For several years Chef Iñaki Aizpitarte and his Le Chateaubriand has been hyped as the cool and affordable alternative to the traditional and much more luxurious haute cuisine restaurants. Le Chateaubriand with its effortless style provokes, but by the end of the day it is a bistro with high gastronomic intentions.

Chef Patron Iñaki Aizpitarte has a genuine and straightforward cooking style. Techniques originally based on the classic haute cuisine, but the openminded Chef has taken his cooking style into several directions although it is undoubtedly contemporary. New cooking trends and ideas are exercised on a regular basis and the Chef seems to be fearless when it comes to trying new things. Sometimes the final result becomes a delicious dish full of innovation and fun. Some other times the dish fails completely when it comes to the taste and texture. The inconsistency is a problem, with some dishes amazing and some others not worthy of your taste buds.

Le Chateaubriand is based in Paris in the eleventh arrondissement and is a retro styled bistro far from the traditional luxury restaurants of the city. The restaurant has a simple masculine interior of dark wood and bare tables & hard chairs. Many come to the restaurant because they are curious since several publications have hyped the restaurant to the stars. Others come because they like to have top quality cuisine to an affordable price. The fixed set menu of five courses is yours for 55 Euros and 115 Euros with wine pairings and that is an incredible value for money. There are no real bargains on the wine menu, but if you stick to the suggested wine pairings and the set menu with a bottle of water to that, you will have a complete dinner for 120 Euros plus tip which is great.

Le Chateaubriand is a typical French bistro, but with a Chef of high culinary skills and an amazing ability to put together ingredients few others would dare to combine and make dishes of. The self-taught Basque Chef expresses himself via his headstrong cuisine. He likes his food to speak for itself and it does, but the problem is that the cuisine is like a roller coaster with a lot of ups and owns.

Iñaki Aizpitarte is important for the world of gastronomy. He has integrity and is not afraid of doing his own thing. He offers innovative high quality cuisine which most people can afford. Ingredients of high quality and most often ecological friendly and all of the wines are organic or biodynamical. You will have a pleasant evening in the noisy dining room of Le Chateaubriand, but leave your suit at home and arrive in a pair of jeans and a sweater and you will melt in with the other guests and the staff.

Written by Andy