Caroline K.
Yelp
I'm not sure how to give this the review it deserves, but I will try my best which I know will fall far short of articulate, but I want to give NY'ers and the rest of the American population that has taste an opportunity to be clued in on one of the best dining experiences you will ever have. I was fortunate enough to visit Paris in May, which is by far the best month to be there, and my friend and I were able to catch a reservation at this place for LUNCH from a recommendation by a friend of a friend. From what I understand it is very difficult to book here. Having dined at some of the best french cuisine Manhattan can offer, nothing even comes close to this or the other handful of restaurants I dined at. Le Pre Catelan is the ultimate Michelin star experience, and I just had LUNCH there. Yes, it is absolutely ridiculously expensive, but the experience is 100% worth every penny and more, and you will not be disappointed in any aspect of your meal. I speak very little french and that wasn't a problem not only for our main waiter, but his pit crew of 4, and not only did they understand english, but they made a point to speak to me about my likes and dislikes without making me feel like a stupid American. They didn't rush, they didn't push, they didn't take too long, they were there a half a second before you had to look for them, they did an amazing job.
As for the food, I'm going to have to jog my memory a bit, and for the prices, I'm not sure because my menu didn't list them, but I know that a pre fixe lunch will range from 85-185 euro a person, but we did something different. (And yes you can check the menus online some, but don't forget to convert the euros if you're trying to budget) To begin, a creamy pea soup, with the puree then they added the broth at the table so it was steamy but not too hot. Also a choice of bread, traditional and something else, I had a piece of both, fresh baked and excellent as always expected from any french baked bread. I had a bordeaux recommended by the waiter, no clue what it was, but it was by the glass as I was the only one drinking. I know some of the bottles on the menu were up in the 5 digits.
First course was crab and caviar three ways, I wish I could remember what they were. The one specifically prepared fresh and marketed by the restaurant was incredible, the other 2, a crab broth with caviar bits was a really good, and the third, a gelatin with a spice and caviar jelly over a crab mix was not my taste but still incredible. I believe the menu description is: Le Crabe prepare en coque fine gelee de corail et caviar de france, soupe au parfum de fenouil.
Next, lobster 3 ways, the menu description was: Le Homand roti, pois gourmands au parfum d' ail, capres et champignons, gelee de homard au caviar de france pinces croustillantes. I don't remember these courses too much because I was more focused on the crab and caviar, but I will say even not being a huge fan of lobster, it was really good.
So at this point, we've had 3 courses in french standards, or 7 in american standards. Next, I had turbot 3 ways which is described here: Le Turbot cuit au plat, recouvert d' amandes torrefiees petites capres et cebettes, jus d' amande amere, risotto de seiche juste poelee, jus gras et poivre noir. A fish I have only had a couple of times, but again was blown out of the water. The risotto was perfect, not too much or dry, there was a nut crusted piece that I wasn't crazy about, but the flavors were still great, and the 3 way was just as good as the other 2. By this point I was stuffed. We also had the sole 3 ways which was listed here: La Sole cuite au naturel, glacee du'un jus de soja epice poelee de gemes de soja, mangue fraiche legerement acidulee, mariniere coquillages, beurre demi-sel. I only tried 1 of them and I can't remember which, but of course, it was excellent.
From there, there is a cheese cart that you can order from when you're done with your 'entrees' so to speak. I tried 3 cheeses and the waiter suggested a pinot gris, I obliged, why not, they haven't done me wrong yet. So this is course #4 or #10 depending on which side of the pond you're on. From there we had dessert, which was by far the star of the meal. I had Le Pomme, which is described here: La Pomme soufflee croustillante, creme glacee caramel, cidre et sucre petillant. It comes in a hard candy shell that you have to crack open, and in my most American way of explaining things, feels like pop rocks on your tongue. The soufflee isn't too dense, it isn't too light, it was textured perfectly and was a rather large portion but so good. We also had a tray of chocolate candies to accompany the desserts, but I could barely touch any after being so stuffed.
I know I'm leaving pieces out because I can't remember all of the components, but this is what stands out in my mind. I'll try to attach pictures to give it some justice.