FAQ. “What is the best restaurant in Paris?”

Wow, what a question.  And recently Francois Simon put it to himself and attempted to answer it in his Croque-Notes column of October 22^nd in Le Figaro. 

If one goes to the guidebooks, 

the Michelin’s list would be comprised of Ducasse, Bristol, Ledoyen, le Meurice & le Pre Catalan

G/M’s - Carre des Feuillants, Grand Vefour, l’Espadon, Apicius, Bistrol, Le Cinq, Ledoyen, Taillevent, Grande Cascade, Pre Catalan & Rostang 

Zagat’s - Taillevent, Le Cinq, Savoy, l’Astrance, Gagnaire, Ambrosie, Ducasse, Robuchon, Grand Vefour & Les Ambassadeurs

Lebey’s – l’Arpege, Ducasse & Le Cinq 

Pudlo’s – Le Meurice, Ducasse, Bristol, Taillevent 

Conclusion: Slam dunk for Ducasse, eh? 

Ah, not so fast.

But because of my intolerance for outrageous prices, family price-point and the demographic of my readers, I couldn’t disagree more.  (Let me state that I’ve eaten at all the above, at one point or another, so it’s not just sour grapes due to their habit of exploding my purse, because even when my buddies from the Oil Exporting countries treat me, these places don’t make the mark). 

So it will surprise you, perhaps, that Simon’s headline of his piece was, (my translation) "Le Baratin: Best restaurant in Paris?" 

And it will probably not surprise you that while I think Le Baratin is a fine place, when a dear French friend asked me yesterday “What’s your favorite place now, John”, none of the ones named above figured in my confidential answer to him, which I will share with you - pledging you to secrecy. 

I said “Well, for us (Colette is part of the equation, after all) our list would be something like this”: 

Ze Kitchen Galerie - most exciting, different and pleasant to return to. 

Spring – most inventive, consistently good, most French and most interactive with the clients. 

Le Repaire de Cartouche, Le Bistro Paul Bert – most “old shoe” into which to slip your foot. 

L’Ecallier de Bistrot, Atao – most seaworthy. 

L’Antre Amis, Le Casse Noix, Le Clarisse, Les Coulisses, Le Galopin, l’Hedonste, Septime - most newly entertaining. 

Kei, Qui Plume La Lune, Sola, Sot l’y Laisse - most revelatory how Japanese chefs can blow the roof off French food. 

So there you have it, loyal readers, another contrarian view.

Comments

[Zhao WU]

Hey, John, thanks for sharing your selection, I visited sola after reading your reviews, it is now one of my "coups de coeur".

As for the gastronomy addresses mentioned above (ambroisie, guy savoy, epicure,etc....), I think they serve good food as well, but service and ambience certainly explain the price differences. Although I consider that the service in those restaurants quite worth the price, apparently I won't pay that much money only for services everyday. Thus, for me, bistro or casual place that serve delicious food as well as the gastronomy dinning experiences, depends on my mood and occasion.

[Zhao WU]

Additionally,prompted by my constant passion for food, I begin my blog from November. As a loyal reader of your blog, I would more than willingly to share with you my experiences and opinions, and I would appreciate if you can give me some advices on writing and some ideas about next dining adventure:)

http://calypsoailleur.com/

[S Lloyd]

Paris is gifted, so gifted that Parisians can afford being picky. To me L'Ambroisie is the best (but based on just 1 visit...), L'Arpege the 2nd best (based on 3 visits). Bristol (2 visits), Ledoyen (1 visit), Pre catalan (3 visits) and Le Meurice (3 visits) would be at the end of my list of Paris very top...and yet, those would be stunning compared to many highly regarded restaurants around the world. Just goes to confirm how pampered Parisians are.