L'Arpège

75007 PARIS

Gault&Millau Academy's member

BOOK

5 PHOTOS

Chef Alain Passard

Price Indicative price per person (excl. drinks)

185€ à 520€

Gault&Millau's review

Gault&Millau Academy's member What chef can make your mouth water just by saying the word "leek"? Aurélie, the excellent manager, greedily announces, "We've received the first leeks". Her eyes light up, a garden takes shape in your mind, you open the farmhouse door, the dish arrives. It's beyond what you could have imagined. The plate is made up of leek and pear, the earthy leek that crunches under the tongue, the melting, voluptuous pear, a pear-rhubarb juice that's a little thick like syrup, a beet and cauliflower mousseline... Everything is humble and grandiose, so passardien! For when faced with this treasure of nature, the chef bows down, but goes one step further, bringing out unknown, unprecedented, overwhelming flavors. You may not be a vegetarian, but what Alain Passard does with a leek, a tomato, a turnip or a zucchini is clearly genius, for those who are able to recognize it instead of bleating "well, yes, they're vegetables! "He's also a genius when it comes to cooking, textures and sauces, like the Pinot Peach with celery root and vine peach, another unlikely and moving pairing. Yes, we found Alain Passard at the top of his game once again, and this Académicien's meal with its five gold toques would undoubtedly have merited a 19.5, all the more so as the mallard with beet and bell pepper sauce that followed these prodigies was also a great hunting delight, before the iced profiteroles and the zephyrian rhubarb ice cream verveine puff pastry. Regulars of course love the vegetable sushi, the seasonal ratatouille and the chimera of the moment (chicken duck recently), but it would be almost unseemly to resist the call of the leek. A unique dining room atmosphere, festive and hushed at the same time, in an intimate communion aided by a supportive service. Benedetta, the excellent sommelier, helps you find your way around this cutting-edge cellar: you'll find all the big names in each region, for example, in Burgundy, Coche-Dury, Liger Bel Air or Comte Lafon, but also La Soufrandière, Pataille or Lorenzon in lesser-known appellations (Mercurey, Marsannay...) and wines of various persuasions, from the frankly natural to the great classics.