This was our third visit to Chef Alain Passard’s 3 star Michelin restaurant that emphasizes vegetables and is a delight for the tastebuds. Chef is in the kitchen actually overseeing what diners are served but later in the meal will be out working the room and visiting with all the guests. He truly seems to enjoy his work. It is a medium sized place with light wood and beautiful glass sculptures on the walls. They offer 3 tasting menus and an a la carte option.
interior
great glassworkstable set uppurse stool
table card
inside card
We went at lunch and got the surprise lunch tasting for 140 euros, which is a deal considering the price of their other tasting options. You can customize for allergies but basically it is whatever Passard wants to send out and it was a true bargain for this type of restaurant. It was an amazing amount of food and great tastes, textures and colors. A few were mild but many were flavor explosions that left you wanting more. They don’t give you a printed menu of what they served you at the end so not all descriptions are complete but give you a good idea. I added comments to the descriptions since there were so many courses.
menu coversurprise tasting menua la carte menuanother tasting menu3rd tasting menupastry with squash and turnip – amazing!Turns out Frankie loves vegetablesAmuse bouche: Vegetable tartlets including parsley and carotsbreadbutterwinebeet sushi with fig oil – delicious!egg hot and cold with sherrry cream and maple syrupcelery root puree with red cabbage and hazelnut leaf oil – creamy with a wonderfully strong hazelnut tastecelery broth with radish, cabbage and celery ravioliFrankie liked the vegetablescabbage stuffed with cabbage and parmeasean cream – good but not mind blowinginsidelobster with sweet and sour sauce and their own honey – really nice, cooked perfectly with a good variety of tastesParsnip velute with speck ham cream – great combo, not as rich as it looks but amazing. Nice mix of hot and cold.Scallop and snail butter – cooked perfectly with nice chew, a little tart and citrus tastingRaw scallop, couple kinds of radish, geranium oil – radish added a nice spicinesspotato with foie gras and “everything – the whole farm” with meat juice. Potato cut thin and buttered then rolled. Amazing!!!Frankie checks out the insideEndive in pastry. Sauce is coral. Endive is a tad bitter but with the sauce it’s a perfect contrast in texture and taste.nice waiterBlack olive from Greece with walnuts and mashed potatoes. Not as buttery as French mashed potatoes but that made it a perfect blend with the olive taste with walnuts for crunch and texture. Very nicefish passed aroundCelery root and mushroom like girolle, truffle and hazelnutTurnip and rhubarb – rhubarb made a sweet sauce for these tiny turnips – very nicewinecod fish, squash gnocchi, rutabega puree and turnipchicken being shown around the roomChicken with liver sauce, bread with bone marrow, mushrooms and Jeruselum artichoke puree – rich and fun!Apple tart with caramel – YUM!Extra treatsFrankie thought the treats looked goodCharles and chef Alain PassardplatesSabyon with star anise and chocolate – WOW! Rich, creamy with hint of anise and a delightful color