Right in the middle of Paris at the Champs-Élysées, just a few steps from the majestic Arc de Triomphe, in the basement of a busy address, the most recognised chef in the world has another excellent L’Atelier.

It is situated in the basement of Publicis Drugstore. The Drugstore is unique in itself; it is a luxury convenience store (it includes a bookstore, a pharmacy, premium food, a cinema etcetera) and is frequented both by tourists and Parisians. A bit into the Drugstore you find stairs down to the L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. At the bottom of the stairs in the basement you will find a small lounge where you can wait until you get a seat at the now almost Classic L’Atelier concept. The colour scheme is dramatic red and black with some green touches and displays of food ingredients. As in the other L’Ateliers it is the food and its preparation that is the essential. So in this friendly atmosphere you do not have to dress up, can bring your kids and still enjoy a fantastic taste experience.

The L’Atelier is really like a studio kitchen where you can sit and see the action of the cooking in front of you. While some restaurants have a chef’s table, the L’Atelier is in itself a chef’s table. There is an adjacent room for those who want some privacy but the best seats are at the bar counter in front of the open kitchen and close to the action. Sitting there, you will have a continuous visual and verbal contact with the staff, insight into the process of preparation of the next meal you are going to be served, almost feeling being a part of a star team.

The action is the food which is contemporary French. You will find foie gras, caviar and the famous pomme purée. Some of the dishes are a successful meeting between East and West combining French traditional ingredients with for example Asian spice effects. You can either go for the small discovery portion to try several tastes or go all in for the seasonal discovery menu. At this L’Atelier you can also try skewers of different ingredients.

The renowned Head Sommelier Antoine Hernandez, who also oversees the wines for all the Robuchon restaurants, can do a matching wine menu, but there is no standard one. There is not a huge amount of wine by glass, but those that are, are from magnums which is unusual and raises the quality. Wines grow and mature in large casks and are used to space before being confined into bottles, a large bottle will still give it space. Unfortunately not many wines come in large bottles, but here you get the unique chance to try several by the glass.

So just as the Arc de Triomphe de l´Etoile is one of the most famous icons of Paris, so is Joël Robuchon for haute cusine, and what better place to go than his branch at the Etoile!

Written by Joakim