Perhaps we were spoiled by the previous day's lunch at L'Epicure, but I'm sad to say that Guy Savoy did not meet my expectations. I fear this was due to our choice of the abbreviated lunch tasting rather than the grand experience, but at the price I still expect to be impressed (albeit with fewer dishes). The a la carte menu presented very few of the dishes described online, and was a big disappointment with the exception of the phenomenal desserts.
The experience started off well, with the beautiful entrance into the Monnaie de Paris. The museum is currently hosting a special exhibition by Subodh Gupta, who creates art that is provocatively appropriate next to such a shrine to cuisine -- he constructs enormous art out of the gleaming stainless steel cooking implements of everyday Indian life. The "Dada Tree" greets you in the courtyard, a towering Banyan of tiffins and spatulas, and the room-filling skull of "Very Hungry God" sits directly across from the restaurant.
Chef Savoy greeted us personally as we arrived; a nice man and I appreciate his presence supervising his flagship restaurant. He was about the dining room through the entire afternoon checking in with regular guests (or perhaps guests with stronger language skills than mine; I do not feel slighted in the least).
We had selected the "Menu Digital," an online-only booking offer of a three-course menu (starter, main, dessert) of the diner's selection from, I assumed, the full a la carte menu. I was surprised to find that the menu we received overlapped only slightly with the stunning menu pictured on the recently revamped website, and the most attractive dishes were not listed. Pictured dishes such as the skate wing with caviar, red mullet swimming in the sea, and most of the meat and offal dishes were simply not present. I appreciate seasonality and attention to the freshest ingredients, but the listed alternatives did not seem equivalent, and I question if other diners were presented the same menu.
Unable to immediately decide, we were offered a four-course menu for the table at the same price -- I generally appreciate being offered what is most fresh or best, so we agreed. We started with the artichoke soup with black truffle, which was accompanied by a freshly buttered laminated pastry "brioche". This was a delightful dish (even if not so artful as the others).
Next was the salmon "frozen" on ice with consommé. This was "prepared" table-side in a playful way with the fresh salmon "seared" on dry ice, but was also not particularly artful nor notable. The third course was a chicken dish not noted on the menu which was also pleasant but not memorable.
Dessert was the "variations on strawberry with iced white tea," which was one of the most outstanding pastry dishes I have ever had! This dish (pictured online) arrived exactly as shown and had layer upon layer of perfectly coordinated flavors. This dish represented what I had expected of the entire meal. Following this was a trolley of additional pleasant desserts should one need more to eat.
Finally, the espresso cup (see photos) deserves special mention as it concealed a small biscuit underneath. This carried on the surprise of the excellent dessert courses.
It goes without saying that the service was uniformly attentive and without fault. Wines by the glass were acceptable. The full wine list contained a huge list of absurd prestigious wines at outrageous expense that I expect to be undrinkable (many 1930's Bordeaux, for example), but I suppose they might attract the odd oligarch from time to time.
I suspect that the full set menu (at a stunning €415) delivers, but the shorter lunch menu (still €130) felt like it only included the less expensive or faster dishes rather than a representation of what Chef Savoy can do. That's a shame; other three-star restaurants treat all their diners better. read more