L'Abysse — Restaurant in Paris

#64 in my challenge of trying every Michelin star in Paris. Follow me for the other reviews and the 3 stars challenge. The benefits of being in between.

L’Abysse is the 2 stars in the powerhouse of the Pavillon Ledoyen that also have a 1 and 3 stars.

As usual I’ll try to limit my review on a couple of points only. The main theme will be the curious advantage of being in between. You could say that this is a Sushi place, with a true sushi master and ingredients of an incredible quality. The story could stop there, but no… First, to magnify the Japanese art (and artist skill) you put it in a minimalist, yet designed arena (the all place is designed around the chef own arena). But you don’t make it too Japanese like some of his colleagues. No, as a spectator you’re in between. That’s genius because you’re not overwhelmed by the Japanese atmosphere like with a more traditional Sushi ya, instead it gives you more room to appreciate the Sushi master Art and appreciate the quality of its products. But it doesn’t stop there… oh no. This “distance “ give some freedom to the chef to create some, yet Japanese dishes, since he’s not constrained in a more typical style. You even have room to have Alleno’s influences. In between and yet very Japanese, and totally assuming it. Does it stop there? No. There’s an advantage of being the two stars between a popular one star and a very famous three. You’re like the second child. The first one has the responsibility, the last the pressure. I would like to speak of the most striking point. The atmosphere. The « directeur de salle » is doing an impressive job, that commands respect. For of all, I truly admire his actions and his attitude towards inclusiveness. I, for personal reasons, knows the importance and commitments. But let’s speak in a more general sense. Here we are, less than a dozen, with only one common point : the love for great cuisine. We had a family table, an introvert all alone, a young couple, an older couple, two extraverts foodies and us. In a normal setting, everyone should have stay in his bubble under the « stars » pressure. Here, oh no…. The introvert ended up speaking wine with the two foodies and the room was buzzing! I don’t know how this magic happened. It’s true the the one star next door has also a good atmosphere, but there are 3 times bigger! No, I had the answer right from the get go. The Maître d Hotel. He’s the link between the Japanese chef and the western crowd. He’s truly in love with his restaurant and the experience it’s generating. It’s cute, but, you know what? It’s working. It’s working on the clients but also on the entire team. Bottom line, you walk out having the feeling of having lost track of where you were before, and where you’re supposed to be after. You were in between…

It’s definitely a very solid two stars.

My experience: There’s definitely something special going on here. I ll come back at night to see how it changes

Update 2022: Went back for dinner with my darling. I won’t have enough space to fill it with praises. The extraordinary thing is the subtle adaptation and transition from Japan to France. Just one thing : the client focus vs the chef focus. In any other sushi ya Michelin Star in Paris, the client has to fit and follow the chef tempo. Everyone eats the same sushi at the same time, and you have to come at a precise time. Here, no. You follow your tempo, the chef will prepare them for you when you are ready. That’s luxury. That’s Alleno style.

Thanks again to the team and I’ll be back very soon

An extremely solid two star.

Update 2022 bis: Went back sooner than anticipated. Definitely rock solid. Definitely the best place in Paris for...

A sushi restaurant run by a French three Michelin star chef in one of the nicest pavilions of Paris - A concept too intriguing not to book a table! Here is what I can say:

We came for lunch and opted for the bara-chirashi lunch special. Two nigiri set courses, including the full omakase option were also offered, but I´d recommend booking those ahead to secure one of the counter seats. We were seated at a regular table which I don't see as the best option for a nigiri course.

After some nibbles and excellent cold brew tea we were served our chirashi, basically a bowl of sushi rice topped with various fish and seafood. Our toppings included lean and fatty maguro (tuna), hamachi (yellow tail) ikura (salmon roe) and small pieces of turnips. Rice was fragrant, with low acidity and a good bite. First half of the bowl is eaten with soy sauce and wasabi, while the second half is poured over with a warm seafood broth, ochazuke style. I have to say this was an amazing dish of impeccable quality and refinement, yet it felt very comforting and authentic.

After finishing our bowl, we were offered to sample some nigiri by the piece, an offer we could not turn down! I really liked the gesture as we thus had the opportunity also to get a first impression of the nigiri skills of the chefs.

Big shout out to the staff, this was among the best services I have enjoyed in quite a while. Last but not least, the dining room is very beautiful although I had to first to accustom myself to the circumstance of eating sushi with daylight flooding...

We visited from Singapore.

I must say for a European Sushi experience this was very good.

While visiting Paris we wanted to experience what Omakase sushi was using ingredients from Europe itself.

We came for dinner, but would recommend to come for lunch to enjoy the beautiful location.

We enjoyed the meal, service was great, and overall a pretty good experience.

But, if you are coming from Asia, that is, Singapore, Japan, HK, KL etc. where you can get a sushi Omakase experience, I’m afraid L’Abysse just doesn’t cut it. You can give this a miss.

However, if you might not have the opportunity to have a sushi Omakase experience in the aforementioned Asian countries L’Abysse is probably the best experience you will get this side of the world.

There were some novel dishes and flavors that kept us surprised. The produce used might not match up to Japanese produce but does meet expectations. Mediterranean Tuna and European Uni, for example, while not as flavorful still hit the spot.

Chef Okazaki’s skills are top notch and leaves nothing to be desired in that respect.

We spent about ~€300 per person which we felt was, when comparing to an Asian experience, just not worth the price in...