La Maison 1888 — Restaurant in Đà Nẵng

We hadn't planned on La Maison 1888 for our 14th-anniversary dinner. That's because of our previous "not so great" experience. However, the team at the club lounge insisted we give La Maison another shot and promised it would be different this time. They took the liberty to secure a reservation for our special day before we agreed to go. They went as far as to arrange for La Maison Manager Florian Dabezies and Head Sommelier Jimmy Chang to personally meet us and present their current set menu. As we don't eat beef, we suggested some lamb or fish, namely Dover Sole, which would be lovely to have as a main. However, we wanted to cancel the reservation after Florian presented the set menu for the evening and when fusion Vietnamese dishes popped up. We didn't want to be disappointed for the fourth time. Our preference was quite simple for a fine dining restaurant featuring a celebrity, Michelin Starred chef Pierre Gagnaire. We wanted authentic classic french cuisine. On my first visit to La Maison in 2015, we wrote about our experience with Pierre Gagnaire's French fusion (confusion) cooking style, which incorporates many local flavours and ingredients. It would be great if the flavour profile worked and the presentation didn't look like it came from a food cart? We argue that if we wanted fine dining Vietnamese food, we would go to an excellent Vietnamese restaurant that specialises in the local dishes, not a famous french chef's version of the same thing. But, of course, he's renowned for a reason. Plenty of people love Chef Gagnaire's food, and he doesn't need to prove that to anyone at this stage in life.

After three tries, we were somewhat sceptical that La Maison could not create the taste of France we were dying for or couldn't convince Chef Gagnaire to allow them to create a menu that suited us? But Florian and his team persisted, pulled no punches, and completely changed our minds. From the excellent service, we got from Toan, Florian to Chef Pierre Emmanuel's interpretation of the classic French meal he prepared and served tableside. Not to mention the beautiful bouquet they gave us to celebrate our special night. It was what we wanted, simple and elegant in both flavours and presentation. He told us that he enjoyed the challenge presented. Was it like Chef Pierre Emmanuel just cooked from the heart and his childhood memories? To our surprise, Chef Pierre Emmanuel was a pastry chef, but he was a master that night.

Appetiser was a Terrine of French duck foie gras with a fig sweet onion chutney and toasted brioche. Can you get more French than that? The next dish was a delicious Pan-sautéed Langoustine paired with Paris mushrooms duxelle and white butter sauce with truffle; doesn't that sound sexy? For the star of the night, the mains. We had the Turbot meuniere with mashed potatoes, and caviar osciètre. The other main was a double-cut lamb chop with potatoes and garlic croquettes. Can't complete the meal without the chef's specialities, dessert! A duet of soufflés, decadent Chocolate and naughty Grand Marnier. Just describing the dishes made us salivate all over again.

Thank you, Chef Pierre Emmanuel, for taking us on a culinary journey through France. And thank you, Chef Gagnaire, for signing off on our special menu. Finally, we can't forget the great wine recommended by Jimmy. No French cuisine would be complete without a great bottle of wine. He chose a 2014 Margaux for us that paired exquisitely with the Lamb.

After reading my review on TripAdvisor in 2015, Seif Hamdy, who at the time was the F&B Director at the hotel, personally contacted us and expressed his apologies for our experience at La Maison, he invited us back to try a new menu prepared just for us. Seif is now the hotel's General Manager. If it weren't for Seif convincing us to come back and give it another try, we probably would've ended our Intercontinental Danang experience on that first...

La Maison 1888 (Da Nang): A Grand Tapestry of French Haute Cuisine Perched amidst the dramatic cliffs of Vietnam's Son Tra Peninsula, La Maison 1888 stands as a beacon of French haute cuisine, holding its prestigious Michelin Star for the second consecutive year. As the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Central Vietnam, it offers a captivating culinary experience within a breathtaking setting, redefining luxury dining in the region.

The Visionary Culinary Artistry At the core of La Maison 1888's exceptional cuisine is the inspiration of Three-Michelin-Star Chef Christian Le Squer, a doyen of French fine dining. Chef Le Squer, with a remarkable record of maintaining three Michelin stars for over two decades in Paris, infuses his "haute couture" approach into the restaurant's menu. This philosophy marries classical French techniques with daring modern creativity, akin to a perfumer or couturier fashioning new sensations from a blend of tastes, textures, and colors. While Chef Le Squer inspires the menu, the on-the-ground execution is masterfully led by Chef de Cuisine Florian Stein, who honed his skills at the renowned Le Chambard in France.

The meticulously crafted set menus, available in five or seven courses, showcase premium ingredients sourced from Vietnam, France, and Japan. Dishes are presented with remarkable artistry, each a miniature masterpiece. Signature creations include:

Spaghetti Debout: A visually stunning and technically intricate dish where spaghetti strands are arranged upright, filled with a luxurious black truffle cream, and enhanced with black truffles and ham. This dish pays homage to Auguste Escoffier's 18th-century timbale technique.

Bar Sauvage (Japanese Wild Blackfin Seabass with Buttermilk and Caviar): A dish that elegantly pairs fresh seafood with delicate sauces and luxurious accompaniments.

Canard Apicius (Duck Breast with Dates preserved in Lemon and Tangy Apples): A rich and satisfying main course showcasing expert preparation of poultry.

Chef Le Squer's evolving vision and Chef Stein's precise execution ensure a consistently high standard of cooking, where every dish is designed to evoke emotion and push culinary boundaries while maintaining the elegance that defines French haute cuisine.

A Grand Colonial Ambiance The setting of La Maison 1888 is nothing short of spectacular. Designed by the celebrated architect Bill Bensley, the restaurant is a captivating recreation of a French Indochine colonial mansion, seamlessly blending French elegance with traditional Vietnamese architectural influences. Guests embark on a unique journey, often taking a charming retro cable car up the forested hillside to reach the resort and the restaurant.

The interior exudes sophistication with its black and white motif, soaring ceilings, and intricate decor. The dining experience is enhanced by the presence of three private dining rooms, each uniquely themed to reflect fictional siblings who once inhabited the historic house—from a travel-inspired room to an accountant's study or a glamorous ladies' boudoir. An expansive outdoor terrace provides breathtaking panoramic views of the Da Nang coastline, offering a truly unforgettable backdrop for pre-dinner drinks or a memorable meal. The grand wine cellar, boasting over 450 labels and consistently winning the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, complements the exquisite cuisine with rare and...

IMPORTANT NOTE to readers of this review: this is no longer the same restaurant program that the Michelin Guide issued a star to. The star was earned in July 2024. The executive chef and menu were both completely replaced in September 2024. This review is as of December 2024.

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I typically subscribe to the philosophy of “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all” when it comes to publicly reviewing a business… but my husband and I just spent US$700 on the most disappointing meal of our lives. If this review can save you any money, time, or effort on your future trip to Da Nang, then it was worth spending an hour writing it from the back of our Grab car on the way back to Hoi An.

If you are visiting Vietnam for flavorful food, don’t come here. If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, and are homesick for a cuisine that thinks black pepper is “too spicy”, you’ll love it.

Five of the 10 courses in the “Gourmand Adventure” tasting menu feature a repetitive taste profile of excessive amounts of creamy sauce with ham, mushrooms, and/or black truffles. The other five courses were truly puzzling, including pairing pistachio sorbet with lobster bisque (very bitter), serving yeasted ice cream in an all white dessert (tasted of sweetened, soured milk), poached foie gras (unfortunate texture and strange presentation), and a potato “gnocchi” that I’m trying to forget (sodium alginate gone WILD, with confusing saffron-basil sauce and no potato flavor).

The highlights: the service staff is absolutely EXCELLENT. Shout out to Henry for being supremely attentive, polite, patient, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. The freshly baked bread with Bordier butter, and cheese-crusted waffle amuse bouche were the best dishes of the night, neither of which were officially part of the tasting menu.

Bottom line: don’t be bamboozled by a Michelin star rating. Skip this fine dining experience; instead, spend 1% of that money at a locally-owned restaurant for a meal that you’ll actually enjoy. This was definitely NOT worth a dedicated trip to Da Nang from Hoi An; not even worth the effort to get to Son Tra Peninsula from Da Nang proper (20min).

If you find yourself marooned at the Intercontinental, desperate for sustenance, go to one of the other restaurants or order room service. If you absolutely still insist on going here, order the langoustines with mayonnaise (scrape half of the mayonnaise off the langoustine so you can actually taste it) or the spaghetti gratin from the a la carte menu, enjoy the selection of fine wines, ask for extra bread and butter, and skip the signature cocktails and the desserts. Ride the funicular and enjoy the view—it’s more satisfying than the meal.

If this is “haute couture”, it is style (plating) over substance (flavor). We detected absolutely no local flavors or influences. Check the Intercontinental’s announcement of this head chef to see how little time or effort he spent in Vietnam and eating the local food, and you’ll understand immediately why this was such an astounding, surprising...