Le Taillevent — Restaurant in Paris

Honestly I was not very impressed, esp not with the price.

I got the most expensive tasting menu, 295€

People say there's a lot of surprise dishes but it's more like that each dish comes with small accompanying side dishes. It's still your classic french fine dining of just wtv courses they say plus the amuse, bread and petit four. There wasn't even pre dessert

Service was pleasant, unobtrusive and clean movements, while being personable enough.

In greater detail for the courses: Amuse was completely plain. Not well flavoured. The tuna in the tuna tartare w caviar is not of uniform quality, there's some pieces which are fishy and others taste closer in flavour to the canned ones. Raw chickpea was interesting, so was the star anise/cinnamon flavour

Pastry was fine, onions overpowered olives

Bread course was terrible, the crust was difficult to chew, and a service error was that the bread was left on the service table for a long time before it was finally served

Lobster was good quality, barely cooked, but nothing impressive. The flambe sauce was wayyyyyyy too bitter from the whiskey, you can hardly taste anything else. The grainated lobster head was nice tho, there's chunks of lobster which worked well with the sauce. Mini lobster roll balance was bad, too much brioche too little lobster. Truffles didn't taste like anything and the veggies were frankly plain

The lamb was of good quality. It's very, very tender. Not particularly flavourful, but that's understandable given the superb tenderness. Paperthin crisp skin. Centre wasn't seasoned at all tho, needs a sprinkling of salt

Accompanying Tomato was fine, by now it's a common technique at restaurants. Whats annoying is that the sauce is again star anise/cinnamon flavoured, and aggressively so

Accompanying eggplant was seriously plain. However the eggplant confit quenelle was nice

Cheese platter was quite good. I tried a bit of almost everything, all decent. 52month comte was stellar, it was incredible with the salt crystals, the almost sticky chewy texture, and the superb umami flavour. I don't normally like comte. Roquefort was intense tho, it's seriously funky and crazy salty. I didn't manage to finish it, but it would have been good with crackers and nuts and raisins etc which wasn't served

Crepe Suzette was a letdown. The sauce didn't taste very special, again the whisky comes thru. Passion fruit sorbet was too sour, and the vanilla cream was alright. When they came together, they worked decently. But that's not nearly good enough for something that's 30+€ on the ala carte menu, and supposedly their signature dessert

What impressed more was the petit four. The verbena marshmallow was absolutely delightful with the strong herbaceous coming thru on an otherwise completely sweet bite. The rhubarb meringue was nice too

Overly very safe and while portions were generous, the taste was just decent overall and there were far too few surprises...

71st in my Paris Michelin Stars Marathon The establishment renewed.

Le Taillevent is an institution, even its wine list is legendary. When you set foot there, passing the voiturier, you set foot in a just renewed two stars establishment. Honestly, you have to enjoy the ceremonial. First, they ll take care of your coats, then you’ll be escorted through the hallway, then through first room, and finally to the main dinner room, greeted all the way long by members of the staff. This is pure classism. Yet, classism wouldn’t feel right if it felt old and out of fashion. Here, the place has been renovated is a very elegant manner, stressing the classism but removing the unnecessary ornements from past to add designed elements. For those who reads my reviews, it’s very similar to the « trente trois ». Beautifully integrated. And if you add the perfectly balanced Michelin star service (close, warm and yet distant enough), you feel exactly what you should : You have all the Michelin multistars code within a contemporary setting.

The question is: does the cuisine match the place? Yes. Just like La Tour d Argent or Lucas Carton, the task is daunting. But the chef manages the same balance the designer or the brigade de salle did: Classism with a dash of contemporary. So dishes are revisited, just the way they should ever be.

The crowd was a mix of business, couples and friends enjoying a great meal. The mood is very classic and upscale. Gentlemen do not need to wear a suit anymore, but I did think that the atmosphere calls for it.

It’s a solid 2 stars, I had a great experience.

Update 2022: Went back after a year. It’s called an institution because it’s stable. And it is. What I may have not praised enough in my previous review was the quality of the wine list, but the rest was as good as the first time. Don’t get me wrong, I did not have the same dishes. The chef does change the menu. Actually, you can compare the menu I took last year to the one this year. There’s movement, but as the famous quote says “Everything has to change so that nothing changes”. Those changes guarantee you that Taillevent will stay Taillevent.

Having said that I did prefer this time.

Definitely a very...

We visited Le Taillevent on our last night in Paris to end the trip with this two stars Michelin experience. We were immediately welcomed by someone who opened the door of our taxi for us and welcomed us to the main entrance of the restaurant, where the host took us to our table. The staff really made sure we had a VIP experience.

Make sure you dress up a bit, since the restaurant has an elegant vibe and people do dress up to dine there, we didn't dress up very formally, dress shoes with pants and shirt or polo seemed enough, but I have to admit we saw nice blazers and one or two ties around us.

The restaurant offers different set menus, all 4 courses, make sure to ask what the difference is so you can choose wisely. And don't let the phrase "4 courses" trick you, it's a lot of food what you'll get since every course comes with several side dishes that add up.

The cuisine at Le Taillevent looks and tastes elegant, it feels classic yet crafted to perfection with interesting combinations of bold French flavors, and it gets bolder as you get to the cheese selection who's a delightful experience, make sure to give it a go and try cheeses that you haven't tried before.

We had an amazing experience and enjoyed every single dish, even the lamb chops, which were cooked with minimalism of ingredients tasted like heaven.

The ambience, the food and the staff, altogether make the experience worth it. Check the price online in their menu section so you are not surprised, it might look expensive but definitely within the range of a 2 stars Michelin restaurant, and the quality of the food, the amount, and the experience are worth it. I was bit disappointed that they charged for the water 20 euros, you'd expect that when you spend more than 600 euros in a meal, at least the water is included like in other Michelin restaurants we've been to.

If you're into classic French fine dining or want to celebrate a special occasion, Le Taillevent is without hesitation a...