Stepping through the majestic doorway of La Réserve Hôtel & Spa, a 5-star hotel facing the Champs-Elysées gardens, is an experience in itself. The luxurious gilded halls are followed by more intimate lounges with plush sofas and decor featuring old woodwork and moldings, rediscovered during the hotel's renovation, a veritable invitation to travel .
The ideal place to start a gastronomic expedition in Le Gabriel, one of La Réserve's two restaurants alongside La Pagode de Cos, which was awarded two Michelin stars the year it opened in 2016.
Travel is the theme chosen by chef Jérôme Banctel since the reopening of Le Gabriel after the troubled health period, to take fine palates with him from his native Brittany to the far reaches of Asia, and more specifically to Japan, the country of the starred chef's heart and inspiration.
Gathered in a travel diary distributed to guests in advance of the tasting, the various stages of this long and eventful gustatory journey evoke, as soon as you read it, a thousand places and just as many flavors skilfully plucked by the chef from across the continents, on either side of an imaginary and very personal world map.
So, we let ourselves be blissfully taken by the hand and guided through the dishes that, once the glass facade is removed, reveal enchanting aromas and meticulously prepared dishes . From the sushi with red tuna marinated in satay sauce and snatched up in a single bite as a prelude, to the cart that magically opens onto a bevy of tasty mignardises, Captain Banctel 's excursion conquered our gourmet palate and traveler's heart.
An unforgettable journey of the senses , dotted with exciting discoveries and stopovers.
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Buckwheat cracker and smoked sardine / Potatoes, nori seaweed and Kristal Kaviari caviar
Lentil chips, candied egg yolk and pickled shallots / Beetroot tartlet and flame-smoked salmon
Steamed blini with capers, gherkins, onions and quail egg
Kristal caviar quenelle and haddock blancmange
Salmon confit with miso, sweet potato cooked in sweet potato juice and grapefruit juice reduction
Millet seeds and Mexican red pepper
Chef Jérôme Banctel's signature dish
Roasted artichokes, sakura gel, barigoule sauce
Blue lobster from Brittany poached in seawater and finished with Binchotan
Pumpkin seed praline and butternut balls flavored with Japanese spices rayu
Scallops, black truffle, kale, Brussels sprouts
Scallop beard juice and verjuice
Pork terrine, potatoes, nori seaweed
Quenelle of Isigny cream and shellfish - oysters, cockles, whelks and periwinkles -
Eel and bacon from Colonnata, crispy leek with horseradish
Beef consommé with red wine
Challans duck, Apicius spices, apple jelly
Duck juice, fermented Medjool date condiment
Calisson revisited
Lime, caramelized almonds, miso-vanilla ice cream, bergamot meringue
Grapefruit dessert
Grapefruit meringue, samphire and oyster leaf
Chocolate dessert
White wine pulp, red balsamic vinegar bean, chocolate sauce profiteroles
Chocolate sauce with red balsamic vinegar
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At Gabriel, culinary emotions can be experienced on three menus: the "Escales" menu (3-course lunch, 75€), the "Virée" menu (5-course lunch and dinner, 145€) and the "Périples" menu (8-course lunch and dinner, 195€). A "Hunting" menu (280€) featuring the finest beasts is also currently on offer.
Location
La Réserve Paris - Hotel and Spa
42 Avenue Gabriel
75008 Paris 8
Access
Franklin D. Roosevelt (lines 1 - 9)
Official website
www.lareserve-paris.com
