Agapé, Restaurant gastronomique Paris 17ème

My wife and I were here on Monday night. This was my first Michelin-Star experience, and it was excellent. The food was totally on-point, as was the service. We were one of only two couples in the restaurant, so it was easy for them, but still, no complaints. 10/10 would go again!

We came for the lunch meal with wine pairing. We had fish for entree and main which were both delicious, and the dessert was great. The bread and butter served as an appetiser was not as nice as we’ve had elsewhere. We were offered champagne at the start of the meal, which we expected to be included because we had booked the wine pairing, but it was an additional 24€ per glass when we paid the bill. An espresso that we had with dessert cost 7€. It would have been good to receive a drinks menu to be aware of these prices before ordering. The staff were welcoming and accomodating. The atmosphere wasn’t the best - no music. Overall was a good experience but we would try somewhere else next time.

The lunch at Agapé was an absolutely exquisite experience — the kind that reminds you why Paris remains the capital of gastronomic grace. The food was exceptional: beautifully balanced, intensely flavourful dishes that felt both inventive and effortlessly refined. Each plate was crafted with the kind of precision and warmth that only a truly passionate kitchen can offer. The natural wines were superb — thoughtful pairings that elevated the meal without ever overshadowing it. And the service… perfectly attentive without being intrusive - gentle, intuitive, and genuinely caring. Agapé is one of those rare places where you sense heart behind every detail. An absolute gem.

Visited this wonderful restaurant last week. Tried one of the rich menus paired with wine , designed by the restaurant. One dish was better than the other! Was speechless. Thank you AGAPE team

We were recommended this restaurant by a friend who lived in Paris. What a truly sensational meal and we were looked after so well by Laurent. The wine matches were spot on and really interesting. We loved how carefully the ingredients were sourced. Highly, highly recommend.

I ate here for lunch as recommended online to avoid the high dinner prices. The food was very good and the overall experience was about what you'd expect from a Michelin star restaurant, with elaborate place settings and procedures for everything to make it a fine dining experience. With all that said, my gripes are as follows... They asked if we wanted champagne when we were seated, before receiving any menus. We weren't sure if it was part of the fixed menu or not, and we really should have asked. It turned about to be 24 Euros per glass... yikes. I understand that a lot gourmands go into spots like this to take in the whole experience regardless of the cost, but it seemed a bit of a price gouge. We certainly would have declined the offer had we known the price. Excluding the champagne, it came out to about 60ish Euros per person including water for the fixed menu. I would consider this reasonable for the experience, but the food was not as good as I've had at other Michelin star restaurants, hence the 4 star rating.

#41 see my reviews of all the Paris Michelin Stars. Humble and Flamboyance. Endearing duo. The interesting thing here is the result of two different characters. You have Laurent Lapaire, the flamboyant owner that spotted future multiple stars chef. You can feel his influence in the styling of restaurant for example. It’s very « cosmopolitan « , with modern design, beautiful tableware and even waiters that are not the typical old school étoilé staff. The other influence is the love for the good product and his passion for haute cuisine (basically, he goes to Michelin Stars during his spare time…). Interestingly enough, he s the type of character that you encounter with old school chef that owns their restaurant, very lively, opinionated, with a little light in his eyes. It’s more typical of the old school big name chef. Still, I appreciate a strong character with a passion. I’ve noticed in some reviews here, that’s some may be put off by that. I understand. Still, you have to recognize that he brought some great chef to the Michelin world. I’m fine with a strong character from Brittany as long as he delivers. Which brings me to the second point: the chef. I had the good fortune to speak with him after the meal. He’s just like his cuisine. Very humble, hiding his maturity, playful, just enjoying making great cuisine by making the most out of the seasonal ingredients. He’s not there for the fame, nor the money, he’s there for the beauty of it. I find it very refreshing and it does give me hope in an era geared toward the show and the visual (top chef, Instagram - on which I am ;-)). The interesting result is it does work. The combination of those two different characters manages to work, and I guess it’s because they have in common the love for the good ingredients. The mood/dressing code seems to be modern yet relax. I had a business friendly lunch, I saw birthday, I guess it can also work for couple. Still, I’ll put it more in the Haute Cuisine side, even if the character of chef is not pretentious. It’s a very solid one star. I had a great experience, and it grew on me after a couple of days (I never write the reviews just after, like the wine, you want to let it develop), resulting in a very endearing memory. Update 2022: After years of helping chefs reach new stars (the list is so crazy with Septime, Toutain, Alliance etc…), the Agape manager found a Madonna. And it does bring a change in the house to have a lady. Ok, the Madonna reference was there because the new chef, Rebecca Lookwood, was her personal chef. Her resume doesn’t stop there by far. Top chef star in Brazil, formally trained in one of the best school in Paris, she even became journalist for a while. Ok, what’s interesting? What does it mean for you? It means that the angle and even some of the ingredients will be very different from your average one star. She brings this diversity in the plate, with yet an attention to balance it. Interestingly, she’s from an English/Brazilian marriage, and I guess she’s used to be in between cultures. I would also note that being from Amazonia she is naturally eco concerned with a touch of interest in the ingredients medicinal power. Extremely interesting and I’m looking forward to see her grow with Laurent s help. Speaking of medicinal power, he’s a strong advocate for the “vin nature” (organic wine), which makes this restaurant way more “eco concerned “ and “exotic “ than it looks (and than others that are more into communication). Even if it’s a new chef, given both track records, it’s definitely still a very solid star.

My husband and I had a disappointing meal at Agape. We wanted to celebrate a recent success with a lovely gastronomic dinner. I chose Agape from the Michelin guide because they offered the option to order a la carte, because we no longer have the capacity for multi-course menus; and because they had sweetbreads on offer. The good points were: the restaurant is quiet; the staff very courteous; we had a very nice langoustine entree and an excellent Chassagne-Montrachet. However, the sweetbreads, while nicely executed, had no other redeeming value and could have used an interesting sauce. The service fell short of expectations. We asked, for example, for them to leave our water at the table, but they insisted on serving it themselves. As as result, our glasses were often empty for long periods and we had to call their attention to this several times. Same was true of our wine. Also, despite our ordering only an entree and a plat, they paced delivery of these similarly to the other tables which had multi-course meals. As a result, it took over an hour to get our entree, and another hour to get our plat. This was rather tedious and irritating, so we didn't even consider cheese or dessert. We were left with the impression that their aspirations exceeded their ability to execute at both the culinary and service levels. What a shame.