Monsieur Claude

Rating: 12.5
Author: Gault&Millau

92500 RUEIL-MALMAISON

12.5/20
Gourmet Restaurant

BOOK

Chef: Danny Khezzar
Cooking: French | Traditional
Style: Elegant | Romantic | With friends

Budget (€)

Indicative price per person (excl. drinks)

Gault&Millau's review 2026

Restaurant or space station? Impossible to decide. The elevator propels the customer 14 meters above the ground, and the doors open onto a flamboyant red décor. Everything is choreographed: the pianist in full view, the ballet of waiters in scarlet suspenders, an atmosphere worthy of the old Vegas of the '30s, vintage, stylish, with a whiff of the Roaring Twenties. Monsieur Claude's menu features a unique four-course evening meal for €49. Chic, well-calibrated bistro cuisine, sometimes a little too well-behaved. We'd like to see a bit more madness: a Danny Khezzar-style creative explosion. But there are some interesting highlights. This guacamole-stuffed tomato with granola is regressive, almost a little too ketchup-y, but assertive and gourmet. These snails roasted in parsley butter, spiced up with spring onions and black garlic. And above all, this Jerusalem artichoke velouté, awakened by tonka bean: elegant, clean, delicious. The main courses hold their own: a duck breast cooked at low temperature, escorted by a chimichurri of green beans, precise, with an apricot sauce that's a little too sweet, but works. And a wood-fired pollack, supported by smoked mascarpone and a dash of sake, all in finesse. The desserts are a real showstopper, like a soufflé chocolate tart topped with a kasha siphon that explodes in the mouth, or a strawberry tartelette, baked and caressed with a duo of honey and orange blossom, delicate and successful. On the cellar side, the wine list remains polite, a little too academic, when we were dreaming of winegrowers with plump cheeks and young labels that pop. Fortunately, the cocktails are the perfect counterbalance, inventive and brilliant, with a "Disco Maghreb" as sparkling as it is gourmet. The verdict? For their first address, Danny Khezzar and his team have already hit the nail on the head. It's square, generous and meticulous. A little more gnac and this place will take on another dimension. In the meantime, the collective is to be applauded for its ballet-like room settings, diligent cooking and crazy atmosphere. Vintage, Vegas, Khezzar-style, and still reasonable prices...