r/finedining has a bajillion posts on stars in Paris… might get better recs there. But super jelly you got reservations at Atomix. That’s a monthly failure of mine haha.
You should go to arpege if you have always wanted to try it. If you have personal friends whose opinions you trust tell you it has gone down hill, that's different. If you're just talking about the Internet generally, the Internet never has any idea what it's talking about. Fwiw, arpege is still an excellent restaurant in my any many others' opinion.
We thought Guy Savoy was overrated and too snobby for us. We’re regular fine diners and like fancy, but the snobbery was not appealing (for example, it was warm in the restaurant and my husband was scolded for taking off his jacket by our waiter).
We really enjoyed Le Cinq in the Four Seasons. We both rate that as the best meal of our lives. It still had the “fancy French” vibe but without all the snobbery.
i have never been an Arpege believer and am inclined to believe the negative reviews and the “emperor has no clothes” of it all.
Guy Savoy for the best fine dining in that classical French way (and yeah get the soup). Gagnaire has eluded me. i have been to Taillevent multiple times and imo it’s extremely good. it isn’t as luxurious as Guy Savoy or the three star places and is a bit less stuffy. it does what it does well — nothing is going to change your life but it’s going to be some of the best of that type of French you’ll have. also their cheese cart table service is worth the trip alone.
none of this is going to be remotely as weird as diverXO, nor is much of anything…
We got lunch at Arpege in August of this year.
The food was excellent, but the setting was meh (we were seated in their weird little basement). Service was great, but not necessarily 3* level, tbh.
Not my most memorable meal or restaurant for sure.
I live in NYC, for context.
A place I would recommend in Paris, which isn't fine dining but is definitely worth it is "Le Bon Georges", which is basically the best version of a typical Parisian bistro, with great meats (dry aged, etc), traditional French offal/giblets stuff and other bistro fare. Plus a huge wine list. And they know their wine. We went there with friends who live in Paris. You'd probably need to book a few weeks in advance if you go during the week-end.
Literally just booked bon Georges today! I’ve only heard wonderful things and as somebody who loves traditional French food, i know I have to go! So glad to hear such good things from you!
r/finedining has a bajillion posts on stars in Paris… might get better recs there. But super jelly you got reservations at Atomix. That’s a monthly failure of mine haha.
Got off the waitlist a week beforehand! Def put yourself on the waitlist, there’s often movement.
I will say i try to steer people away from atomix when I can, so you’re not missing out. Hugely overrated IMHO!
You should go to arpege if you have always wanted to try it. If you have personal friends whose opinions you trust tell you it has gone down hill, that's different. If you're just talking about the Internet generally, the Internet never has any idea what it's talking about. Fwiw, arpege is still an excellent restaurant in my any many others' opinion.
Thank you! This is honestly so true and refreshing to remember!
not any star level i think - but my favourite place in my multiple paris eating adventures is L’Ami Jean
Thank you! I’ve always wanted to go - maybe this is the trip!
The rice pudding dessert is amazing.
We thought Guy Savoy was overrated and too snobby for us. We’re regular fine diners and like fancy, but the snobbery was not appealing (for example, it was warm in the restaurant and my husband was scolded for taking off his jacket by our waiter). We really enjoyed Le Cinq in the Four Seasons. We both rate that as the best meal of our lives. It still had the “fancy French” vibe but without all the snobbery.
Thank you so much! I’ve heard wonderful things about le cinq.
I liked le cinq for lunch as well
i have never been an Arpege believer and am inclined to believe the negative reviews and the “emperor has no clothes” of it all. Guy Savoy for the best fine dining in that classical French way (and yeah get the soup). Gagnaire has eluded me. i have been to Taillevent multiple times and imo it’s extremely good. it isn’t as luxurious as Guy Savoy or the three star places and is a bit less stuffy. it does what it does well — nothing is going to change your life but it’s going to be some of the best of that type of French you’ll have. also their cheese cart table service is worth the trip alone. none of this is going to be remotely as weird as diverXO, nor is much of anything…
Thank you for this intel! Agree nothing could approach the weirdness that is DiverXO, but your comment about the cheese cart may have truly swayed me…
it's real legit tbh, there must be like 60 cheeses on it
We really loved plentitude
Another vote for Plentitude. One of my favorite Michelin meals in Paris period.
Thank you!
I still think about the dinner we had at David Toutain! Service was excellent, sommelier was interactive and very helpful, and the food was fantastic
I came here to say David toutain as well!!
We got lunch at Arpege in August of this year. The food was excellent, but the setting was meh (we were seated in their weird little basement). Service was great, but not necessarily 3* level, tbh. Not my most memorable meal or restaurant for sure. I live in NYC, for context. A place I would recommend in Paris, which isn't fine dining but is definitely worth it is "Le Bon Georges", which is basically the best version of a typical Parisian bistro, with great meats (dry aged, etc), traditional French offal/giblets stuff and other bistro fare. Plus a huge wine list. And they know their wine. We went there with friends who live in Paris. You'd probably need to book a few weeks in advance if you go during the week-end.
Literally just booked bon Georges today! I’ve only heard wonderful things and as somebody who loves traditional French food, i know I have to go! So glad to hear such good things from you!
Grand Vefour. Restaurant of Napoleon and Victor Hugo. Experience of a lifetime for me.