Restaurant ES — Restaurant in Paris

#110 in my Parisian Michelin Stars Challenge to try them all in a year. Follow me for the other reviews and updates.

So perfectly French, it’s Japanese. What’s interesting here? I guess this is the perfect example of a Japanese chef establishing himself in Paris and opening a restaurant in hommage to the French cuisine. Let’s start with the obvious. It’s a Japanese restaurant. The chef is Japanese, alone behind the bar where he works. Nearly a one man show. He is only helped by a Japanese lady that does mostly the service for some happy few. Because, there’s the counter and only two/three tables (one is taken for the service). Just like in other Japanese restaurants, the master only cooks for an handful of customers per day (when I came, he wasn’t doing lunches anymore, with some exceptions for special groups). And the design is very zen, very minimalist. Even the charcoal used to cook the meat is Japanese. It’s totally Japanese but…. It’s French. It’s French first because the products are French. You sense the respect for the product and therefore for the local producers, and that means that there must be some sort of dialog, exchanges. It’s French because there’s a love, an admiration for the French products but also for our cuisine. If you look at the pictures, it’s a French haute cuisine restaurant, a tad minimalist (and with dessert de chef). It’s really interesting because you can see what’s left of the French cuisine when you remove the decorum, the French service, the bourgeois atmosphere and even a French chef. You just have the products, the essence. This will not be complete nor possible without the perfect execution, and even sensibility of the chef.

Perfect for a date or a dinner with a foodie friend (or both!) A very solid one star.

Update 2023: I went back. The level is very similar with two notable things. One difference and one i realized this time. The first one is I think the chef rely less on the nobility of the ingredients, and more on himself. The second is more important. It has the Auberge (inn) spirit. It’s actually the Japanese Auberge. Obviously you can not sleep there, but the couple is running the operation, giving a family spirit, and the proximity with the chef, a certain warmth that transpires from all of this. With the time, I realized how great the memories were created that night. An extremely solid...

French cuisine brought to perfection with Japanese precision and delicacy at Michelin restaurant ES by chef @takayuki_honjo. ⠀ Outstanding tasting menu from ES for our 8-course "brunch".⠀ ⠀ Started with Pumpkin mousse and croque monsieur au foie gras. Followed by Girolles ravioli with delicious chestnut sauce. Unforgettable Lobster with truffle and cauliflower sauces. Turbot fish and lean crunchy chicken with a hint of lemon and apricot were the hero. Delicate Lichi sorbet with mellow smooth Jasmin jelly as pre-dessert and ended with...

Le cadre : une salle blanche derrière un rideau qui laisse entrevoir la rue, des pierres et du bois, une longue banquette, des plantes arrangées façon ikebana, tout est serein. On choisit le menu, midi, court, dégustation, dîner, selon l'heure, selon l'envie. Le service est impeccable, les questions posées trouvent réponse. Les plats se succèdent au bon rythme, ils dénotent une rigueur et un travail remarquable. Les cuissons sont parfaites. Les produits sont sélectionnés avec le plus grand soin, les plats sont d'ailleurs présentés en indiquant la provenance géographique des ingrédients. On découvre et redécouvre des accords et des produits. Les desserts ne sont pas en reste, il est rarement donné d'en goûter de si bons et si originaux, sorbets, gelées, mousses, tout est réalisé avec le plus grand soin. Redécouvrir la cuisine française grâce à l'interprétation et aux connaissances d'un chef et d'une cheffe pâtissière japonais,...