Recent Dining Experiences in France (Arpege, Toutain, more)

The collective wisdom of the board was very helpful in planning our recent honeymoon to France foodwise (as well as a perfectly timed birthday gift of Guide Michelin France 2017 from my wife) so I thought I’d share my experiences.

Jules Verne
Alain Ducasse’s restaurant in the Eiffel Tower. The dinner was excellent, particularly the pigeon, and asparagus, service was excellent, and you can’t beat the view. We scored a table by the window, and got to see the sun set over Paris. The only negatives were a loud table having a discussion about their daughter’s? eating disorder which was awkward and the price; it was our most expensive meal by a fair margin. Worth doing once.

Arpege
Arpege was on my bucket list and the first restaurant I booked once our flights were determined. We went for lunch as we couldn’t quite justify dinner. Our reservation was at 2:00pm, and we sat in the ‘grotto’ downstairs. I think we were the last sitting. I chose the time because I didn’t want a long lunch to start at noon, and some had suggested here the restaurant can get kind of casual and more free toward the end of service. I say all this because the meal was a bit of Jekyll and Hyde. The food was outstanding. Surprisingly simple at times but satisfying and perfectly executed, not at all fussy, in some ways one would not even think 3*. The oeuf chaud-froid was outstanding. However, the service was poor. They do the French thing where your wine is inaccessible at a sideboard. I had to ask the waiter, who then summoned the sommelier to pour our wine twice. As time went on, we had to ask for water, for everything, which was kind of a turn off for the price paid. We had the tasting menu and said we wanted the chaud-froid if it wasn’t on the menu, as a supplement or replacement. I don’t know if it was because of that or something else but we didn’t get mignardises though all the other tables did, and a different desert (which was the worst dish though not bad).
Anyway, I’m eager to go back, my wife may need convincing, as frankly it was the service that put a negative filter on the lunch for us, not the food.

Toutain
We had dinner the next night, and had the best experience of the trip. Every dish was outstanding, very creative and playful. I have no doubt David Toutain has a great sense of humour. The service was fantastic, attentive, and friendly. We had the wine pairings which overall were very successful. Since it was our honeymoon, they added a little congratulatory plate, which was very thoughtful. More than anything, what made the dinner special was that Restaurant David Toutain really made us feel they appreciated we chose to dine there. There is a great sincerity we felt.

Daniel et Denise
An authentic bouchon Lyonnaise, the food was excellent, particularly the Bresse chicken. They were understaffed so service was slow and it was quite warm that night so we finished the evening outside on the patio.

Les Terrasses de Lyon
Fantastic restaurant worthy of its star. The view of Lyon is utterly breathtaking. We went for lunch. The food was creative, though still classic, service attentive and relaxed. I enjoyed a Jacques Puffeney Chardonnay.

Saveurs de Py
Japanese influenced classic bistro fare. One of the best value meals we had, it was a little out of the way, but a ton of craft went into each dish. Wine list was pretty good, had a really nice bottle of Chave St Joseph 2013.

Le Rolancy’s
Fish focus, and a great meal, very inventive dishes with intriguing use of sugar in the main dish. The veal used a bitter caramel sauce which somehow wasn’t sweet but rich, and deeply flavoured and a great complement to the veal. It was a bit surreal, we were the only ones in the restaurant the whole night. Luckily their bistro next door was busy.

The lunch at David Toutain is also terrific and reasonably priced. Probably the best meal of our entire trip.

Saveurs de Py is off the beaten path.
That said, Croix-Rousse is a pretty cool neighborhood.

Agree with the service issues at Arpege. We sat upstairs for lunch and the room is very crowded. It is a small room that is nothing special. We were bumped in to by staff many times. There was also a beverage cart with water and other things on it that they parked directly in front of tables (not ours). That would have been very annoying. I really enjoyed the food, I just wish the overall service and ambiance was better.

We went to Le Pré Catelan the next day. That room was gorgeous and service was much more what you would expect at a Parisian 3***. Same for Guy Savoy where we went on another trip.

George

Sounds like a good trip for you & Cathy, Peter. Glad you posted.
Bit of a shame re Arpege.

Thanks for the comments, it seems our experiences were pretty typical of the places we went, which is a bit disappointing in the case of Arpege. It has more to do with the expectations you have (and prices paid) than with the food.

Chris, we’ll connect so I can give you the scoop. We visited Pegau and Beaucastel.

Wow, we’ve never had anything but superb service at l’Arpege. Sorry to hear that.

Pretty poor service at Arpege as well. Champagne went unfilled (left in ice bucket way too long), bread crumbs on the table, water glasses left empty. Pretty ho hum service.

Great food but so so service for us too at l’Arpège a few months ago. Happy to have done it but would not go again at that price.

Alain

Was this at the beet extravaganza dinner (I think it was beets) or a subsequent meal.

Think I’d go back after the beers incident??

Arpege is my favorite restaurant in Paris. We’ve been annually for dinner since 2010 and have seen the atmosphere and service evolve, intentionally I think, from formal to more informal. I like the balance they’ve struck. I also believe the comment about going at the end of service (Yaacov?) was about dinner, not lunch, when they have to do it all again in a few hours. We tend to go at 9pm and by the time we leave, Chef is permanently in the dining room and the atmosphere is very relaxed and fun. Everyone has different likes and expectations. Unfortunately, it hasn’t met those of some who have posted on this thread. My wife hates food temples and intrusive service and I prefer the unstuffy environment at Arpege. When we first started going, I was one of few men who did not wear a tie (I permanently gave them up when I reformed from being a lawyer), although I wore a jacket. Now, I wear a sweater. Cashmere, but a sweater, and I’m not underdressed. For future reference, ask to be seated upstairs when you book. And make your own tasting menu with half portions and only one course, if that many, of beets…

When we were last at Toutain in October, there were service issues. I suspected that someone didn’t show up to work, as they were harried when we first sat down and it took forever for someone to take our aperitif (bottle of Champagne) order. Also, Madame Toutain was not there that night. Food was very good and up to prior visits, with some dishes being superb, particularly celeriac ‘fettuccine’ with first of the season Alba truffles. I racked the service issues up to ‘shit happens’ after they brought the Champagne! Will return in Oct.

Can’t wait for Oct.

Thank you for sharing your experience everyone. Mark, I’d like to go again, because the food was great, the service just put a negative lens on the meal. I would go back to Toutain in a heartbeat.

Regarding your comments about casual, one couple dining beside was in cargo shorts and she had almost pajama type pants. Super casual, though perhaps at dinner a bit different.

next time wear a blended wool and see what happens.

Good to see that Charlie recognized my attempt at humor.

ate at david toutain a little over a week ago and it was in fact superior to my meal at mirazur yesterday, which was quite a let down for a 2 star establishment let alone the supposed 4th best restaurant in the world.

I can’t comment on Mirazur, but David Toutain is absolutely worth 2 stars, and a relative value to boot.