Went here with a good friend on the spur of the moment having never been to a 3 Michelin star restaurant before although I have been to a number of 1 and 2 star restaurants. The atmosphere was friendly but a little too 'attentive' if you know what I mean. The staff themselves although very friendly tended to give you a feeling they were upselling and to be honest this is probably the biggest issue I had with our meal. When going to any Michelin star restaurant I would expect to walk away from there feeling perfectly satisfied. What I mean by this is that you should feel not overly full. However I found it hard to get through the menu that had been ordered. Having said that the company was perfect and all the food is locally sourced from Bretagne. The highlight was the vegetables and the roasted chicken. Both had an extra dimension that I have never tasted before in my life and the care taken and detail in preparation was perfection! Alain Passard is a very down to earth friendly and generous chef and I honestly felt I could sit down in a country cottage and have a good chat over a wine or two. Just a pity the experience was slightly spoiled by over keen waitering staff. read more

L'Arpège - French Near Me - Paris, 75

During our three hour meal, what passed through my lips was the best meal of my life. The freshest, most wholesome ingredients glowed with so much flavour and aroma & they were composed with such extraordinary skill. It was a gift of edible art. We chose Le printemps de jardins tasting menu, starting with an aperitif of Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve poured from a magnum, and followed by a 2003 Réserve de la Comtesse to enjoy with our grande bouffe: Amuse-bouche of baby peas puree with onion on a canapé, followed by another of young carrots puree on a canapé. Mise en bouche L'Oeuf: the house specialty poached egg with four spices, maple syrup, cold creme topped with finely diced chives. 1 Course: Artichoke gnocchi with sage 2 Course: Artichoke soup, topped with smoked ham that was vaporized into a white froth 3 Course: Puree of young carrots, a piece of meyer lemon, a bed of steamed spinach with a sesame dressing 4 Course: Asparagus with lemongrass and lime, slow-cooked for two hours 5 Course: Poteger ce martin - chef's garden served warm and each perfectly cooked: grilled cabbage, beet, radish, turnip, young carrot, a grape, and sweet chard in a sauce with Moroccan almonds. 6 Course: His: Turbot slow-cooked for two hours, served with bitter greens / Hers: Wild salmon served with bitter greens 7 Course: Fromage affineur - a Salers cheese made by the Caldeyroux firm is a four-year old cheese from the South of France. It has a sweet, flowery character. Only one man in the world makes it and L'Arpge is the only restaurant that carries it. 8 Course. Apple tart with apples in the shape of roses. Macaroons & sucres. 9 Course: Soufflé with pistachio with dark chocolate sauce (compliments of the house) After our meal, Chef Passard greeted us we were leaving and I was able to share my highest regards, "Merci beaucoup. This was the best meal of my life." And it was and remains so. It was a superb experience that could only be followed by the Rodin Museum (located across the street from the restaurant), and an evening at the Louvre. Romance, wine, haute cuisine, music & fine art - joie de vivre! read more

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This was on my bucket list of places to go eat. I was able to dine here and tho expensive, the presentation and amount of flavor not to mention amount of food did not disappoint. I am a vegetarian so I was very pleased to dine in a vegetable based Michelin place. Alan also came out to meet us all which was a huge bonus! read more

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I've never had a worse customer service experience in my life. I unfortunately became ill on the day of my reservation. I blame bad oysters from the night before. Instead of subjecting the patrons to me barfing all over the restaurant, I called to cancel. Fatima, the rude reservations hostess informed me of a €20 per person (3 people) cancellation fee over the phone. I expected a cancellation fee. I thought her response of €20 seemed low so I questioned her on it. Two-zero? Yes, two-zero. She spelled it out over the phone ... so i accepted her word and cancelled the reservation expecting a €60 charge. I did not expect what happened the next morning when I woke to a fraud alert on my card for $733. I had to wait until Monday to call the restaurant back since they are closed on weekends and again spoke to Fatima who now claimed the cancellation fee was €220/person. Had that been her original response my other 2 friends would have still gone. After an incredibly condescending conversation by her, she instructed me to email the restaurant manager, which I did immediately. With no response to my email, I followed back up a week later. It has now been 2 weeks and still no response. Simply terrible. None of my confirmation emails with the restaurant stated the price of the cancellation fee. Nor is there any reference to the cancellation fee price on their website. I find this lack of engagement appalling especially when I had every intention of returning to the restaurant on my next trip to Paris. read more

I was a little hesitant about coming here after seeing the mixed reviews but I'm happy to say that I had a fantastic dinner experience. The food lived up to their fame and highlighted their ode to vegetables (even with the meat and fish tasting menu). There is no specific wine pairing but the sommelier was happy to offer me pairings by the glass or the bottle depending on my preference. Chef Passard was present and made periodic stops in the dining area so he could say hello to each table. You do feel his warmth and passion for his garden so I think it's a nice touch but also not a loss if he doesn't show up. There are a lot of great dishes, beautifully plated and expertly composed. I especially enjoyed the butternut squash soup with the ham infused foam. The fish (sole) was a generous portion as was the duck. Despite the reviews on bad or clumsy service, I thought they were friendly and paced things along well. I spent about 3 hours here but it didn't feel that long. The dining space is quite small so the challenge is not to have so many servers so they bump into each other and not to have so few so that people feel neglected. Im curious to know if they actual read their prior reviews and made improvements on this. As for the cave downstairs, it is vastly different in appearance than the upstairs dining but not worse in any way. Just depends on what you want and probably worth noting at the time you make reservations so you have the experience you are looking for. Is worth traveling to Paris for? (Ie bucket list destination meal) Hard to say. But if you are planning to be in Paris anyway, then give it a shot. read more

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DH and I had been looking forward to our meal at L'Arpege because we really wanted to get inspired about what well cooked vegetables would taste like. It was just serendipitous that this restaurant and chef were featured after Yamt'Cha on Chef's Table so when we were planning our trip, this was a must. Since we had our little one in tow, I decided to book lunch since we had just sat through a 4-hour dinner at La Tour D'Argent a couple of nights before. Overall, it was the best decision. This restaurant is almost caddy-corner to the Rodin Museum entrance. The layout is like a corner and smaller than I had expected. After looking at the menu, we decided to go with the prixe fixe lunch menu rather than a la carte. What was interesting to note was that the locals were order a la carte which made a lot more sense as the meal went on. The veggie courses were not as light on their feet as I had hoped - the radish carpaccio was the only one in the "light" category. My favorite dishes that felt lightest were the lobster and then, lamb dishes. They were superb. But the rest of the dishes were heavy in their sauces so towards the end, I was dreading another place setting being put down because it meant that another course was coming. The only time that I had felt this way was at Per Se in NYC. The staff were amazing - the service was tremendous. I just wished that the food lived up to the hype because the concept of making veggies the star of the show was something that we were hoping to experience. I'm so glad we opted for lunch rather than the extra 200-euros pp for dinner. Perhaps, we went on a day that the chef was off...who knows...just disappointed. read more

Certainly without question, one of the finest restaurants in the world. Everything from start to finish was superior. From the consommé to the millefeuille,, each offering was perfectly prepared and delightful. The service and wine were just as great. Excellent. read more

Probably my worst 3 star experience - didn't know a 3 star could be not so tasty. I went in for the secret lunch menu, vegetable heavy. I think it is not a menu for everyone - definitely creative and interesting, but the taste probably needs to be acquired... We were hoping that we didn't have more courses coming half way through the meal Not trying to say that the food is bad, but just wanted to warn people that it is definitely not sth for everyone unfortunately. The service was worse than any other 3 star I had in Japan/HK/US. I got a dirty napkin, notified the server, and then didn't get a replacement until I asked for it again. Nobody brought out our belongings at the front desk until we asked for it. Not enough servers to clean our plates when we finished - had to wait with dishes on our table, instead of waiting between courses with empty table. Definitely not known for their service. read more

Wooooow. Vegetables vegetables vegetables!! This awesome little place run by Chef Passard is really a unique experience simply because his cuisine is based on vegetables! It could sound pretentious but believe me, you will get your moneys worth on flavour, detail and service Thanks Chef Alain Passard read more

L'Arpège - French Near Me - Paris, 75

Last October I had a superb dinner at Arpège. Well I had a mixed dinner tonight at Arpège: the food was excellent; service was mixed: my first server was lame (he didn't tell me that I had choices for the fish and meat courses, and only when I told him I heard another server explain to another table that there were choices: turbot or sole; chicken or squab or duck, did he reply that Chef usually chooses but if I want I may choose. Heck yes--I chose turbot and duck). Other servers were more friendly and helpful. Now for the bad: my table location--across from the front door so I met every guest entering the restaurant, and while the door was open I was lucky enough to see and hear trucks passing by. Oh yes, I forgot to mention the regular table and chair bumping since the table was in the walk-way. BTW, I did ask for a different table to which the woman seating me told me there were no other available tables (even though I was the third table to be seated. At the end of the 3 hour dinner while paying the 420 euro bill, this same woman asked how I enjoyed my dinner. I told her the food was excellent but the table was terrible. I said that no one should be seated at this table. Her reply was that they would have needed to cancel my reservation since they were fully booked. This was an odd reply since I made my reservation many months ago (edit: just checked my confirmation and I made my reservation 6 months ago); some one else should have been cancelled. Dining at a Michelin Restaurant should be a luxurious experience; I couldn't wait to leave since I was uncomfortable. One of the staff members confided to me as I was leaving that Chef feels this table is "good enough" for a solo guest. No Chef @alain_passard it is not. I am sad to say that I won't be returning to Arpège. read more

I'm struggling to write this review because I'm in denial about the restaurant. I really want to love this place but my overall experience was lacking. The food was great, the service and ambiance were decent, and the wine and the execution (timing of courses) were poor. Replay: We arrive and are taken down in to the cave. It was exciting at first, but as soon as another table is filled we can hear every single word spoken in the small room. At this point we know things are going to be loud and cozy once all 5 tables are filled. Waitress 1 comes to greet us warmly and asks if we would like a glass of champagne to begin. We accept the offer and also ask for still water without being given any menus or heads up on the journey. We are given the drinks and enjoy them until the food menu is brought out. We learn about the meat and vegetarian tasting menus and both choose the meat. Waitress 1 comes back after we finish our champagne with the drink menu (weird timing but finally). We learn there is no wine pairing due to the complexity of the menu and the waitress offers to provide her own group pairing that would fit about 3 courses each. We order one to share. Great! Curiously, I opt to look at the drink menu/book and learn that not only the champagne is €30+ per glass but each wine we are to taste is already laid out in the menu (€14-19 per glass)! Interesting, the champagne might or might not be complementary? So there isn't a wine pairing but there is sort of one? We begin to receive each course one after another but in completely random timing. We actually got two back to back courses within 30 seconds (which was weird) but we waited 15+ minutes for other ones. Waitress 2 had very little time to reset the table on one occasion where she forgot forks. It happens no big deal. Odd timing though? Sadly, waitress 1 never poured us wine again after the champagne and first glass of wine. Waitress 3 completed the last 5-6 "glasses" of wine with ridiculously small pours that I began to assume were tasters/teasers for the courses. If I were to combine both of our pours then we would possibly have a 1/4 glass? Okay, the wine experience was bad and didn't make sense. What's wrong? As for the food itself, it was great! It wasn't memorable or legendary but hit high marks. I will remember the bread and butter served, the egg dish and the lobster course. I would've like to have tried the optional fish courses but they weren't offered to our table (we heard them being offered to the other tables in the room quite clearly and easily)! Service got us again? After the last course an empty plate was placed in front of each of us. Not sure why and it was never used but maybe it was an indicator to the wait staff? After waiting for about 15 minutes, waitress 2 came buy and handed us 2 books to look at featuring the chef. We looked and after another 15 minutes she came back and I asked for the bill. Sweet, the slow letdown is almost over so I thought! The bill was rough. Apparently, before receiving a food menu, drink menu and server greeting we were down €73 for 2 glasses of champagne and 2 glasses of water. Also, we were charged for a full glass of wine for each tasting received. I swallowed my pride and handed over my credit card to waitress 2 just reflecting how I'm fortunate to even be in this small, loud, hot cave. And then she actually asks us if we want to purchase any of the books? Game over! In the end I feel like we were duped (the water, the champagne, the wine, the experience, the books). I love going to eat at the 3 star Michelin restaurants when we travel but I cannot acknowledge this place as a 1 star Michelin restaurant. I'm cringing for writing this but I have to share. Being in denial we are thinking maybe one of us should have ordered the vegetarian tasting menu? Maybe we should have skipped the champagne and assumed no complementary tastings were to be had? I had to write the review the night after the dinner because I was upset the night of the dinner and I didn't want to let my emotions take over. I actually lost sleep because of the weird experience we had. Our expectations weren't high going into the experience but I assumed we would leave the restaurant feeling like we would want to come back. I'm giving this place 2 stars because I'm comparing it to other Michelin starred restaurants. Lastly, I'm confident that if any Michelin food critic came in there and had the same experience as we did, then a star would be removed immediately. Not recommended. I would only try it again if we were able to eat upstairs and try a different group of wait staff. read more

3 Michelin star restaurant. #12 ranked restaurant in the world. L'Arpege is my excuse to never have to eat at another vegetarian restaurant again my life. As a meat eater, the vegetarian dishes were so fantastic that no other vegetarian restaurant can compare and will just taste horrible. The only way I will go back to a vegetarian restaurant is if the its name is L'Arpege. You will need to make a reservation well in advance. I was only able to get a reservation during the lunch hour and immediately said yes. Plan on freeing up your entire afternoon or evening if you're going to eat here because the meal will run about 3.5-4 hrs. There is an a la carte menu but everyone gets the tasting menu. At the lunch hour, you get the dinner tasting menu option which does include meat but focuses more on vegetables. There is also another dinner menu which is also just vegetarian. The lunch tasting menu is half the price of the dinner tasting menus and is a surprise vegetarian tasting menu in which even the servers don't know what is on it until they bring out the food. Of course I had to try this. I have eaten plenty of vegetarian dishes before but never for an entire meal. I can say that the food here was one of the best that I have ever eaten in my life (even being vegetarian). The quality of food and service is on par with Eleven Madison Park in NYC. There were 2 sommeliers here and the bottle of bordeaux was fantastic. At the end of the lunch, I was even able to get a picture with Chef Alain Passard which topped off the experience here. read more

This restaurant held a vaunted spot on my "must eat at" list. When folks like Corey Lee and Bobby Conroy of Benu are telling you it's one of the best experiences they've ever had, you best be going. It turns out my friends cook at Cafe Coutume which is just a hop skip and a jump away. After visiting them prepping for next day's service, we made the stroll though the very upscale neighborhood where Arpege lies. Not much tells you that Arpege is here. The door is unmarked and their sign on the corner is unlit so if you weren't looking for it, you might miss it. As I pushed the door inward we were greeted my the Maitre D' and few other staff. We had notified them earlier that one our group had been sick so they were more than happy to accommodate us. The space is elegant but not opulent, a fair mix of modern and historic. There's a portrait of Chef Passard's grandmother who was a rôtisseur in the corner. The walls are adorned with light wood panel embedded with images of figures posed like in the ancient Roman depictions. The main dining area is split into two parts, one behind the host station elevated, while the other is to thw right on the way to the kitchen. The restrooms and cellar are downstairs behind the host station which also houses a private dining room. After we were seated our sommelier Kevin came out and asked us how we wanted to start with beverages. After just 3-4 interactions with the staff I knew this was going to be a good night. After perusing the menu choices and discussing a custom wine pairing, we were convinced we needed to go with the truffle menu as it was nearing the end of season. It proceeded as follows: Menu Truffe Coquetier "Maison de cuisine" liqueur d'érable Coquilles St Jacques de Bretagne à la truffe damier Fines ravioles potagères bouillon fumant aux racines Collection légumière image du potager ce matin Robe des champs "Arlequin" à l'huile d'argan radis green meat, carotte purple haze... Aiguillettes de homard de Chausey au "Côtes du Jura" truffe noire Poularde du Haut Maine en croûte de sel de Guérande parfum de géranium frais Fromages de Garde Bernard Antony Millefeuille chocolaté croustillant 25ème anniversaire Sucrerie du jardin macaron, nougat... With a little help from the Google translate web page you can see what we had. All I can say is wow. For a long while Alain Passard shunned proteins in his menu but he's brought them back into the fold. He is however one of the greatest vegetable chefs of all time. One of the dishes we got that was not on the menu was a veloute of vegetables with bacon cream. It was mind alteringly good. Never did a vegetable sit behind a protein whether it was scallops, lobster or the truffles themselves. They played equal stars in the dishes. As excited as we were about the kitchen and their epic dishes, the front of house were equally spectacular. Who says high French dining is stuffy? Ok so I did get a bit of stuffy from another 3* place but not at Arpege. The service is as comfortable with the best anywhere in the world, which I'll compare to the likes of French Laundry, Per Se, Martin Berasategui, Arzak, Spondi, Benu, etc. A big reason for this is Nadia Socheleau, who runs the front of house with utmost hospitality. We got to talking her for quite a while as we were shutting them down and she not only gave us a ton of great recommendations, she's very well connected (as you can imaging many chefs from all over the world come to eat here) putting us in the good graces of places like Chateaubriand for our dinner the next day. Kevin our somm was also wonderful, talking to us about wine and his recommendations extensively. Every single member of the FOH staff were warm and took very good care of us. It certainly was among one of the most memorable meals I've had anywhere and if you are in Paris, trying to figure out which of the many fine establishments you should eat at, this should be on the top of your list. read more

This place is a let down for us as a third-michelin starred restaurant. It is a hype for sure. Not to mention the service was outrageously unprofessional. We have been to so many Michelin starred restaurants, this by far is at the bottom of the list given the service is so not up to par. I was literally stunned! The restaurant is not big. We made the reservation during our stay in Paris. We were able to get in for dinner, but they told us the main dining room is not available, only the downstairs. We said yes. It is located in a neat and cute neighborhood in Paris, and within walking distance from hotel. When we arrived and led to the downstairs room, I realized the space was small and there are no windows. It was like a dungeon. I asked if we could be seated upstairs. Luckily we were able to. However, the upstairs was pretty cramped too. They basically put way too many tables in e space, which compromise the space for each individual table. ( a sign that this place seems to care about making money than creating a pleasant experience for the patrons). First to approach was the sommelier, with no smile on his face and noticeable coldness in his tone, he asked what we would to drink. We said champagne, he didn't anything and walked off. He didn't even ask if we want water, still or sparkling, etc. we were shocked at this kind of opening act. But the worst had yet to come... An female sever came and offered us the menu. We asked if there is English menu, she said no, but she offered to explained the menu. However, with her not too fluent English and the rusty nature of whole explanation. We couldn't grasp WHAT is on the menu, except some fragmented information about couscous, tomato, lobster. It was utterly unprofessional and shocking. Throughout the night, from multiple different servers, the service has been not attentive, and it was extremely cold. I couldn't believe this is a Michelin starred restaurant. Then some guy brought us the bread, without bothering exlaining wha bread apt hat was. And he walked off, without offering the butter, this is down right wrong. Some 10 minutes later, he realized he missed the butter, he quickly shoved it on the table, without apologizing for the error. (during the 10 minutes, we did try to ask, but it was just painfully hard to get their attention, as they almost wanted to avoid eye contact with the customers) After the sommelier brought the champaign, we asked for one water, and some lemon. He responded again with a cold response, we were surprised that how come this kind of service can even be tolerated, especially in a Michelin starred restaurant. If other good Michelin starred restaurants make us feel like king and queen, this place offered the exactly opposite experience in terms of service. We have gotten better service in a small road side stand in south America than this high end place where we paid hundreds of Euros for a meal! The lemon took a looong time to come. And the sommelier tried to put lemon into our glass, he dropped one of them. He picked it up from the table and put it right back to the lemon plate! Again, no apologies! As if this didn't happen, as if it is okay for patrons to receive this kind of bad service. The service had been so bad that it overshadowed the food. We ordered the tomato, couscous with vegetables (their signature dish), lobster and the pigeon. The amuse bouche ( the egg and the cold tomato soup) were good. The couscous was delicious. The main courses were good, however, nothing mind blowing, we have had much better else where ( el cellar de con roca and alinea). And other places offer million times better service! The chef came out to greet the guests during later hour of dinner service, which initially seemed nice, we quickly realized it was more marketing than genuine act. First, when he approached people, it was just all small talk. He didn't seem to care about what they think about his food. Second, he was giving unfair treatment to guests. He walked some out the door, whereas, he didn't bother to talk to others. It was an explicit contrast and certainly not good for those guests who received the cold shoulder, but we were no longer surprised after a night of continuous bad service. The bill came out to be more expansive than other Michelin starred restaurants we have eaten in and have higher ratings than this place in 2012. Furthermore, the cost is certainly not proportional to the kind of quality of service we received. I will NEVER return to this place in my life. This place doesn't care about creating quality of service of customers. It's a rip-off. Don't waste your money in this place. You will have much much better Michelin experience in other restaurants in Paris, or in US, Spain or Japan. read more

I feel very deceived. And robbed. $1000 USD later, I am starving and eating macaroons and room service in bed. I'm also baffled by all the rave reviews here. My advice is this: if you have been to other top tier restaurants, avoid L'Arpege as you will be very disappointed. As a native of SF, I could get dinner at Whole Foods and buy a pair of Jimmy Choos and still come out ahead (and more satisfied; less hungry!). In all honesty, though, I can get significantly better food in my hometown for 10% of the price. Seriously. For those actively considering this establishment, I am a 15 year vegetarian who thought the vegetarian tasting menu was bland, boring, and unsatisfying. My omnivorous boyfriend wasn't much happier. Also, 4 of my 12 plates were taken away virtually untouched and no one seemed very concerned as to why I wasn't eating my near-$100 courses. If you like paying a lot of $$$ for below average food, go here! read more

Handicapped hostile. My wife and I were there in April for our confirmed reservation and were turned away. They had rented the entire restaurant to a group and offered us a table somewhere down a long flight of stairs which my wife could not possibly navigate without risk of serious injury or worse. We explained this and asked if there was some other alternative and were met with a stony silence. Take it or leave it. Tough. This was supposed to be one of the highlights of our trip, but it turned out to be a disaster because of a restaurant that has the worst attitude towards the handicapped I have ever had the great misfortune to encounter. Go at your own peril. read more

One of my best dining experiences ever. L'Arpege is now in my top 3 favorite restaurant spots. I wasn't too eager to try the vegetable tasting menu, but since Alain is so well-known for his farm to table approach, I had to try it. It ended up being the most flavorful menu I've ever had. It was pure genius. Yes, there were tons of vegetables and I was extremely full after, but it was such a phenomenal dinner so I couldn't complain. Also, the best part was that chef Alain Passard literally walks through the entire restaurant talking to each customer and sometimes serves the food himself. I have to say he is the friendliest chef I have ever met, and I was able to spend some time with him and his staff after dinner. They are amazing and I am dying to go back to the restaurant. He is a genius. read more

L'Arpège - French Near Me - Paris, 75

I had high hopes for L'Arpege after having heard so much about it. After some amazing meals in Copenhagen I was excited for a vegetable forward place in the French style and to come to this legendary chef. The food did not disappoint. Service was excellent. The food was impeccable. The ingredients top notch. The highlights were the ravioli, onion gratin, lobster, and some of the desserts. Expensive but worth the splurge. Jus - cucumber, a blackberry, and mint -simple, light, with a hint of mint Amuse -trio - great Tomato gazpacho - excellent Hot and cold egg Vegetables form the garden, and the last strawberry of the season in an amazing citrus sauce Trio of vegetable ravioli - each one is one of the best ravioli I've ever had, together def the best ravioli dish ever Onion gratin with rosemary and thyme - simple yet outstanding. Ratatouille revisited - essentially deconstructed, excellent Beetroot tartare - truly excellent, and I dislike beets Lobster from Brittany - sweet meat, buttery sauce without being overly so Lamb with a beet purée - not special but great Profiteroles Mignardaise - favorites were the tuile with thyme and the palmier with sage. Only thing didn't care for the whole meal was the cucumber cream Millefeuille with blackberries - perfect flakiness read more

TL;DR: Humiliatingly condescending service, uninspired food. Save your time and money and go somewhere else in Paris. L'Arpège has been something I avidly talked about for the past 2 years, a longstanding recommendation for my vegan, vegetarian, and even meat-loving friends. I am sad and disappointed to say that I will no longer speak about L'Arpège with an excited twinkle in my eye but will have to instead talk about the abhorrent service and uninspired food that wasted four and a half hours of my time in Paris and the worst experience I have ever had at a Michelin-starred restaurant. It seemed to start out well, as my boyfriend and I were greeted politely upon entering the restaurant, clearly one of the first patrons arriving for lunch. We were then led by a waiter down the spiraling stairs into something that can be best described as a stone "cave" - the waiter's exact wording. He gestured for us to sit in the corner, which would have been fine if the air was properly circulated throughout the chamber. After 5 minutes of sitting there, we were both visibly uncomfortable, and I asked the waiter nearby, who magically switched from the one who brought us down the stairs, whether we could sit upstairs where there would be better air and lighting. I am chagrined to say that this 3-Michelin star restaurant is the first restaurant to have ever rejected a seating change request from, especially when it was clear that the restaurant had just opened up for lunch. We chose to do the lunch tasting menu with a bottle of wine. The food itself was alright, but it was terrible value for the money. A lack of creativity with the diseases was sorely obvious by the 5th or 6th course - our meal was repetitive and relied on the same ingredients, the same spices, and almost exactly the sample permutation, dish after dish after dish. I completely agree with the review that said that halfway through the tasting, you have really "tasted" it all. The turkey course we had seemed to be an afterthought - a terribly dry bit of turkey thoughtlessly dumped onto a plate that was a mess of vegetables, which starkly contrasted with the clean presentation from plates before. As the 4.5 hour lunch progressed, it became uncomfortably and almost unbearingly clear that this was the restaurant equivalent of Downton Abbey - clearly the upstairs clientele were getting more attention and better service than the rest of us downstairs. The two sommeliers in the restaurant neglected us in the latter half of the meal, as the wine and water glasses of all the tables in the "cave" drained quickly with no one to replenish them. The waiter's disposition visibly soured over time, and he even forgot to explain to us what a few of the dishes actually were. We could see the staff snickering right outside the doorway to the cave/dungeon after regular intervals while shooting us looks, presumably laughing at all of us who were not good enough for the "upstairs." The worst part of the meal was that in the middle of our two dessert courses, the wait staff forgot about us - while two other tables were served both their dessert courses at the same time, there was an awkward 30-minute interval in between ours. At that point, with little direction from our waiter or whoever happened to be passing through our dungeon through what seemed to be a front-of-house musical chairs, we were unsure what to do and if the meal had ended. At the end of the 30 minutes, I managed to get the attention of a waiter and asked for the check. He then asked if we did not want dessert (?!) and must have had a good laugh at our expense later. By this time, the other two tables who had gotten dessert before us despite similar course timings had been long gone. At the end, they had even forgotten to give us our knives - we felt humiliated when we went to ask for the knives as a keepsake. This moment really encapsulates the snobbish wait staff, their sneering and condescending treatment, and the sheer absurdity of it all that Michelin-starred institution, NO LESS A 3-STAR ONE, could provide such an unforgettably terrible and off-putting experience. Everything that other one and two-star reviews on this website has said has been true and corroborated by our lunch endeavor today. I would advocate for the Michelin evaluators to reconsider the 3-star rating - I have received better service and food at 1 Michelin-star restaurants. I will NOT be returning, and I strongly suggest you save your money and time for somewhere that is worth it. read more

In short, nice plating but very disappointing menu and flavors in general. We had lunch here and ordered the lunch menu and the classic menu. The classic is twice as expensive (over 300 euros) but quality was worse than the cheaper lunch menu. Most disappointing was the lobster dish, which was over cooked and not fresh. The meal's favor profile overall was on the sour and bitter side and the progression of the flavors and the pace of the service were both uneven. The seating for lunch did not all start at the same time but they tried to sync our meal with others and caused huge gaps between our courses. At the two hour mark we were barely at 50% completion of our meal. The staff also placed a bunch of dishes at the empty table next to ours, as if this was a canteen's staging area. I can't say that I enjoyed our meal but did notice that others that ordered a la carte seemed much happier. If I return, big if, I would not do the tasting menu again. Many top notch three star restaurants give you more and charge for less. read more

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Super overrated. Service here is impeccable. The ingredients are fresh and amazing. The chef is very imaginative in the application of vegetables. But as far as taste is concerned, meh. Came here for lunch and it starts out well, but as the meal went on it just got lazier and crappier. At the beginning of the meal, we asked for no carrots. One dish had carrots pretty as one of the prominent ingredients. So when our dish came, we thought it would be replaced with some other vegetable. Instead, it looked like they had made it like they regularly do (we had a regular dish to compare against) but they just picked out the carrots. It was one of the worst presentations of a dish I have ever seen. I realize that chef went vegetarian for a while, and he's been bringing meat back into the menu. For our lunch, there's only meat in the final course. I didn't have issue with that, but what I have issue with is that it felt like an afterthought. The meat was overcooked and looked as if it was just slapped on to a dish. For a 3 Michelin star restaurant, you would expert something expertly prepared. This was half-assed at best. I realize that I am bucking the trend of praise, but this restaurant was overhyped. I'm surprised that so many of my friends had claimed that this is their favorite restaurant in the world. There are far many better restaurants that I've experienced in the New World. read more

I went to l'Arpege several years ago and thought it was one of the best meals of my life. I was a little worried about going back and having expectations that were too high. Nope, they completely delivered! We ordered the chef's choice lunch menu, which is 140 euro a person, and they just bring you what they want. Including amuses bouches, we had 20 courses each, and were full but not sickly stuffed. I'm a lifelong vegetarian and my date isn't, he was offered a few bits of meat alongside things but the veg was by far better. I don't know how they get such amazing, vibrant, and fresh flavours out of veggies, but there were several complete knockout dishes. Everything is grown on his farm outside of Paris, and was picked either the day before or the same day. The main downside is the cost. This menu includes tax and tip, so is actually in line with London or NY big set meals, I think. Wine list is very expensive, very little under 100/bottle, and a handful of wines by the glass mostly in the 20-40/glass range (!) It was noticeable that people arriving at different times got different things. It seems that if you want a meatier option, better to arrive later like at 1pm, as they parade the meats around the room about 2pm, and I suspect that's when they were actually finished cooking. So those of us that arrived at 12 were nearly done. Having the chef's choice means you don't know when you're going to be finished, and don't have any say in the menu (I would have paid a supplement to get a cheese course, but wasn't offered the chance.) Service is great and fluent in many languages. It's a much more casual environment than many 3* places-- there were a couple people in jeans, but business casual/LBD seemed the norm. We'll save our pennies and hopefully go back again soon. Life changing food, really. read more

L'Arpege has earned every one of their Michelin stars! Beautiful and fresh vegetables from Chef Alain Passard's rural French gardens work well with light sauces and proteins. Word to the wise- go easy on the bread! Highly recommend going for lunch and heeding the Sommelier's advice on the wine pairings. The pièce de résistance was our photo opp with Chef Passard, who was extremely friendly! It was a wonderful way to wrap up our 20th anniversary celebration. We headed here right after having Champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Ooh la la! read more

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This was our best meal in Paris! We had the vegetable tasting menu & the dinner tasting menu. The food & service was amazing! A must have! read more

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In returning to Paris from our wedding, we decided to test our luck and see if any 3* restaurants had any cancellations at the last moment. To our surprise, we were able to swoop in and take a cancellation at L'Arpège! The restaurant was a delicious tribute to French cooking. When I heard that Alain Passard had changed focus from meats to vegetables, I was apoplectic. However, I ended up becoming a fan of veggies. And if you know me, that is nothing short of amazing. That's not to say the surf'n'turf dishes were lacking in any way. The lobster was one of the best I've ever had, covered in fresh veggies and drizzled with a honey mustard like sauce. The foie gras had that solidity that our US foie gras never seems to have, while still retaining a memorable buttery rush to the brain. And Passard's grand rotisserie is exactly as it sounds; a perfect preparation of the meat of his choice. We had chicken. All in all, if you are going to try 3 star restaurants in Paris, consider L'Arpege. It has a good chance of becoming your fave! read more

I've dined at the French Laundry and Meadowoods in Napa Valley in the last 6 months and the most appropriate word I can think of this restaurant is "underwhelming." Make sure you don't order the Turbot...over cooked and tasteless. What's more upsetting is not a single waiter asked how the food was even though I left 80% of the first untouched. That's what you call bad service. My wife did get a great lobster. There is clearly a big discrepancy with Michelin 3 star ratings. 1000 Euros for a dinner for four. Not worth it. read more

Disappointed... We had such high expectations of going to a 3 Michelin Star, true Parisian restaurant. But, it was just not that amazing, especially when compared to my French Laundry or even my recent Benu experience. The food was underwhelming. The service was good, but not exemplary. The wines we had were amazing, but, then again, that was expected since they were 25 euros a glass. Nothing much more to say! read more

IMA in Europe. This is a tough one to rate. Viewing the restaurant in a vacuum, it is four stars. The service is excellent, knowledgeable, and the food is very very good. That said, with its ranking so high on the world's 50 best restaurants list, I was expecting to get my mind blown. Unfortunately, it didn't quite do that--so because of the price tag + expectations, I would go with 3 stars. It was good, but I wouldn't return. That said, some of the dishes were truly amazing. This chef is a master of the tomato. He got flavor out of those things that I didn't know existed. I would also note that you are going to be there at lunch for over 2.5 hours. So don't plan to meet someone like 2 hours after the meal because from personal experience I will tell you...they are gonna wait. read more

We booked the reservation online about 5 months in advance when I randomly got the idea to go to Paris. I'm not sure how hard it is to actually get a reservation, but at €390 per tasting menu, I imagine not many locals go there. I'm glad I decided to watch the Chef's Table episode on Arpege a few days before going to dinner. The episode gave me a look into the chef, how his cuisine has evolved, the importance of the restaurant's location, and how the chef is constantly trying to challenge himself with his menu. The menu is mostly vegetarian (there's actually an all vegetarian tasting option, as well, for €320). We started with some brut rose, then were guided to a bottle of 2013 1er Cru Burgundy Cote de Nuits, which went really well with the meal despite it being a mostly vegetarian menu. Amuses: bites of seasonal ingredients in mini fried potato thin tarts - - Radish and turnip - Apple and celery - Smoked cucumber and squash Tasting: 1. Egg "hot and cold": served in its shell, soft cooked, with maple syrup, cherry, chives, and a spicy cream on 2. Bread service: house made bread with butter from Nantes 3. Vegetable ravioli: 3 different colored ravioli in a tomato-celery-verbena consommé. The consommé was very clean tasting 4. Scallop carpaccio with thinly sliced radish, parmesan cheese, geranium oil 5. Celery root risotto: perfectly diced tiny cubes of celery root instead of rice, served with onion and lemongrass. Texture wise, this dish was really interesting. 6. Chestnut veloute with smoked cream: the smoked cream went really well with the chestnuts and actually incredibly well with our wine 7. Dover sole: with yellow carrots, braised red cabbage, sorrel juice. This was probably the best cabbage I've ever had. 8. Beet tartare: yes, beet, not beef. This was my favorite dish of the night. It looked and tasted just like beef tartare. On top, instead of an egg, it was a caramel of tomato. It came with a parmesan crisp, capers, and all the flavors of beef tartare 9. Lamb: roasted, on the bone, with oyster jus, celery root puree, tomato lavender caviar, small turnips, white carrots. Not gamey at all. 10. Potatoes: smoked, with Mont d'or and white pepper. I love the fall because it's Mont d'or season, and it's so hard to get at home. Again, the smokiness (like with the chestnut veloute) was great with our wine 11. Floating island of mocha, green cardamom, and caramel with ice cream in the center 12. Mignardaises (sucreries, as he calls them) 13. Pear and quince napoleon The highlight of the night was meeting chef Alain Passard. He came by to greet each table individually, and he took the time to chat with everyone. It was a really nice personal touch, and he seemed humble and genuinely happy to be there. These days, most well known chefs capitalize on their fame and Michelin stars to create an empire, but then they're never at their restaurants. It's great that Chef Alain Passard is still at Arpege every day. It's definitely not a cheap dining experience, but if you're looking for a more unique splurge meal, I would definitely recommend trying Arpege, especially if you're a vegetarian. read more

Ok, so this one is a tough one to evaluate. Not that I haven't enjoyed almost every moments of it but I must admit, I was expecting perfection, however perfection was not met. Indeed the whole concept, and passion of Alain Passard is palpable and very enjoyable. In fact, finding fresh, organic, sustainable and tasteful veggies in Paris is as hard as finding raw cheeses in the U.S; almost impossible. Owner of his own organic mechanically pulled farms, chef Alain Passard has his vegetables delivered to his restaurant daily. Indeed, the tomatoes you find in your plate where on the tree in the morning. The whole concept makes it unique for Paris, and the authenticity of long forgotten vegetable resurface in accordance with seasons. The subjects are declined and treated in harmony with taste and simplicity, yet with a tremendous savory creativity. Out of the 15 course diner we had, I was delighted not to feel overfed by the end of the diner, which indeed reveals a perfect management of the catered portions size for each course. Out of these 15 courses, only 5 blew me away, The lobster, The Dover Sole, The Beet Sushi, the Veggie Merguez Couscous, and the Vegetable Ravioli in its Tomato Water. For the other courses, it was great but not mind blowing. Actually some where almost fade for my taste buds which is kind of disturbing when expecting perfection. The truth being that out of 15 courses it is logical, and even mathematical that all does not reach my levels of perfection. So, in short if you where to ask me if I would go back the answer is Yes! Definitely! If the question was asking if this was the best culinary experience I've ever had in Paris I would have to say No! However, I feel the urge to return at L'Arpege for a second experience. Indeed, I have a strong inner drive that tells me that maybe I was partially unlucky, having me hoping to meet perfection on my next trial. The setting of the restaurant is quite simple yet luxurious, along with being very peaceful and enjoyable. The staff is very professional and keeps a perfect distance with the right amount of attention that makes you feel at home with your own butler. The prices are way up there, and it is definitely something that entitles you to expect perfection. It is somewhat acceptable as any luxury item or service comes with its price, however I couldn't skip the thought that I found it a bit overpriced. But again, any time we look into a high end watch, car, hand bag or pair of shoes might come to the same conclusion. The good news in paying such a high price is that such meal focuses on an ephemera experience that is catered at fulfilling and surprising your taste buds. I believe this makes it much more memorable and enjoyable than owning a simple object that in the end isn't unique. Thus, I am already anticipating my next visit, for lunch time instead of diner. I am truly looking forward at delivering that extra star by the time I am done with that second trial. read more

L'Arpège - Apple tart with fresh made salty caramel, delicious, however not the best of our 8 course diner, but no time for pics earlier... - French Near Me - Paris, 75

I was stuffed. The highlight was trying all the variations of preparing vegetables. We ate til we dropped. Worth the visit! read more

We were very excited to try L'Arpège and can safely say it was worth every penny. From the moment we walked in until we left the entire staff was friendly, professional, and engaging. We decided to enjoy the lunch tasting menu and, after 17 courses, can safely say we got to experience a myriad of mostly vegetable-based dishes that were unique and delicious. There was just enough meat and fish to mix up the menu a bit. Their signature egg sprinkled with chives and crème fraîche whipped with aged Sherry vinegar was indescribably delicious. I could ramble on for an hour and 50 pages about it all but suffice to say it was easily one of the finest meals of our lives. We had so much fun with the staff that they were nice enough to invite us into the kitchen and meet the chef and his team. Without hesitation we will take an even bigger splurge on our next trip and opt for the dinner tasting menu. It was just that good. Our sincerest compliments to the restaurant for a wonderful experience! read more

L'Arpège is a critically acclaimed restaurant which has earned three Michelin stars. Voted consistently as one of the top restaurants in the world, this fine dining location is a decent option while visiting Paris if you're willing and able to drop a decent amount of euros. The better deal here is dining at lunch given that the price differential of the tasting menu for lunch compared to the tasting menu for dinner is substantial (think: a difference of almost 200 euros per person). I would not be giving this location the a-ok vote if the meal I had was that much more, but I felt it was fine for the lunch price. For the lunch tasting menu, you will enjoy fourteen courses (mainly vegetable-based) with the option to add a wine pairing at an additional cost. Plan to spend three hours here. read more

L'Arpège - One of the dessert courses. - French Near Me - Paris, 75

We had a tasty meal at L'Arpege this past week, but compared to other meals we've had in Paris, I don't know that it was worth the price (175 Euro for the surprise lunch tasting menu). The service was not at all anything like I've experienced in other fine dining establishments (not synchronized/super super on the ball OR chatty and friendly -- just kind of ..... there) but the courses were plentiful and while not mind-blowing, pretty delicious. We did the surprise lunch tasting menu, and it ended up being 16! courses. They wouldn't tell us how much more food was coming, though, so we literally didn't know 4 courses in if we were nearing dessert. We filled up on way too much bread as a result. It is tomato season, so probably 12 of our 16 courses featured tomatoes. Which was fine (and in fact the tomato carpaccio was the best tomato of my life), but by the end we were in fits of laughter every time another course would come out that was basically just tomatoes. The only meat that we had in the menu were a few clams (which wasn't necessarily a surprise, but we were kind of dying for a little piece of chicken or something near the end). All in all, I'm glad I went for the experience of it all, but I'd 100% go back to Guy Savoy, L'Restaurant, or David Toutain over L'Arpege in the future. read more

This was the second 3 Michelin star restaurant i picked out of the many there are to choose from in Paris and luckily, it did not disappoint. After reading that Alain Passard, who at 26 was the youngest chef to attain 2 stars(way back in 1984 ;P), made his name cooking red meat.... drool inducing chops, shanks, steaks... i was a bit sad when i found out that his restaurant stopped serving red meat altogether and was entirely vegetarian initially. Luckily for this meat eater and his wife(also a meat eater), he has since added chicken, pork and lamb onto his menu. This is what i would call a complete dining experience. From when you enter, the warmth you receive from the hostess and servers is immediately apparent. The sommelier came over right away and offered champagne(with pricing, to not catch you off guard)... Then our waitress came over and took the time to explain the ala carte menu to us, the different prix fixe menus and get this, they are more than happy to swap items from the regular menu into the prix fixe menu at no additional cost! So my wife and I both ended up with custom courses at the prix fixe prices! It was pretty awesome. Including the tastings/complimentary dishes... somewhere around 13 courses in total for our 3 1/2hour lunch. Some of the memorable dishes were the signature veggies, the raviolis, served in a herb broth, the pan roasted chicken my wife had, my lambchops... i do not believe there is anything you can go wrong with here. We only chewed ourselves out for not ordering the lobster as well. Especially now after reading others raving about it. All the recommended wine pairings were also spot on and very affordable versus the experience i had at Ledoyen. By the time dessert came out we were already stuffed. Serving size all around was very generous... the dessert course covered our whole table... warm cookies, macaroons, tarts, a half slice each (still gigantic) of a pastry cake with cream and wild berries... we couldn't finish. And the cherry on top? Alain Passard making rounds of each table and posing with us for photos! Making funny faces in all of them! read more

A trip to France without a Michelin restaurant visit is unimaginable and hence we chose Arpege given the celebratory status of Alain Passard! The food didn't disappoint and we haven't seen so many varieties of vegetarian options in any restaurant! The broccoli soup with cream was just amazing and so was the dessert spread! All the vegetables are specially grown in a garden and are absolutely fresh especially the peas. The shol fish was a bit too bland for my taste and that's the only disappointment with the menu! read more

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The best meal I had since the French Laundry. Forget about formal jacket and dressy attire. Half of the clients weren't even dressed up that formally and also I asked the servers and bussers while I was waiting my husband to figure out with the manager and they told me that 'require the formal Jacket wasn't them' They were so puzzled that I brought up that subject and wondering where I got that information. Anyway, all the servers and food runners and all were super nice and cordial. I had the menu and my husband had 2 entrées and 2 mains - half portion each so they could serve same time with my meal, additional to that they gave lots of free stuff and divide my food so my husband never had to have empty plate in front of him. Over and over it was amazing fantastic and cool.... 10 courses in 4 hours with 7 to 8 glasses of wine - I don't remember obviously :) the total bill was 700 euros. Super good value with the food, service, quality and surprisingly for the quantity. The manager and sommelier speaks English, French and Japanese - His wife is Japanese he told me. We told him that we were going to Loire valley so we'd love to have some recommendation. He gave us several numbers and winery names so we could contact for reservations and he told us to feel free to mention his name. How cool is that. Oh just you know, he feel very bad when he has to refuse phone calls from SAME person for a reservation. so If you insist and talk nice about it, you could have the "exception reservation" so try it! read more

My husband and I ate here last week for my birthday -- and I can honestly say it was the best meal I've had. The service was warm and impeccable. They immediately catered to the fact that we didn't speak French. Every course was fresh and different and delicious. We were there for 3.5 hours but it felt like no time at all because we were so immersed in the food and the ambience of the place. Highly recommend this place. It's not a cheap dinner but it's worth every dollar. read more

First off all I can say is WOW!! I'd never been to Michelin star restaurant before and I was sure I wouldn't be able to tell any really difference between Michelin and just high end James Beard quality food and boy was I wrong. Starters amuse-bouche: one was a carrot puree on a wafer the other I don't exactly remember, but I think it was cucumber. Beetroot sushi - definitely a wow moment, although the rice wasn't quite right if compared to a proper sushi restaurant. Asparagus - Where absolutely huge, I'd never seen them like this before, of course I started seeing them all over Paris after the meal... Spinach and Carrot Puree with grape fruit and beet root - the carrot puree was light but obviously full of cream. Delicious and decadent for a vegie platter. The spinach was perfect as well. Main Courses: Crispy Lamb sweetbreads - Ok the weird food lover in me had been dying to try sweetbreads since I arrived in Paris and I did love this but somewhat wished I'd gone with what my father ordered. Super filling. First Desert: Souffle - chocolaty and out of this world good. I'm going to start working on my souffle's again Floating Island, basically cake floating on ice cream, you can't go wrong here. Second desert (we didn't order anything after first desert, but they kept coming) Tray of cookies and chocolates Third Desert (by this time I wanted to raise the white flag and surrender, like I said we didn't even order this) Individual Creme Brulee with (think, can't remember since it's been so long) saffron. The thing to keep in mind here is that they will bring 2 un-ordered desert courses, so if you are relatively full after the main course splitting a desert isn't such a bad idea. Of course I don't say that from a price perspective, if your eating at L'Arpege price better not be an issue. I will say that it was clear that in every facet of the meal the chef was striving t make the best you've ever had and present it beautifully and creatively yet still adhere to classical wisdom. If you have the money for a meal like this once in a while it worth it but I couldn't see myself as a regular (even if I had the money). read more

An awesome dining experience in every way. The food was masterful and delicious, and the service impeccable. The reservation process was a bit odd. You fill out a form on their website, which was fine, then they emailed me back and asked for the same information again, plus a credit card number. They also asked I re-confirm one day before. That was the only bad part of the experience, I don't like sending a cc number in an email. At dinner we were greated warmly and shown to our tables. Menus are available in French and English (perhaps others). We chose the vegetarian tasting menu, which was really what I had come for. It's daunting, about 15 courses. But each course is read more