Which Michelin Star restaurant?
 

Ok last restaurant question I promise. My husband wants to eat at a restaurant with some stars. I'm perfectly contented with the typical 30 euro meal at a bistro, but hubby is curious to see if stars mean anything.n. Can you recommend such restaurants that we might try for lunch and which you all think are worth the stars. I've read good things about Auberge de L'ille.

Where in France will you be traveling? And are you talking about 1*, 2*, or 3* restaurants?

Yes, stars do mean something. One-star restaurants have exceptionally good food and are pleasant places to eat, often featuring regional cuisine. At a two-star the menu is broader and the setting and food presentations more elaborate. A three-star restaurant offers the finest cuisine and service.

In general, we prefer the one-star restaurants because the food and the ambience are very good without being rarefied.

In Paris, Guy Savoy gets many high recommendations. It's a 3*. Taillevent, another 3*, also has many fans.

Outside of Paris, the 2* Boyer Les Crayères continues to draw raves; it's in Reims. In Burgundy the 3* Georges Blanc is wonderful.

There are so many....

Lenora,
If you need further convincing about l'Auberge, type in illhaeusern on the Euro forum.
M

We'll be in Paris for a week starting day after tomorrow! Aug. 11-19. I'd be interested in 1-2 star restaurants.

If you are eating lunch you might find that the fixed price offerings at the Michelin 3 stars are not that much more expensive than the 1 or 2 stars.
Check the latest Michelin guide for prices and specialties of the house. Would consider Lucas Carton, Grand Vefour, Le Cinq, Pierre Gagnaire and Taillevent for 3 stars. Carre des Feuillants, Bristol, and Jamin for 2 stars. Jules Verne, Helene Darroze, and Au trou Gascon for 1 stars.

I recommend Pre Catalan in the Bois de Boulogne just outside Paris. The closest metro stop is Porte Maillot but you will probably find it more convenient to take a taxi back and forth.

I think it had 2 stars the last time I checked, but that could have changed. Great place no matter how many stars. They have a fixed price lunch during the week which could save you some money if you go then.

There's always the 2* Jules Verne--good food with a view, but you have to reserve fairly far in advance, although lunch is easier to schedule.

Under the category of "can't recommend" I would avoid Jacques Cagnas - despite the fact it was my first ever Michelin starred experience and it was wonderful (then) a recent meal was quite disappointing and not "worth a detour" (as the 2 stars promise)

Just a minor comment -- I think that Jules Verne has one *.

I had lunch at Le Cinq (which is the restaurant at George V). I thought that it was fine. I think that it was about 300 Euros for 2 with a glass of wine and champagne each. But honestly I'm not sure if it was worth the 300 Euros. The chef (Legendre) was ex-chef at Taillevent. That's extent of my Michelin experience.

I was looking at my Michelin Red Guide and Meurice gets a good review (it's the restaurant at the hotel with the same name). It's a one *. Can't recall if that's been recommended here. Hiramatsu also sounds very interesting (also one *).

Oh, I just reread part of the thread. Maybe you're gone already? Aug. 11 - 19? A lot of these restaurants are closed anyway. Le Cinq should be open, I think, because it's in a hotel. The Red Guide will list restaurants open in August.

To make your decision a little easier, you will *not* be able to get a reservation at the following restaurants because they'll be closed during your trip (according to the 2004 Michelin red guide and apologies in advance for any typos or mistakes in number of stars):
1 star: Au Pressoir, Au Trou Gascon, Montparnasse 25, Relais de Sevres, Le Duc, Chiberta, Copenhague, L'Angle du Faubourg, Pergolese, Table de Baltimore, Les Muses, Luna, La Maree, Drouant, Benoit, Celadon, Petrossian, Jacques Cagna, Vin sur Vin, Bellecour, Petrossian, Chamarre
2 star: Carre des Feuillants, Relais Louis XIII, Lasserre, Jamin, Le Divillac, Relais d'Auteuil (our favorite), Tour d'Argent, Apicius,
3 star: Le Grand Vefour, Guy Savoy, L'Ambroisie, Ledoyen, Alain Ducasse, Taillevent, Lucas Carton

Elizabeth, my 2004 guide gives Jacques Cagna only 1 star, not two. Did it have two when you were there?

I think Jacques Cagna got demoted in the 2004 Michelin guide.

Does it HAVE to be a starred restaurant? I think you would have a great time and a fine meal at Au Petit Marguery, a restaurant that always bubbles with contented clients having a good time.

I was looking at BT's list again, and L'Arpege is not on it. Does this mean that it's open in August?

I've read a lot of good things about it. It has 3 stars, but it's vegetarian. I just can't see myself spending a couple of hundred on a vegetarian meal, but it could be interesting. Has someone actually been there?

How about a romantic dinner in the garden courtyard of the Royal Monceau Hotel?

Hi 1110P, yes I believe Arpege is open (weekdays only).

Sorry, RonZ, the two restaurants in Royal Monceau (le Jardin and Carpaccio) are also closed :-(
Re Arpege, I think it still carries non-vegetarian dishes. I remember an interview with the chef saying he wants to keep seafood on the menu and also maybe a chicken dish.

Thanks BT. I was curious and started looking at the menu online, then realized that L'Arpege was not really vegetarian. Started a Google search which led me to this old thread here:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...name=richarddd

I ate at Helene Darozze in Feb. 2003. It actually has 2 stars now. The food was excellent, the service was spotty. So was my chair! Spotty, or stained, that is.

One of my good friends had the good fortune to cook as an apprentice at L'Arpege a few years ago. She highly recommended it, then, and it was only a 1 star at that time.

L'Arpege seems like a *really* expensive restaurant -- I find it interesting that the menu online doesn't list any prices.

By the way, 1110P, go to www.xpats.com and check out the answers to the question of the week, Is Belgium a good place to invest in property? There's a lot of rubbish in the answers (there is ALWAYS a lot of rubbish in the xpats.com polls), but you might enjoy seeing them anyway.
Sorry everybody else for going OT!!

Hey, thanks! Which reminds me -- did you ever resend the e-mail? I don't think that I ever got it. Maybe you've some words of wisdom there I should read. :-) No big deal of course. I'll check out the link you gave.

I don't know when I'll get to go to Brussels again though. But well, it's just a couple of hours away. :-) I'll be in Paris for a long weekend (arrive Sept. 4 and leave Sept. 6).

I will have to check if I resent it...I think it was on my todo list before our vacation, but...
Re Arpege prices, the full prix fixe meal with all the bells and whistles would be about 300 euro per person; going a la carte would be 170 to 230 euro. Wine extra. I guess Arpege falls into the "if you have to ask..." category

It's scary....

I did enjoy this person's description of a meal at L'Arpege (bill ended up being 379 euros for lunch for one).

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...631625072.html

Looks like a skip for me for now. :-)

I do find this thing of menus not having prices interesting. I've never seen this happen before I ate at Le Cinq. And the funny thing there was that my companion had the menu with prices (mine had no prices), but I was actually the one who would be paying. An interesting experience.

Dear 1110p: I now understand why your lunch for two cost E300 as you had the menu without prices. We ate off the fixed price menu and with a glass of Champagne, Salon Rose I believe, and a bottle of white burgundy plus coffee and the three courses for less than E200/2. Some of the entrees off the menu were rather pricey as I recall.

> the funny thing there was that my companion had the menu with prices (mine had no prices),

1110P, are you a lady and was your companion a gentleman?

Hi mjs, I think that we ordered the menu as well -- but I think that it was 90 Euros (?). Perhaps some of the dishes we ordered had a supplement. I don't know for sure. They added a service charge to the bill, I think, if I recall. It was in January of this year. Anyway, at one point I think that I kept the bill as a souvenir, as it's probably the most expensive meal I've eaten and paid (apart from a meal at Daniel in NYC, which was close, but at least in that case I paid for just myself). If I still have the bill somewhere I'll take a look.

Kappa, we're both guys. I was staying with my friend in Paris and I took him out to eat. Perhaps he looked more distinguished or something -- but obviously he spoke French. Maybe that's why they gave him the menu with the prices. It was a rather quaint touch, I suppose -- but they must do this at the starred restaurants. I found it amusing. They also had menus in several languages, I think. (Anyway, my memory of this whole experience is understandably vague. I'm probably still recovering from the price tag. :-) )

By the way, we picked Le Cinq because the schedule dictated it -- I could only do this on a Sunday, and a lot of the starred restaurants are not open. Also I figured that it was a good deal. I took a look at the 2004 guide at Barnes and Noble last night and I think that their prices have gone up -- now the menu is 120 for lunch, I think.

Hi 111op, usually that happens to couples. They give the gentleman la carte with prices and the lady without (because the men are supposed to pay always or something, you know the old fashioned way.)In your case i don't know, maybe they just made a mistake.

Well, obviously they had no idea that I was going to pay -- so I don't fault them for it or anything. I just found it very amusing. I did tell my friend that he had to order as cheaply as possible. :-)

The flower arrangements were pretty nice though, I remember. Nothing fancy -- it was all pretty simple.

After several experiences where my husband received a menu with prices and I received one without (even though I was probably paying), I was amused by Restaurant Gordon Ramsay's version. There, we were asked who would be "hosting" the evening - and later worked out that this was code for who would be paying, and should therefore receive the priced menu. We were initially nonplussed, though, so the waiter then decided to do it the traditional way.

That's a nice (if a bit quaint as well touch -- thanks for the story, caroline!

Was Gordon Ramsay good?

Thanks 111op ! Yes, it was quite an experience - you can read my write-up on it, if you'd like to, at http://www.discoverthetaste.com/reviews/index.html

Just took a quick look, thanks for sharing!

Thought the thing about not detecting much difference between * and *** amusing.