Galanga par Monsieur George — Restaurant in Paris

Galanga, Paris. This was a spontaneous second visit to this cosy one star restaurant in the wonderful “Monsieur George Hotel” in Rue Washington Paris. Finding the city at 2nd of May with 28 degrees warmer than the city of Athens which we have left in the morning, this spontaneous change of plan led to a wonderful culinary journey that well fit to the spectacular Suite we moved in for the next three nights. I love it when the single dish evolves while you eat it and the first “nice” grows into a “wow” with every bite you take. Time well spent, and a wonderful dinner accompanied by a fine and solid selection of French wines of the wine pairing we ordered with the 9 course menu. Monsieur Gorge and Galanga, you shouldn’t visit the one without taking advantage of the other. And if you spend a night in the hotel then don’t hesitate to go for the Junior Suite on the sixth floor. We were told Tom Cruise slept here once while he was in Paris, but having your Champagne on the cosy balcony while overviewing the city and facing Sacré Cœur in the distance and walking to the other side of the Suite to take a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower gives you the feeling that Tom Cruise at this moment would even more wish to be there than you wishing to meet him here. And one last word about the food, although I rarely focus on a specific dish. For me, after almost 3 years of living in Greece, cucumber is heavily related to Greek Salad or Tsatsiki. Finding it in the pre dessert with ice cream instead of tomato and feta or joghurt and garlic was a little of a surprise. For me it seemed impossible to find an angle for a nice photo and, let’s put it that way, the ice cream...

We were looking for a Michelin-starred restaurant open on a Saturday, and this one seemed like the best option. While the experience was fine, we expected more from a starred establishment. I would rate it as 3.5. Out of the four Michelin-starred restaurants we tried during our trip, this was the only one that didn’t fully meet our expectations. It was also the only one where the clientele was mostly non-local. The cuisine is a fusion of French and Asian influences, with flavors that can be surprising or unfamiliar. Some dishes were excellent, while others were quite average. The service felt impersonal, which is disappointing for a restaurant of this level. There were also many small details that, unfortunately, didn’t live up to the standards one expects from a Michelin-starred experience. The chef was not there which might explain...

This was a great experience during our visit to Paris. The restaurant is conveniently located near Arc de Triomphe, and has a vibrant, bar-ish vibe, great for slightly louder conversations and laughter, which was perfect for a family as we were celebrating my son's birthday. Dress code is super leisure, very friendly to travelers as we were sightseeing and had no chance to change into anything formal. Food was perfect as expected, although the sauce was a bit on the stronger side, so the experience may depend on personal preference. Service was also top notch; the French accent was a little challenging for us to understand the intro for each course, but I guess you can also view that as part of the...