where you see the young chefs cooking. I forgot to ask, and as I was alone, they put me at a small table next to the pillar. Other tables can be a little too close to each other, but that’s expected in a bistrot.

I ordered “une carafe’eau”, which is free tap water (in France it’s free in all restaurants). I thought that I would order wine at the same time I order the meal, but the waiter didn’t ask, so I also forgot about wine.

My main dish is roasted rabbit saddle, with polenta. They took quite a while to deliver it: I was the first customer, and they had plenty of time to prepare the rabbit before the 2nd customer arrived. The 2nd customer ordered his meal, his starter arrived, then I still wait for another 10 mins before my dish arrived. That rabbit was sure too fast to catch. But it was delicious.

The meat was tender and the skin was crunchy, with a just amount of spices. Polenta is usually not something I like (or I haven’t tasted real Italian polenta yet), but serving this polenta with white cheese (ricotta? feta? I don’t remember) and some herbs made it much better. For me the tomato sauce didn’t add much, but it’s not something to criticize either. The best (and fastest) rabbit that I have ever eaten.

For desserts, I chose cheesecake. You can also choose a cheese plate, if you’re still hungry. The best (and smallest) cheesecake that I have ever eaten, but I haven’t eaten much of cheesecake in my life, considering that cheesecake parts in anglo-saxon shops or Starbucks are huge and look really heavy. Not this one. The sablé underneath was yummy, the raspery was fresh (not a frozen one), and the fruity sauce balanced well the fat cheese taste.

Rating: 4/5

Price: 16.5 euros/person, lunch formula

A very satisfying meal, which was abundance enough for an adult. If you happen to need a restaurant lunch, this is the top choice. But its diner menu (for evenings, or during weekend) is not such a bargain: 28 E approximatively for 2 courses, and 37 E for 3 courses, which still is reasonable for the area’s price, but which is bit too much compared to its lunch menu. So, when I travel, I often book lunch in restaurants and eat diner in my room, either self-cooking or supermarket bread+cheese+olive+wine. If you can obtain a good bread, that supermarket meal is nothing less than great.

If you want to eat at L’Ange 20, book ahead by all means. It’s very popular at the moment, and its website has 10 options of language!

L’Ange 20 is right next to Place des Vosges, and the Marais quarter, so you can have an enjoyable ballad nearby, looking at the art galleries, and pop into the Victor Hugo house at the corner. When I was there some weeks ago, there’s a Poem exhibition in the house, and it’s rather intriguing for me: for one and only one poem of Hugo, one not even that long, they exhibit everything they could find relate to that poem. Some paintings inspired by it, some art arrangements from college students. It was a small exhibition, but catchy. I don’t know if it’s still on, I look up on their website, but it’s not on the ongoing exhibitions list, nor in the archive old exhibition list either. If you’re interested by Hugo, if you pass by that house, and if the poem is still on, try not to miss it. The rest of the house is interesting (and rather flamboyant), that's what I wanted to "review" about it though not a restaurant.