JJ Beaumarchais — Restaurant in Paris

To me the purpose of eating and trying new restaurants is to experience food that has such a play on flavors that you will think about for your entire life. JJ Beaumarchais is this place. The atmosphere is warm and earthy with yellow wood and charcoal painted walls/ceilings. Live plants floating from the ceiling. Candle light dancing in the many mirrors adorning the walls.

I will go back here!! 100% My husband and I got the six course chef selected menu.

Scallops: 4.5 Scallops with an earthy green sauce with notes of cilantro and lime:

The sauce on this dish was amazing (still thinking about it) however, I was surprised by the scallops being completely raw (which I shouldn't have been because the French love raw anything and everything). That was the .5 ding from giving this a full 5.

I ate it all up but, I think it would have been even more enjoyable in total if they were seared even just a little bit.

Octopus: 5 - (Disclaimer: I really don't like the texture of squid so if you love calamari this would have been your dream). I did try to be a grown up about it and opened to new things….so I ate at least one 'tendril'. My husband ate most of it and he loves calamari so he was in heaven.

I'm happy I ate some to get a sense of the delicious garlic sauce, endive and caviar - the flavors were really amazing on the dish. I just can't do the texture. My husband rated this higher than me.( I said it was a 3.5 he said 5)

Fois Gras: 5 (The best we've had in Paris so far) Had a bit of a nut mixture on it (hazelnuts and pistachios) very finely chopped and served with a little brioche. The play on flavors with the rich duck was something I am still thinking about.

Duck & roasted veggies: 5 The best we've had in Paris so far. Duck was cut beautifully, seared to perfection - almost caramelized on the outside juicy and tender on the inside and the vegetables were seared to tender with a little crisp perfection.

Little Salad and Cheese: 4.5 It was light, little and refreshing. Only 4.5 as there wasn't any swoon worthy surprising and delightful flavor combinations like the other dishes.

Mini Chocolate Souffle: 5 Still dreaming about this play on flavors. There was a steamy gooey mini Chocolate Souffle (with no hint of microwave like I always think it tastes like in the US at most restaurants) The plate was dusted with crunchy Crystallized Sugar that was gingery (maybe it was ginger sugar) and a dollop of freshly made apple sauce and the smallest little spoonful of vanilla ice cream. It was just so delicious and interesting to eat. One spoonful would be rich and sinful and another spoonful would remind you of home and cozy - back and forth…ahh so good.

Would I go back: Yes What would I get: The mystery of the Chef selected menu - I quite enjoyed that! Even with the Octopus fail, I would jump at going back here for a special night. What a fun experience and it was so reasonably priced for delicacies. When my husband and I got the bill that included 6 drinks between the two of us, it was under $200 Euros. We've spent more at a taco place in Houston. I mean come on . with drinks too, in a major...

We were very excited to try this place because they seemed very accommodating to allergies. My wife has a gluten allergy and we told them that in 2 different write in spots on the reservation as well as a separate email confirming the reservation, as well as in person when we arrived for the reservation. They were accommodating up until the final dessert course which we were both uncomfortable about so we specifically asked if it was gluten free to which we were assured it absolutely was. A couple minutes later after my wife had already started to eat it they rushed over saying “it was ok but there was part of the dish that had gluten in it”. Which for someone with a gluten allergy, it is not “ok”. I then asked for the bill so we could leave before my wife got sick and do what we could to make her comfortable before what would be a terrible night of pain and getting sick. The waiter asked if we “really wanted to send it back?” Implying that my wife should finish the food that with just a couple bites would make her violently ill. Then the manager came over and explained how it really wasn’t a big deal because there was not much flour in the item in question, which is completely irrelevant for someone with a gluten allergy, but he clearly felt made it “no big deal”. He offered to strike the dessert course, which my wife didn’t eat most of, off the bill, as if taking a mostly uneaten course off the bill justified putting my wife in agony for the rest of the evening.

Mistakes happen and as a rule I don’t write bad reviews because everyone can have a bad night. But the way the entire staff tried to minimize what happened made me furious. Just apologize, admit your mistake, and let me pay the bill and leave. Don’t try to pretend it’s not a big deal when you accidentally poison a guest.

I know this review won’t have any real impact and their food was excellent so I wouldn’t tell people not to go there, but I felt like I had to let other people with gluten allergies know that they think you’re just being dramatic and your allergy...

Update: I returned here with a French friend last night and we had the same excellent experience as two years ago! This is a special restaurant. You are basically getting Michelin quality food with a tasting menu format (i.e., each day is a surprise, depending on what is in season and is fresh that day) and excellent service in a warm environment – all for a good price. Seriously! I will be back again next year when I return to Paris.

[Below is my review from the last time.]

What a sensational restaurant. The food is stunningly good. The best compliment I can give a restaurant is that the dishes made me smile.

My friend and I were eager to discover the chef’s tasting menu: basically a mystery until you arrive. You get several mini-courses, which is a concept I love. We felt that we could enjoy each course and not feel overly full – and focus on the unusual flavor combinations and textures of the food being presented to us. My friend didn’t want to eat pork, so the chef provided duck - in addition to scallops, eel, asparagus, and dessert dishes that were simply superb. Each time we were served, we had to take a minute to try solve the mystery of what dish was in front of us. My friend was inquisitive about all the different ingredients, and the waiters were very helpful, explaining everything

I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough. I thought the price was reasonable for the quality of the food. It’s a little bit of a splurge, but so worth it. My friend, who is French, said she is going to return within the next few weeks. She absolutely adored this...