Alléno — Restaurant in Paris

#109 in my Challenge of trying every Parisian Michelin Star under a year. Follow me and see the other reviews.

That’s « Le Grand Restaurant », The Great Restaurant in French. It truly is.

For once let me start by the end: You’re in a top tiers Three Stars. Deciding if it’s the best you’ve ever been will be a matter of judgment and personal preferences, but right there, you’re in one of the best amongst the best. My usual question for a three stars is : What’s extraordinary ? To focus on a couple of points and avoid lengthy reviews. But I’ve been stuck with this review for a while because I can’t decide. It’s a full house. Regardless if you’re more into the gastronomic side, or the experience, or the location and its history/prestige. Basically if you have the choice between a restaurant where the gastronomy is insane, one with the greatest experience (from booking to the way the dish are served) or one with an iconic location (prestigious, people, historical) ? Which one would you choose ? I’ll choose this restaurant.

The experience. To give you a glimpse of the level: I had a personal call days before the dinner to tailor our dinner to our taste. The guy worked in palace before and managed to made me feel like I was the most important person ever! (Yes you did Maxime). You may think it’s a common practice for a three stars? Well, no. Lately I’ve been booking the remaining 3 stars in France and I can tell you it’s not a given. One even, despite having table for 2, refused to take my reservation because I was alone ! Here, I’m pretty sure that it would never happen, « au contraire « they would make you feel special. And that’s just the start. During the dinner nearly every dish is finalized in front of you. Some little tricks made me think of what you can have in 3 stars in Spain in terms of experience. But here, it’s not just for the show or the beauty of it.

Gastronomy. It’s not just for the beauty of it at all. Alleno is known for being an incredible “saucier”. What is it? Why would you care? The sauce is usually the one that makes the connections in your plate. But to understand why you should care, taste what he does with the caviar. Here it’s revealing the taste of the caviar. Alleno should have been an engineer (a French one of course), because he’s exploring the possibilities given by technologies to fulfill his mission the best way possible. It’s not novelty for the sake of it. It’s for being able to accomplish something. I found him very close to Passard. But Passard (who is a Rôtisseur at heart) is making complicated look simple (intelligence), Alleno (saucier) is making the impossible possible for a purpose (smart). There’s no judgment, nor ranking between the two traits. One is not better than the other one.

Location. So, if your mission is to be a flag bearer for the French Gastronomy where do you put your flag? On Les Champs Élysée, in a gastronomic myth. Yes, the building is sumptuous, every restaurant has its universe (see reviews), the upper floor, where you will be, has the 19th century updated feel. I say updated because for instance there are some beautiful dividers between tables that limit the sound, for privacy, but allows just enough people watching not to feel isolated. Beautiful. Trivia: I said a myth because this building was the setting of a famous French movie with Louis De Funès named “le grand restaurant “. Trivia II: Louis de Funès a bit ridiculous character named was “Septime”. This restaurant is a myth in the Parisian gastronomic culture.

Like a great work of art, you may enjoy Alleno for a different reason than the person you’re having dinner with, but you ll both enjoy it.

Thanks to again to the team and to Maxime. Top tiers 3 stars.

Update 2023: As I said in my previous review, if you’re looking for a “Grand restaurant” this is it. I was looking for one for a special day, so I came here. Check the...

I dined at Alléno Paris with my mother, who has chronic pharyngitis — not contagious, not allergic, but a condition that makes her particularly sensitive to aromas and occasionally causes coughing. Out of seven Michelin-starred restaurants we visited in Paris, Alléno was the only one that asked her to leave the table whenever she needed to cough.

The female manager’s justification was: “You’re not the only table.” True — but neither are the others. In hospitality, equality of respect is not a favor; it is the foundation. Asking a guest to repeatedly excuse herself to the restroom for something involuntary showed not professionalism, but a lack of empathy disguised as discipline.

What followed only deepened the disappointment. When I went to the restroom, my napkin accidentally fell to the floor. In any three-star establishment, that napkin would have quietly disappeared and reappeared, folded anew, before I returned. Here, it stayed where it fell. When I mentioned it, the same manager replied sharply, “I’ve worked here for ten years; you don’t need to tell me what to do.”

When my mother later stood to find the restroom — her first time in this restaurant — the manager made eye contact yet offered no guidance. Silence, in that moment, spoke louder than words.

Additionally, my mother, feeling unwell and emotionally low, requested a vegetarian alternative. The restaurant substituted a dish featuring mushrooms — the one vegetable she specifically cannot eat. When we explained this, instead of accommodating, the staff blamed us for “not specifying in advance” and offered no other option. As a result, she was left almost without a main course. This was not a matter of preference, but a reasonable expectation for a professional kitchen to anticipate and accommodate dietary needs, which was clearly unmet.

Chef Alléno himself was absent that evening; one of his students led the kitchen. When I inquired why the coffee component of the dessert used Colombian beans instead of another origin, he was unable to explain — only murmuring, “Because that’s the chef’s choice.” In a three-star kitchen, uncertainty should never wear a uniform.

At the end of the evening, the same manager asked how our experience was. I calmly shared these observations. Her final remark: “You’re being disrespectful. Everyone here respects me.”

Respect, however, is not an entitlement. It is earned through humility, attention, and grace — none of which were present that night. It failed at the most fundamental ingredient of hospitality: grace.

Alléno Paris may hold three Michelin star, but hospitality is measured not by stars, nor plates, nor titles — only by how a guest feels when they leave. That evening, We...

We visited Alleno on our most recent visit to Paris and were completely blown away by our experience there.

We made reservations well in advance and chose the 9 course meal with wine pairing for all 4 of us. Because the Olympic Games, we had to walk over on foot instead of taking a taxi. The walk wasn't too bad but not easy for the ladies on high hills.

We arrived right as they opened and were greeted by their wonderful reception staff. After taking a short break at the waiting area we were escorted upstairs to our table. We really liked the decorations of the restaurant. Each table has a semi transparent screen separating it from the next table, providing nice privacy. The screens also looked beautiful. The scenery out of the windows was a little disappointing because of Olympic Games but I can imagine it would look very nice otherwise.

The food was fantastic, as was the service, which is what we would expect from a restaurant with 3 Michelin stars. They had some rather unique and creative dishes and the paired wines were just right. We actually were surprised that one of their paired wines was our favorite that we initially had experience at another Michelin stared restaurant. I guess great chefs have the same great taste in wine pairings.

We've dined at a few 3 Star Michelin restaurants in a few countries and we felt our experience at Alleno was definitely near the top. If you haven't dined here then you should definitely consider this place on your next...