Le Gabriel is the signature restaurant in La Réserve Paris Hotel under the direction of chef Jérôme Banctel.  He invites guests to take a culinary journey with him without leaving Paris, through 3 different tasting menus.   The “Escale” is a 4 course menu that is only offered at lunch, while “Virée” and “Périple” are offered as 7 or 9-course menus at dinner.  The only supplement was the addition of a cheese course and 2 levels of wine pairings were available.  La Réserve was once a private mansion built in 1854 for Napoleon III’s half brother.  The restaurant opened in 2015 quickly earned 2 stars and in 2024 it was elevated to a 3 Michelin star rating.  At the hotel door the staff will lead you through the bar and other dining rooms to the small room with just 9 well spaced white cloth covered tables.  The elegant room has an elaborate ceiling and windows to the outside along 2 walls.  The stuffed chairs all come equipped with a slide out purse holder that is hidden in the seat of the chair.  The staff were friendly, efficient and helpful while keeping the meal at a comfortable pace.  I was excited to see that Gaëtan Lacoste from Le Clarence had joined the team as Chef Sommelier.

Set-Up

 

Food – “Périple” 9 course menu

Several amuse bouche started the menu.  Puff potatoes were dusted with powder.  These were amazingly thin and tasty.  Crab with wasabi was in a fried ball presented in a crab shell.  It tasted strongly of crab.  Oysters with lime, jelly of oyster water and hazelnuts were in the oyster shell.  The nuts were an interesting touch and one I liked.  The small tart was filled with pork and topped with caviar.  The crust was thin and crisp.  The caviar easily took over the pork as the dominant flavor.

 

 

Signature vegetables in limestone was a sand carrot made in the chef’s special cooking technique.  A sauce made from carrots and fermented ginger was on the side.  The carrot was hollowed and stuffed with mashed carrot.  On the side was a puffy brioche topped with crisp crumbs.  It was lovely with the delicious carrot and sauce.

 

The other vegetable was artichoke heart with sakura vinegar.  Caramelized wedges of the heart were between rounds of purée.  The wedges were topped with fried artichoke leaves and sauced with the vinegar.  It gave a tart accent to the lovely artichoke flavor.  It was great.

 

A round loaf of brown bread was served warm with a softened butter.  The bread had a very crisp crust and the interior had lots of good air holes.  It was quite nice.

 

Green asparagus was with seagrass and lemon condiment.  The tip of the spear was with an asparagus sauce next to a number of herbs mixed with raw aspagus with miso and yuzu seasonings.  It was a wonderful plate where the sauces truly enhanced the ingredients.

 

Salmon brushed with miso sauce was with celery sauced with curry.  The salmon was barely cooked and silky smooth on the tongue.  It was on a bed of greens from radish and mustard with some other leaves I didn’t recognize the names of.  The celery root was standing in a delicious rich curry sauce.  Nice plate.

 

Roasted langoustine was with fennel and a creamy sauce.  The langoustine was roasted in butter and topped with fennel and grapefruit in a sauce made with langoustine.  It was perfectly cooked and the vegetables made good enhancements.

 

Whiting fish was plated with razor clams, peas and morels.  The fish had been aged a couple days to firm the flesh and then was perfectly cooked.   With it were tender peas and morels that made a wonderful combination of flavors.  The clams were cut into a small dice and blended in nicely.   A miso sauce bound it all together into a very good dish.

 

Squid tagliatelle was in duck juice and topped with Kristal caviar.  The squid strips were poached in duck fat and duck juice then mixed with squid ink for a sauce.  This is one of chef’s signature dishes and the squid was just like a slightly chewy thicker pasta.  The dish was rich and good but had a nice balance to the flavors.

 

Pigeon from Louvigné was plated with fermented turnip and sauced with Apicius spices.  The bird was roasted on the bone with the heart and liver melded into the raviolo in broth on the side.  The turnip was candied with good flavor.  The perfectly cooked bird excelled in the rich, sticky sauce.

 

A palate cleanser was a sorbet of lime and ginger.  Quite nice, tart and herby – very refreshing.

 

The first dessert was a Vanilla pod from Tahiti, miso ice cream, and grilled vanilla souffle.  The souffle rice pudding was the best of the grouping. The miso ice cream also included chocolate cream and a gluten free biscuit.  The vanilla cream included Bailey’s  and was not to my taste.

 

The next desserts contained Confit mango, spicy sorbet, and peanut light cream.  These were made with Asian mango for a stronger flavor and the foam contained the peanuts. A second bowl held the extra cream that was topped with sugar and was cool and smooth but also topped with crumble of peanuts and crisp sugar.  This added texture but none too strong to dominate.  With a hint of spice this was a good array of sweet flavors

 

A parting gift was a bag of cookies containing chocolate and buckwheat.