Le Chateaubriand
129 Avenue Parmentier
75011 Paris
“You’re off to Paris? Well then you HAVE to try Le Chateaubriand”. Obviously! Wait, what? Turns out, a gastronomic pendant to Mona Lisa exists and is represented by a medium sized restaurant in the Eastern Paris named Le Chateaubriand. Besides thievishly baptizing itself as the juicy middle of the beef tenderloin, this restaurant is a hidden treasure – and I have been lucky enough to find out what the fuss was all about.
Just like the rumors said, a small queue was emerging in front of the oh-so famous culinary address as I arrived with my fellow foodie and life companion. As it is close to impossible to get reservations at Le Chateaubriand the semi-long but social queuing that begins around 9.30 PM is worth the wait. We were introduced to the unpretentious and warm interior along with our table for the night after just a half an hour wait. A glass of bubbles and we were ready for the show.
At Le Chateaubriand the menu is a fixed price experience and for the cost of 60 euros each we were to touch and taste 11 portions of pleasure – and Michelin Guide recommendations. From South American inspired ceviche, over tender pheasant accompanied by steamed kale, past four out of France’s 350 types of cheese, we thought the feeling of satiety would knock on the door of this amazing food experience any time soon. Instead arrived tocino del cielo – a spectacular dessert literally exploding in the mouth with the flavors of both sweet and savory egg yolk and an even sweeter pastry. Too sweet? Not at all. President of the kitchen, Inaki Aizpitarte, named it bacon from heaven in Spanish for a reason. Maybe, because eating at Le Chateaubriand is like a great and long night out where you end up with a sweet and salty breakfast. Or maybe not.
The hype was massive and the 11-course long dinner session at the world’s 18th best restaurant managed to exceed the expectations at hand. Comparable to concept restaurants and Michelin darlings here in Copenhagen like Relæ or Manfreds & Vin, Le Chateaubriand won our hearts with their off-the-cuff atmosphere drizzled with phenomenal food – simple as that.
Psst! Not a big fan of waiting in line? Try Le Cave – the wine stop n’shop next door to, and owned by, Le Chateaubriand. Choosing from their tasty selection of biodynamic wine with pretty etiquettes is a brilliant way to start the evening.
