Dined here 2 days after Plenitude. Very different yet still amazing. Considered canceling after obtaining the Plenitude res after 3 months on the waitlist.
The hostess was wonderful and spoke perfect English. She immediately knew who I was, being the only solo diner that evening. The atmosphere felt very stuffy with the old fashioned decor and servers being all male with thick French accents. There was one server that was very loud and fairly comical in the way he spoke French, switching his volume between words. That server, Thomas, turned out to be the manager/directer, who was absolutely incredible. His enthusiasm and positive energy really changed the atmosphere and made the experience unforgettable. Thomas ended up taking my order and I immediately told him I wanted the tasting menu and was surprised the Bresse chicken wasn’t on it. He immediately offered to sub the pigeon for the chicken. I also requested to sub the chocolate dessert for the Vanilla.
Amuse- everything was good except for the kouglof which had olives. Not a fan of olives. Favorite was the clam
Bread- heard ppl on this sub rave about the house made bread. I wanted to like it but it sucked. At least it was warm. They gave a loaf on my way out. No one I went to Paris with liked it either.
Red pepper amuse- this was ok. Also had olives
Langostine- amazing. Citrus broth was incredible. Very aromatic, though it was passionfruit. Largest Langostine I’ve seen/eaten
Aspargus and morels- morels were amazing. Super rich and fragrant. “Dirt” was Parmesan crumble. Server rushed everything and didn’t explain the dish. Had to ask Thomas what I was eating.
Candele- a signature dish- I thought it was good not great. Too many rich components in one dish, flavors felt lost. I don’t know if I’ve been eating overcooked pasta my whole life but the pasta felt tougher than Al dente. Maybe it dried out from browning the Parmesan.
Bresse chicken- made the mistake of ordering chicken at a restaurant. it was good chicken with great presentation but not amazing. I hyped myself up on trying what is claim to be the best chicken in the world. We actually bought a Bresse chicken at a butcher and made chicken and rice a couple days prior. It was definitely good quality chicken and better than what is available in the US. I still wanted to try it how a Michelin restaurant would prepare it. It was poached with wine in the bladder for 4 hours. The white meat was served with asparagus and morels. They weren’t as rich and flavorful as the previous. The difference in the white meat was more textural. The dark meat was much better with the crispy skin. Way more flavorful. As I was eating the chicken, I overheard Thomas explain to the table next to me that the pigeon was prepared similar to Peking duck with crispy skin. I should have stuck with the pigeon
Cheese cart- the server did not describe any of the cheeses. Only asked what types of cheese I liked. Didn’t offer any of the extras either. Plenitude described every single cheese in their cellar
Strawberry- super creative, very good strawberries, very good dessert. Plenitudes was better. More strawberry flavor
Chocolate from equator- as soon as the server brought it out I told him I had asked Thomas to sub the dessert. Thomas came over and told me that it’s not a mistake. He did not want me to dine at Epicure without trying the chocolate dessert. It was good, def perfect for a chocolate lover. I still wonder if it was a mistake. They sent out 2 spoons of the palette cleanser so maybe he did want me to try it. The server sucked and didn’t tell me to try it before the chocolate dessert. I ended up eating both before the vanilla.
Vanilla from Madagascar – my favorite dessert in Paris prior to Epicure was cedric grolets vanilla bean that looks like a huge turd. The vanilla here topped it. The brown vanilla ice cream was flavored with only vanilla, no chocolate or caramel. The vanilla flavor was instense throughout. Absolutely incredible.
Chocolates and macs were standard.
Meal was incredible overall. I was absolutely stuffed and had to take a breather before getting the check. I honestly thought the servers kinda sucked. They were very bad at explaining the dishes. The majority female servers at Plenitude explained every single dish thoroughly, only issue was the long list of ingredients and components. They even sucked at serving and carving the Bresse chicken. Thomas was an absolute pro. He was able to remove the legs with 1 slice and twist while talking to guests while other servers had to concentrate on sawing the chicken. Thomas was also the only one that would explain the dishes clearly and serve at the same time while the other servers would plate the dish then list the ingredients/components. At the end of the end meal, I asked Thomas about their 24 month Comte which I thought was incredible. He ended up giving me a mini seminar on cheese and recommend a cheese shop. I was able to pick up the same Comte and some of the best butter I’ve ever tasted (1st place goes to Lazy Bear, San Fransisco).
1 Comment
Dined here 2 days after Plenitude. Very different yet still amazing. Considered canceling after obtaining the Plenitude res after 3 months on the waitlist.
The hostess was wonderful and spoke perfect English. She immediately knew who I was, being the only solo diner that evening. The atmosphere felt very stuffy with the old fashioned decor and servers being all male with thick French accents. There was one server that was very loud and fairly comical in the way he spoke French, switching his volume between words. That server, Thomas, turned out to be the manager/directer, who was absolutely incredible. His enthusiasm and positive energy really changed the atmosphere and made the experience unforgettable. Thomas ended up taking my order and I immediately told him I wanted the tasting menu and was surprised the Bresse chicken wasn’t on it. He immediately offered to sub the pigeon for the chicken. I also requested to sub the chocolate dessert for the Vanilla.
Amuse- everything was good except for the kouglof which had olives. Not a fan of olives. Favorite was the clam
Bread- heard ppl on this sub rave about the house made bread. I wanted to like it but it sucked. At least it was warm. They gave a loaf on my way out. No one I went to Paris with liked it either.
Red pepper amuse- this was ok. Also had olives
Langostine- amazing. Citrus broth was incredible. Very aromatic, though it was passionfruit. Largest Langostine I’ve seen/eaten
Aspargus and morels- morels were amazing. Super rich and fragrant. “Dirt” was Parmesan crumble. Server rushed everything and didn’t explain the dish. Had to ask Thomas what I was eating.
Candele- a signature dish- I thought it was good not great. Too many rich components in one dish, flavors felt lost. I don’t know if I’ve been eating overcooked pasta my whole life but the pasta felt tougher than Al dente. Maybe it dried out from browning the Parmesan.
Bresse chicken- made the mistake of ordering chicken at a restaurant. it was good chicken with great presentation but not amazing. I hyped myself up on trying what is claim to be the best chicken in the world. We actually bought a Bresse chicken at a butcher and made chicken and rice a couple days prior. It was definitely good quality chicken and better than what is available in the US. I still wanted to try it how a Michelin restaurant would prepare it. It was poached with wine in the bladder for 4 hours. The white meat was served with asparagus and morels. They weren’t as rich and flavorful as the previous. The difference in the white meat was more textural. The dark meat was much better with the crispy skin. Way more flavorful. As I was eating the chicken, I overheard Thomas explain to the table next to me that the pigeon was prepared similar to Peking duck with crispy skin. I should have stuck with the pigeon
Cheese cart- the server did not describe any of the cheeses. Only asked what types of cheese I liked. Didn’t offer any of the extras either. Plenitude described every single cheese in their cellar
Strawberry- super creative, very good strawberries, very good dessert. Plenitudes was better. More strawberry flavor
Chocolate from equator- as soon as the server brought it out I told him I had asked Thomas to sub the dessert. Thomas came over and told me that it’s not a mistake. He did not want me to dine at Epicure without trying the chocolate dessert. It was good, def perfect for a chocolate lover. I still wonder if it was a mistake. They sent out 2 spoons of the palette cleanser so maybe he did want me to try it. The server sucked and didn’t tell me to try it before the chocolate dessert. I ended up eating both before the vanilla.
Vanilla from Madagascar – my favorite dessert in Paris prior to Epicure was cedric grolets vanilla bean that looks like a huge turd. The vanilla here topped it. The brown vanilla ice cream was flavored with only vanilla, no chocolate or caramel. The vanilla flavor was instense throughout. Absolutely incredible.
Chocolates and macs were standard.
Meal was incredible overall. I was absolutely stuffed and had to take a breather before getting the check. I honestly thought the servers kinda sucked. They were very bad at explaining the dishes. The majority female servers at Plenitude explained every single dish thoroughly, only issue was the long list of ingredients and components. They even sucked at serving and carving the Bresse chicken. Thomas was an absolute pro. He was able to remove the legs with 1 slice and twist while talking to guests while other servers had to concentrate on sawing the chicken. Thomas was also the only one that would explain the dishes clearly and serve at the same time while the other servers would plate the dish then list the ingredients/components. At the end of the end meal, I asked Thomas about their 24 month Comte which I thought was incredible. He ended up giving me a mini seminar on cheese and recommend a cheese shop. I was able to pick up the same Comte and some of the best butter I’ve ever tasted (1st place goes to Lazy Bear, San Fransisco).
3 stars to Thomas.