Restaurant
Taillevent
Paris, France
Taillevent has been a culinary institution in Paris since 1946. The restaurant is as French as it can be; a true protector of the haute cuisine and the French art of living. Taillevent might be considered as a boring traditional French luxury restaurant, but you have to visit it to understand its many qualities, impeccable service and delicious food. The restaurant shines with quality and the best possible hospitality – it is a place to arrive at as a stranger, but to leave as one of the restaurant’s family members. You will never feel more welcomed.
Taillevent’s Head Chef is Alain Solivérès and he has been the Chef since 2002. He strongly believes in the traditional cooking, but he does not mind to innovate it. His cuisine is mainly French traditional, but with several touches to make it taste and look more contemporary. He succeeds exemplarily well with his cooking and it is obvious that he has been trained by some of the best, like Alain Ducasse. There have only been six Head Chefs at Taillevent since its opening 1946 so most of the chefs tend to stay for a long time.
Taillevent has never been famous for its chefs which is the most common for restaurants, no, this French classic has been most famous for its owners – the Vrinat Family. André Vrinat opened the original Taillevent 1946 in the ninth arrondissement of Paris, but the restaurant moved to its present location in 1950 thanks to its growing success. André Vrinat’s son, Jean-Claude, took over back in 1973 and he was everything Taillevent stands for, refinement, pristine quality and top hospitality all the way until his death in 2008. His daughter, Valérie, runs the restaurant today with the majority shareholders, the Gardinier family, and the business has expanded into more restaurants and wine shops.
The decoration of Taillevent was redesigned in 2004 and a lot of contemporary art was added to give the mansion a more modern feeling and it was a successful renovation without taking away the classic ambience which the restaurant has been so well-known for. The service is still nothing less than impeccable and the team in the dining room is led by Restaurant Director Jean-Marie Ancher. He has worked several decades for the restaurant and is one of the most experienced in the world of hospitality. It is amazing to witness his extraordinary talent for taking care of the guests in the dining room.
Taillevent has some of the best wine offerings available anywhere, with around 3,000 selections from a handful Euros to many thousands for a bottle. Chef Sommelier Jean-François Le Moine makes sure that you always have the best pairings to your meal.
Taillevent is always a safe bet if you are looking for top quality haute cuisine nestled in an exclusive environment of world class service. The restaurant’s many regulars can not be wrong and they always return and you will probably do the same after your first impeccable evening at the Taillevent.
Written by Andy