Épicure – Le Bristol @ Paris

In the gastronomy capital of the Western world, getting a three star Michelin recognition is something extraordinary. And this holiday with Princess, we intend to go to as many extraordinary meals as our appetite (and wallet) can handle.

Le Bristol is a world of absolute luxury, from its suites to its spa, from the superb formal garden to the rooftop pool and the dining area with Louis XVI furnishings, mirrors, and tall French windows opening onto the greenery outside.

This palatial hotel has chosen to name its three-star Michelin restaurant Épicure¹ after Epicurus, the Greek philosopher who believed in pleasure in temperance, a motto that suits this top-flight cuisine, sometimes tinged with classicism.

We came 30 minutes too early and proceeded to the hotel bar for a pre-dinner drink (or two), and we were promptly fed with beautifully salted greens olives, and an occasional hor d’ouvres.

Before we got too full from the delectable small bites, our table was ready and we proceeded to dinner in the main dining room. Epicure’s dining room has that heightened sense of extravagance particular to top end Parisian restaurants and better suited for a special occasions.

A new story is being written at Le Bristol Paris. After 25 years at the house, Eric Fréchon has handed over the reins to Arnaud Faye, former chef at La Chèvre d’Or in Eze, who will present his first menu at the Epicure from September 18, 2024. (Our dinner was Oct 2024.)

Most of the time, I would order the degustation menu for a more comprehensive and complete experience. But the piece de resistance of Épicure is their rabbit, which is not on any of the degustation menu. Luckily for us, they were willing to split the starters and seafood into two portions, which Princess and I ordered separate mains.

Superb ingredients, impeccable technique, bread made on the premises from heirloom varieties of wheat: nothing is left to chance. Our bread of the day was a sourdough served with Normandy butter infused with lemon oil and black olive powder.

Amuse Bouche | Appetisers

Three waiters were deployed to serve the first round of three little bites. Polished and theatrical, the amuse bouche was placed on the table at the same time; obviously they have done this all the time. Very good start.

Black truffle pate on a Parmesan target

The first bite was a safe bet – the crowd-pleasing back truffle chicken liver pate served on a parmesan tartlet, and topped with onion confit. The pate was intense in flavours, savoury and umami competing with the sweetness of the onion.

Britany oyster with kombucha jelly and calamansi emulsion

Eating freshly shucked oysters in a huîtrerie is often a hit-and-miss affair. Although they will replace any foul oyster, it is hard to know until that oyster has really turned rancid. But in fine dining, nothing is left to chances, so they usually do not serve the mollusc naked. The Britany oyster has been carefully selected for its plumpness and size, encased in a jelly made from home-brewed kombucha to replace the natural liquor and topped with a calamansi emulsion for the tartness. Beautifully executed, wished for another one, but we do have a full dinner menu to go through.

Forest mushroom on Parmesan cracker

The last bite looked like it came out of the kitchen of Noma, with the Nordic forest as its main plating inspiration. Raw white button mushroom was the main ingredient, sliced and used as a wafer to sandwich some mushroom pate. The mini sandwich was topped with crumpled Parmesan and placed on a cracker as a one bite.

Consommé of tomato with fig leaf oil

Green Zebra tomato and pineapple tomato flavoured with lemon thyme, creamy stracciatella with olive oil, garlic flower and basil

The second amuse bouche was a cold gazpacho made with heirloom tomatoes infused with fig leaf oil to add flavour and a pop of verdant colour, paired with a chilled roasted cherry tomato stuffed with stracciatella.

Stracciatella is a traditional Italian cheese made from pulled mozzarella curds mixed with fresh cream. It was painstakingly filled inside this tiny cherry tomato, which had been grilled and then marinated with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. One bite and flavours exploded in the mouth.

The gazpacho had a very complex mix of flavours and included rice puffs, as well as these mozzarella balls that were freeze dried and had a pleasant melt-in-your mouth texture. Very refreshing even though it was so cold in Paris when we were there. There was only enough for a tasting portion, this amuse bouche could stand on its own as a course.

Caviar Osciètre De Sologne | Oscietra Caviar From Sologne

Artichauts « Camus » et poivrades des Côtes-d’Armor, Vinaigrette au lime de Tahiti. | « Camus » artichokes and « poivrades » from « Côtes-d ’Armor », Tahitian lime dressing.

Loire Valley-sourced farmed Oscietra caviar has been expertly placed on a disc of diced artichokes and served with deep fried artichokes with a Tahiti lime dressing.

Caviar supplied commercially nowadays are all farmed. While caviar from China flooded the market, European restaurants still prefer their own caviar houses, like the 100% French caviar bred in Sologne which is considered one of the best in the world. These caviar from Sologne are firmer and saltier in their texture and taste with subtle notes of walnut and hazelnut.

At first glance, I thought they were zucchini flowers. But they indeed were deep fried artichokes from Camus. Very delicate and tasty, I now have a new favourite way of cooking artichoke. The artichoke was also featured as a diced layer beneath the caviar and in the sauce.

Gérard Boulay Clos de Beaujeu “Sancerre” 2022

Sancerre wine has long been adored for its dry, light style. With a minerality and freshness that makes it drinkable on its own, it’s also a perfect pairing to everything from brie and oysters to grilled fish and seafood linguine. The 2022 season has yielded a special Clos de Beaujeu that promises to age for decades. Right now, there is a racy, floral and mineral attack underscored by citrus oil, while the palate is long and seamless, wreathed in sea spray and plum favour with a savoury edge.

Homard Bleu De La Côte D’opale | Blue Lobster From “Côte D’opale”

Courge d’Ile-de-France et yuzu, Vinaigrette à l’huile de tagète | Squash from Ile-de-France and yuzu, Marigold vinaigrette.

They were very generous with the a la carte order of the blue lobster, which they split into two portions for us. We each got half a lobster, the tail and claw were cooked perfectly. They were paired with squash and a quenelle of yuzu sorbet. Both tail and claw were cooked perfectly; the latter didn’t have that mealy texture you sometimes get with claw meat. This was paired with a variety of preparations of melon: a sorbet on top of a fine dice, as well as slices of melon on top of sweet cylinders. Lastly, the dish was drizzled in a delicious lobster bisque sauce. The assortment of flavours and textures reminded me of Pierre Gagnaire’s style of remixing a particular ingredient, but this was all done within a single dish. Every bite was a joy to eat.

Turbot Du Finistère | Turbot From Finistère

Carottes de Touraine et verveine, Fumet réduit à la carotte et gingembre. | Carrots from Touraine et verbena, Stock reduced with carrot and ginger.

I have been ordering turbot all along this gastronomy trip with Princess. Turbot from the Brittany coast was served with carrots and a carrot and ginger sauce.

The turbot is a large flatfish which is prized for its firm white flesh and subtle, refined flavour. It is often mixed up or referred interchangeably in Asia with flounder, halibut or sole, but they are all different flatfishes. And once you have tried Brittany turbot (and line caught no less), there’s no going back to the rest.

The vegetal flavours highlighted the natural sweetness of the fish, in fact the verbena threw me off for a bit as it reminded me of my shampoo from L’Occittane. While there was nothing mind-blowing here, the exceptional freshness and taste from the turbot made this unforgettable.

Pigeon De Pornic | Pigeon From Pornic

Maïs des Yvelines et champignons des bois, Jus réduit à la cardamome noire. | Corn from Yvelines and wild mushrooms, Jus reduced with black Cardamom.

Pigeon is one of my favourite red meat, no matter what style of cuisine it is prepared in – Cantonese roast pigeon, Hokkien bamboo pigeon soup, French pigeon breast. The roasted pigeon was topped with some crushed popcorn and paired with sautéed wild mushrooms. It was seasoned with black cardamom which I found to be too pervasive.

On the side was a polenta made with corn from Yvelines mixed with pigeon jus. You may not know Yvelines, but you would have heard of its capital Versailles. This polenta was delicious, and balanced off the cardamom in the sauce for the pigeon.

Lapin De Bourgogne | Rabbit From Burgundy

Aubergine de la Vallée de l’Oise et marjolaine, Jus fume et coulis d’herbes. | Eggplant from « Oise Valley » and marjoram, Smoked juice and herb coulis.

This is the first time Princess tried rabbit meat and she was quite excited. It was served in quite theatrical pomp. First the rabbit was smoked together with eggplant in a bed of marjoram and rosemary. This was presented and then whisked away for plating.

The two pieces of finished meat was placed with the roasted eggplant with two types of sauces on a serving plate. A coulis is a form of thin sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits. The herb coulis was served alongside the au jus from the smoked rabbit.

Clos Fourtet Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2000

A blended red wine from Libournais, Bordeau made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot. It’s a beauty that has gracefully aged and was a hit with the pigeon and rabbit. Cassis and dark fruit on the nose. The tannins are aging with grace but still have some life, and the fruit is muted but begonias and earthy almost mushroom quality surrounds your palate with much satisfaction.

Next a palate cleanser before our desserts.

Fromages Frais Et Affinés De Notre Atelier | Fresh And Matured Cheeses From Our Cellar

L’Epicure’s tasting menu includes a cheese course, with an extensive selection of rare French cheeses. We ordered a la carte and we were too full to order any cheese from the trolley.

Figues Du Vaucluse Rôties | Roasted Vaucluse Figs

Au cassis, croustillant de noix, Glace à la feuille de figuier | With blackcurrant, crispy walnuts, ice cream with fig leaf

As the warm weather slowly comes to an end and fall begins to break, figs are at their best. This is a seasonal dessert that is prepared table side like a crepe suzette. The figs are roasted in a red wine and sugar concoction. I can’t say I get it, as burnt wine isn’t that tasty.

The ice cream was made from fig leaves and had a really peculiar taste with notes of coconut and vanilla and a grassy, herbaceous edge. Couldn’t make myself say I loved this dessert.

Miel De Nos Ruches | Honey From Our Hives

Framboises et gingembre, Glace au miel et pollen. | Raspberry and ginger, Honey and pollen ice cream.

The second dessert featured ice cream made from pollen and honey from hives atop of Le Bristol, sandwiched between two almond tuiles. On top was freeze dried raspberries, as well as some more honey combs flavoured with ginger strategically placed around the subject. Usually I find honey-based desserts to be way too sweet but the balance here was impeccable.

Assortiment De Mignardises | Assortment of Mignardises

The meal didn’t end there of course – we were served four petit fours (no pun intended). Petit fours were derived from 19th century France as bite-sized tea-time delights. The name comes from the French for “little oven” and, traditionally, chefs would bake miniature pastries using heat from cooling down ovens. 

The mignardises for the evening were a chocolate hazelnut praline, a crème caramel, a tonka bean tarte, and a grape gelée that otherwise looked radioactive. I found the crème caramel to be particularly excellent, with a perfect bit of burnt sugar flavour. But my favourite would be the grape gelée. I have a soft spot for anything jelly. We were also given a loaf of brioche and a jar of chocolate hazelnut spread to go, which were great.

We had a fantastic overall experience, with a charming atmosphere, excellently prepared food, and highly knowledgeable staff. I booked a reservation here two months in advance. The sommelier has a very good knowledge of pairing with the food order, both wine recommendations for the meal were spot on. Be prepared to pay for the experience and I wouldn’t recommend this to be your first 3 Star experience and the waiters can be quite a snob.

Épicure
Le Bristol, 112 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, Paris, 75008, France
Tel : +33 1 53 43 43 40

Visited Oct 2024

Michelin France Guide 3 Stars 2024

1. “a person who takes particular pleasure in fine food and drink.” ↩︎