When in Paris, you have to go all out!

Paris has an overwhelming plethora of amazing high end restaurants. If I had the time and money I’d dine at them all! The city has 10 three Michelin starred restaurants which is insane and made my decision on where to dine quite difficult. Within those 10 restaurants I wanted to dine at several of them but of course that’s unrealistic. With research, I slowly narrowed them down one by one and decided on Epicure because of its solid reviews across the board. The restaurant is located inside the luxurious Le Bristol Hotel.

When we walked into the restaurant, we were in awe of the gorgeous opulent interior where the windows overlooked into the stunning courtyard. Truly magical. Eric Fréchon is the chef behind the restaurant and uses various high end French ingredients from all over the country. The restaurant offers a tasting menu or an à la carte option and we opted for the tasting menu. One of the signature dishes was no longer on the tasting menu but they happily let us switch out one dish on one of the tasting menus so we could try it.

The beautifully presented amuse bouches were divine. The foie gras parfait was creamy and rich with an acidic sorrel sauce on top. The chickpea cornet was crispy with a velvety filling. Lastly, the frog leg was so juicy and tender. We also had some tomato olive bread that was delicious.

The bread basket had an amazing selection of homemade baked goods such as baguette, seaweed bread, bacon bread, fennel seed bread, seeded grain bread, and olive bread. Of course we tried as many as we could. I especially loved the seaweed bread with its umami flavor and the bacon bread because…well bacon.

The second amuse bouche was a whipped pea mousse with fresh spring peas in the bacon onion gelée. So good.

This was exquisite. From the presentation to the flavor, it was spot on. The ratte potato (a type of small potato that’s buttery and slightly nutty) mousseline with smoked haddock had the most wonderful velvety texture with just a touch of smoke. Of course the briny creamy caviar on top was the real star. On the side was a crispy buckwheat tuile filled with a tangy tart filling.

What a great presentation of the leeks wrapped in the “burnt” leeks. The tender leeks were accompanied by a Perle Blanche oyster tartare (oysters coming from Normandy with a sweet and nutty flavor) as well as plump cooked oysters with spring onion, lemon, and seaweed butter. A bright dish.

Instead of each of us getting the previous leek dish, we opted one out so we could try one of chef Eric Frechon’s signature dishes. Wow. Decadent would be an understatement but this was impeccable. I wish it was a bigger portion because it was beyond delicious. The macaroni were stuffed with artichoke, aromatic black truffle, and rich foie gras then gratinated with aged Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Superb.

Sadly, this was an underwhelming dish for the both of us. Compared to all the dishes that we previously had, it seemed elementary and not up to par. While the fish was cooked perfectly, I found the flavors boring. Yes, the bread crust with almonds was nicely browned and crispy, the piquillo pepper relish was tangy and fresh, and the curry flavored oil added some interesting flavor but overall the dish was not our favorite.

I’m so glad this dish redeemed the previous dish since this was the last savory course. This might be one of the most flavorful and tender lamb I’ve ever had that was pan fried with garlic and thyme. The sautéed spinach with anchovies and candied lemon might seem boring but I loved the condiment with the rich lamb. The little potato puff was crispy and light but still had an intense potato flavor, the best potato chip I’ve tasted. The jus poured tableside was so intense and complex that we soaked up every last drop with our bread.

No French meal would be complete without a cheese course. Once again, we asked for a tasting of various cheeses.

This palate cleanser was so refreshing and well balanced between sweetness and acidity. With a rose gelée with fresh pieces of lychee and raspberry, the lime sorbet was the perfect accompaniment to those flavors.

A pear orange blossom honey ice cream with fresh juicy tangerine supremes and various nuts and dried fruits around. I’m more of a fruit dessert person so I preferred this compared to the next one.

While the presentation was incredible, I felt the chocolate dessert was one dimensional. The chocolate sorbet inside the cocoa pod was infused with lemongrass but I didn’t get any of that flavor. I did enjoy the various textural components of the chocolate such as iced, foamed, and crunchy.

We ended the meal with petit fours where we could choose various flavored macarons, chocolates, and caramels.

Overall Epicure was a fantastic meal and we had a great time. While it is a three Michelin starred restaurant, the service didn’t seem stuffy at all and our main server was so kind and friendly. For a special occasion or for any foodie, Epicure is an exceptional place to dine at for its elegant ambience, great hospitality, and of course impeccable food so my rating is an 8.5/10.