“ I suspect I have waited too long and missed the Golden Age.”
Cuisine: French Haute Cuisine
Website Link: https://www.guysavoy.com
Award: 2 Michelin Star
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
Food: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Would I return: Possibly – but not too soon.
When I asked my taxi driver for Restaurant Guy Savoy, he congratulated me on having made such an excellent choice. In broken French, and a lot of enthusiastic hand waving, I told him I’d been wanting to dine there for many years. Tentatively, I climbed the opulent 16th century staircase, and to my stunned surprise was warmly welcomed by Mr Savoy himself, who greeted me like a favoured house guest. What a lovely gesture, you feel very special dining here.
Guy Savoy is decorated, celebrated and respected, and for good reason. He is of a generation of French chefs that we owe so much, this style of cookery is perhaps my favourite: haute cuisines with a capital “C”: buttery sauces, wildly complicated preparations, and elegant plating. Former diners tell me, wistfully, that the artichoke soup changed their life, that this is their favourite restaurant in Paris. Savoy trained Gordon Ramsay, who cites him as a mentor. What a restaurant, what a reputation, what a Guy! I didn’t let the recent downgrade from 3 to a 2 Michelin Stars bother me at all, many of my favourite restaurants are 2 stars. I cared more about if this restaurant would offer exceptional eating – and was confident it would.
Finally! We opted for the ironically named “Keep it Simple” 7 course lunch menu, that gives you an opportunity to sample the Savoy style – which is masculine and without too much fuss. This is €260, or €365 with wine. The Champagne trolley arrived, and here things got somewhat awkward. Just out of sight and with all the bottles turned to face away from the diner, considerable efforts were made to conceal the labels. I described the style I enjoy and without mentioning the producer, the sommelier poured me a glass of Champagne (the name of which I’ll never know), holding the bottle in such a way that I couldn’t see the label. Letting me know exactly what I was drinking was expertly avoided. My dining partner then described the style of Champagne he enjoyed, and it happened again, another glass was poured in such a way that you couldn’t see the label, and no information was given about the winemaker. Confused, he asked “what is it I’m drinking?” and was given an evasive answer that didn’t include the name of the producer. It was a little strange.
Anyway, artichoke! And lots of it. Not an ingredient I have strong feelings towards but in the hands of Chef Savoy it became one I fell deeply in love with. The little pot of soup had what felt like the hearts and souls of a thousand artichokes and the same measure in butter: classic, refined, and sort of genius. Even now, when I think about this opening sip with great fondness. The same couldn’t be said for the bread roll which was inexcusably hard, even by French standards. I couldn’t break it with my hands, I didn’t even attempt it.
Next came the supreme of chicken with foie gras, artichoke, and truffle vinaigrette. I wasn’t impressed by the deliberately grim presentation and was somewhat confused by the tiny DIY heaps of salt and pepper (in addition to the salt and pepper bowls already on the table), but the moment it touched my palate, this understated beige plate exploded with a technicolour of fatty, meaty, yet somehow elegant flavours, a sublime experience. The culinary equivalent of an ugly man that can charm your knickers off: after it was over I wasn’t quite sure how it had happened but I didn’t regret the pleasure I took, right down to finger-swiping the sauce. Had I not been in polite company I would have certainly licked the plate. He even leaves a little pot of extra vinaigrette for you to mischievously enjoy by the spoonful. What a delight!
Colours of caviar with smoked sabayon was as tasty as a caviar course could be, and was accompanied yet again by an additional pot of sabayon to supplement your enjoyment. The sea bass was perfectly cooked, a nice buttery sauce, some al dente veg… The cooking, although not exciting was faultless, but I felt not beyond the scope of an upmarket bistro. Then arrived the legendary artichoke soup with truffle, served with a layered truffle mushroom brioche. Perhaps the most famous course on the menu – my expectations were high, and they were met. There’s no trickery involved, and it looked very ordinary, for that reason it’s all the more impressive that this was one of the best soups I’ve ever tasted. I did notice other diners were offered (and gratefully received) a second helping of soup one they were finished; this was sadly not afforded to us. The “Veallington” was presented in a more rustic fashion than you’d expect from a two star, and the cooking was good but not perfect (slightly over cooked). It came with unceremonious assortment of vegetables and a decent sauce… it lacked the magic of some previous courses, and seasoning.
The dessert – textures of pineapple with spices, I found to be very lacking in balance, it was a lot more like a pre-dessert and was extremely tart – the levels of acidity were such that I left more than half of it. I was also a little disappointed by the lack of patisserie, it was my least favourite course. Following this arrived the dessert trolley, a welcome injection of fun into the otherwise formal (but nonetheless comfortable) dining room. The phase “kid in a candy store” springs to mind as the offering unfolds: 5 different ice creams and sorbets, 5 or 6 different pastries, nougat, macarons, clafoutis, chocolate moose, rice pudding, pear tart, marshmallows… you pick a little of this, and a little of that, as per your taste. Everything was executed well, but I’m unsure I liked the Choose Your Own Adventure end to the meal, that inevitably involves not enjoying 75% of the trolley, as opposed to simply being fed what Chef Savoy thinks would conclude the meal most appropriately. The cherry clafoutis, which I enjoyed with almond sorbet was very enjoyable – a larger portion of that would have sufficed. To take home? A Guy Savoy pastry which went down particularly well with a cup of tea the next morning.
With the exception of the Champagne shenanigans, service was warm and humorous. The “simple” menu offers plenty and suited my capacity just fine. I enjoyed my meal but I’m not sure lunch convinced me to come back for the dinner menu (which is €680). This was an enjoyable experience, but one l wouldn’t describe as a must-visit. I suspect I have waited too long and missed the Golden Age of Guy Savoy that I’ve heard so much about. Paris offers such an enticing plethora of choice – I’m not sure I’ll be back.
S.G 🥂
