Le Bristol is one of the most prestigious address in Paris. Situated on aristocratic Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, it is home to 4 Michelin stars, with one from their brasserie 114 Faubourg and three from their gastronomic restaurant Epicure. Executive chef Eric Frechon has been around helming Epicure's kitchen since 1999 and quickly guided the restaurant to its two-star status in 2001. The elusive third star came in 2009. Frechon is a celebrated and well-respected chef in the Parisian dining scene having worked at high-end fine dining restaurants like Taillevent and Le Tour d'Argent. Under the direction of Chef Frechon, not only did Epicure capture their three stars, they were consistently recognized internationally including a place in the World's Best 50 Restaurants (#96 best in the world in 2017) and La Liste.
Enough about the background information on Epicure. Time to put the spotlight back on the birthday boy!
Before we started looking at the menu, we were offered a trio of small nibbles. There was a small cup of delicious sweet corn espuma, delicately paired with coffee powder and pistachio. Equally enjoyable was a puff filled with foie gras and smoked eel, and coated with raspberry and lastly, a salmon tart wrapped with some crunchy root vegetable along with parsley. The amuse bouche was accompanied by a savory chorizo, bacon and olive Kugelhopf, which I never got the chance to take picture of, before it was all swallowed up by my teammates.
At this point, we still haven't figured out what to eat. I had a quick look at the set lunch menu which looked seriously good. Most important of all, the price was not going to burn a hole in my wallet.
After ordering for each of us, things finally got underway. We were first presented with some homemade country bread.
It was followed by a further amuse bouche, the chef's clever play on the classic French onion soup.
It came with Comté cheese foam and shredded onion on top of a thin layer of beef consommé jelly.
Sea Scallop - Most of us had the sea scallop as starter. The large piece of scallop, steamed with seaweed, was served with softened butter and aromatic shellfish juice (poured in by our server before our eyes). To keep the sea theme going, they had small clams and cockles scattered around the steamed scallops with salicornia providing some nice garnish to the dish. Very creamy and delicious.
Large Langoustines - I decided to dip into their a la carte menu myself and this was a real gem. Each of the three large langoustines were lightly cooked with lemon-thyme, and beautifully decorated with onion-mango condiments and edible flowers.
The langoustines were served in a light, buttery broth made with the claws, citrus fruit and coriander. A really spectacular and elegant dish with a beautiful synergy of sweet and fruity flavors, the onion-mango combo balancing the dish perfectly, and the broth giving it a sublime, rounded finish.
Farm Raised Pig - I didn't expect to see a nose-to-tail dish at Epicure but this wasn't bad. Apart from a tender piece of pork belly, there were a crispy sausage, a crunchy pig's nose and what looks like a dome-shaped parfait which was wrapped with cabbage. This was served with "Marennes Oléron" oysters which have been mixed with mashed ratte potatoes and salted butter.
Young Pigeon - Another dish from the a la carte menu featured this young pigeon from Landes, which has been roasted and glazed with orange honey.
It was a truly glorious dish with the meltingly-tender pigeon breast as the center piece, beautifully surrounded by caramelized onion, thighs black pudding and baked apple purée, and finished with roasted juice.
Pre-dessert was a refreshing yoghurt sorbet with blueberry jelly.
This came with a candle and a few words of blessing from the kitchen for the birthday day boy. You can tell he's loving it~!
Time to blow the candle!
Green Apple - We all decided on having a different dessert. The first to come (land on the table) was our Granny smith themed dessert with variations of green apple (diced, jelly and sorbet), topped with meringues and Greek yoghurt foam, and finished with candied fennel with spices and fresh herbs and hibiscus juice. I thought this would be fairly acidic but the lovely sweet and sour notes from the green apple turned out to be a beautiful match with the nice acidity from the yoghurt and hibiscus juice.
Mille Feuille - Everyone loves deconstructive desserts and mom was no exception (though she was expecting a traditional mille feuille to begin with). Here the puff pastries were not stacked up together. Instead, they were arranged randomly with apple, quince and celeriac, which have been candied with cinnamon, along with triple cream with apple vinegar caramel and quince sorbet. A (slightly) different interpretation of mille feuille from what mom was expecting and without her favorite custard cream!
Cocoa Beans, "Guatemalan Origin" - I wanted something exotic and this was exactly what I was hoping for, a strong flavored dessert with ingredients like cocoa nibs nuggets caramelized with sea salt, smoked milk foam with vanilla and cocoa nibs ice-cream. While the flavors were rich (and strong), it was relatively light and creamy. A perfect wrap for a classy and exquisite meal.
Before our petite fours, we had our bloops of mandarin flavored water prepared with spherification.
Then our highly anticipated petite fours with the magic box coming fast and furious.
My little nugget was curious of what was hiding inside the box. I told him "goodies"!
He was so delighted with his "all-you-can-eat" macarons.
For me, just three pieces of macarons (caramel, coconut and pistachio) and a small chocolate. Is this chocolate handmade I wonder?
This coconut macaron was sooooo gooood!
This is haute cuisine at the highest level. Cutting edge flavors, creative and interesting combinations of ingredients, and you cannot achieve that level without the innovative and precise cooking. Of course, as good as the top-quality cuisine, the gastronomical experience won't be the same without their top-notch service. It's why I picked Epicure in the first place.
Food Rating: 10/10
Price: €€€€
Address: 112 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, France
Closest Metro Station: Saint-Philippe du Roule / Miromesnil
Tel: +33 (0)1 5343-4340
Website: www.oetkercollection.com/hotels/le-bristol-paris/restaurants-bar/restaurants/epicure/
S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants: 117th (2019)
Excellent post and review. Glad to know that Epicure would welcome a (very) young child - do you know any other multi-star restaurants in Paris that would not mind having children dining there?
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