Le Bristol Restaurant

Overall impression: Le Bristol’s elegant dining room, well trained staff and delicious dishes made it a natural for a return visit. In addition to Chef Eric Frechon’s creations, the dining room was elegant and inviting, and the wine menu offered many affordable and desirable choices. With 80 staff members in the kitchen and another 13 in the dining room, we wanted for nothing. We appreciated the wine steward’s selections (from wine cellars of more than 30,000 bottles) and the pastry chef’s talents which provided a worthy ending to a well prepared lunch. Favorites included the scrumptious varied pre-appetizers and delicately flavored turbot and oxtail, with steamed fois gras enveloped in cabbage leaves, main courses.

An assortment of “home made” breads baked fresh three times a day and especially made butter from St. Malo were among the notable touches which enhanced our meal. Classic Bacarrat chandeliers, exclusively designed Limoges porcelain dinnerware, Christofle silverware, fine linens, crystal glasses added to the experience. Le Bristol restaurant was a good match for its namesake hotel , with great attention to detail, excellent food, notable décor and ambiance.

Location: in the lobby of Le Bristol hotel

Owned: Oetker Hotels Group (Dr. August Oetker)

Type of restaurant: Modern French

Executive chef: Eric Frechon

About the executive chef: In charge of the Le Bristol’s kitchen since 1999, Normandy born chef Frechon was awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France title at the young age of 36 (in 1993). He began his career as commis chef at La Grande Cascade Restaurant in Paris . He worked at Le Bristol (1981-83) and Taillevent (1983-85) in Paris and then in Spain at the Hotel Byblos Andaluz (1985-88). Upon his return to Paris he worked at the Tour d’Argent and Les Ambassadeurs restaurant (Hotel du Crillon). By 1995 he had opened his own restaurant, La Verriére d’Eric Frechon. His style of cooking emphasizes France ’s changing culinary culture.

Assistant chefs: Arnaud Bignon, Fabien Caboy, Yannick Franques and Franck Leroy

Pastry chef : Gilles Marchal, a Lorraine born pastry chef who joined Le Bristol team in 1999. Prior to joining Le Bristol he worked as pastry chef at Jean Bardet, Chateauroux, small cakes and desserts department manager at Monsier Pit Oberweise in Luxembourg, assistant pastry chef at the Hotel du Crillon, pastry chef at the Prunier Traktir restaurant, and pastry chef at the Plaza Athénée. He teaches sweet culinary art at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Patisserie at the Chateau de Montbarnier at Yssingeaux. His first book Fraise was published in October 2003 (Les éditions Agnés Vienot)

Head Sommelier: Jérôme Moreau (Estelle Touzet assisted us during our visit)

Restaurant director: Raphaël Courant

Décor/ambiance : The Winter Restaurant, where we had lunch, is usually open October 1st to April 30th. The oval shaped room, formerly a private theater, featured 18th century decor, with six Baccarat chandeliers, a noteworthy 18th century tapestry from Manufacture de Lille, Hungary wood panels walls, and a gold leaf ceiling.

Handicapped access: there was wheel chair access

Size: Seats 50

Cellars, wine and alcoholic beverage selection: there were 30,000 bottles from over 1,000 estates and châteaux (wine producing castles) in temperature controlled storage. Collectable items included a bottle of champagne from 1865 that was found during the Liberation of Paris and now kept as a memento, a Château Petrus 1959 and a Mouton Rotshild 1958.

Meal: We began our lunch with well chilled Laurent Perrier non-vintage rose champagne. Shortly after we sat down , the servers brought delicious finger food p re-appetizers, bite size morsels of breaded mussel, cod balls, tiny tomato tarts, potato crisps with cheese and a cheese filled crunchy “cigarette.” After they took our order we chatted in the comfortable dining room where we had ample space in between tables for private discussion. Our carefully selected appetizers arrived a few minutes later: chilled sea urchin, langoustine with coriander and lemongrass seasoning and a langoustine head sauce, fois gras and truffle cannelloni.

Main courses: Sweetbreads, oxtail with cabbage leaf wrapped steamed fois gras , delicate and flavorful turbot and periwinckle in a light white sauce and perfectly cooked venison and beets. The wine steward selected the following white wines to accompany our meal: a light 2001 Puligny Montrachet 1er cru “Clos de la Mouchére” J. Boillot, a 2001 Condrieu “Les Chaillées de l’Enfer” G. Vernay and a 1997 Riesling “Cuveé F. Emile” Trimbach. For the heartier venison he selected a red: 2000 Vosne Romanée, René Eugel

Service: Service staff were vigilant and efficient. Hardly any time passed before our glasses were filled, our bread replaced, or a minor order mishap was rectified.

Special menus: Grande Carte, changed every quarter to offer seasonal products. There was also a Menu de Saison changed every three weeks for 70 euros excluding beverages.

Languages spoken: French and English

Other : During the winter (October through April) the restaurant is at the wood paneled Regency oak room. The remainder of the year it is housed in the canopy glasshouse surrounding the magnolia gardens. The china, linen and silver were custom made. A children’s menu was available on request .

Would you dine there again/recommend it? Yes

Date of review: December 2004

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