Paris: January 2023 | Reopened December 2022

After a long wait (longer than The Ledbury’s!), L’Astrance is back in its new form and location. Pascal Barbot’s food is as good as ever, and with a larger and better equipped kitchen, his creative side is sure to shine.

French gastronomy is known for its slow progression¹, but in recent years, a new generation of innovative chefs has emerged to shake things up. The likes of Barbot, David Toutain, and Christophe Pelé are now taking the lead from legendary chefs such as Alain Passard, Pierre Gagnaire, and Michel Bras. Among these new pioneers, L’Astrance has maintained its position as one of the top establishments for over two decades. With its recent move to the former location of Robuchon’s Jamin, the restaurant aims to reach even greater heights.

This is a rather long article. Feel free to jump to any section through our table of contents:

A portrait of Pascal Barbot

Behind L’Astrance are two talented individuals, Pascal Barbot and Christophe Rohat. Pascal Barbot, born in Vichy, has had a passion for the culinary arts from a young age. Growing up, he spent his childhood watching his parents cook and harvest vegetables in their family garden, which laid the foundation for his love of cooking.

Barbot’s career as a chef began in 1991 at the Buron de Chaudefour in Murol (Auvergne) after attending cooking school. He then moved on to work at Alain Clavé’s restaurant in Claremont-Ferrand before travelling to London to work as a commis at Les Saveurs under the guidance of Joël Antunes. Antunes recognized Barbot’s potential and sent him for a short stage at Troisgros during this time. In 1993, he was conscripted to do his national service in the French Navy in New Caledonia, where he served as the personal chef for the Admiral of the Pacific Fleet. This experience allowed him to improve his classic French dishes while also being introduced to entirely new products, such as mango, coconuts and palm sugar, which would have normally been considered exotic in France.

From 1994 to 1998, Barbot worked at L’Arpège in Paris, starting as a commis, then a chef de partie, and finally a sous chef. It was at L’Arpège that he would learn the purity of French cuisine and the art of seasoning. Under the guidance of Alain Passard, Barbot developed an appreciation for the respect of produce, the importance of how ingredients are cut and the attention to cuisson. Passard’s dedication to the simplicity of ingredients and letting them shine in their natural flavors had a profound impact on Barbot’s culinary philosophy. In 1996, L’Arpège received its third Michelin star, solidifying the restaurant’s reputation as one of the best in the world and providing Barbot with invaluable experience and exposure to the highest levels of French cuisine.

After this experience, he spent two years in Sydney as the head chef at Ampersand, a restaurant owned by Tony Bilson. This was his first experience as a head chef and he looks back on it as a life-changing opportunity. He learned to approach ingredients with a fresh perspective, unburdened by cultural and geographical limitations. There were no sins or taboos. This new-found liberation allowed him to concentrate solely on crafting delicious dishes without being restricted by the expectations of traditional cuisine. However, despite the success of the restaurant, Barbot ultimately decided to leave Ampersand as the scale of the operation (140 covers) and the fast-paced environment did not align with his desire for a more intimate and personal cuisine. Despite this, Ampersand was awarded “Best cuisine of Australia” by Condé Nast, further solidifying his reputation as a talented chef.

Rohat, on the other hand, started in 1995 as a chef de rang² and eventually worked his way up to being a maître d’hôtel at L’Arpège. It was during this time that he met Pascal Barbot. Before the opening of L’Astrance, Rohat held various important positions in hospitality, including maître d’hôtel at Pierre Gagnaire and co-director at restaurant Lapérouse.

How the restaurant came to be – from rue Beethoven to rue de Longchamp³

Before opening the L’Astrance, Rohat proposed Barbot to join him in Paris at Lapérouse. After some hesitation, Barbot accepted the offer. However, the experience was short-lived as the owners of the restaurant went through a public divorce, resulting in Barbot and Rohat leaving the establishment.

Determined to keep their partnership, Barbot and Rohat decided to open their own restaurant. They secured loans from various sources, including the city government and a prize for the best restaurant business plan in a Young Entrepreneurs of France competition. After searching for the perfect location, they found a small bistro in the 16th arrondissement of Paris which had been closed down. Despite warnings from friends that the location was not ideal, Barbot and Rohat saw potential and decided to invest in it. L’Astrance opened its doors in October 2000, with a small seating capacity of 17 covers. ‘We only wanted two or three people in the kitchen and 20 seats.’

The restaurant quickly gained recognition in the industry, earning its first Michelin star in March 2001, in just four months. Pascal Barbot, surprised, noted that they were not a typical starred restaurant, as they did not have fancy cutlery, a chef pâtissier, or even a menu. Instead, they were more like a small bistro. Indeed, compared to the grandes maisons, L’Astrance didn’t exactly follow Michelin’s canons, retaining a more casual feel. Diners could not even choose from an à la carte menu, but from a ‘menu surprise’ instead, something unheard of at the time. Even after expanding its team and increasing its seating capacity to 25, the restaurant stayed true to the original concept and earned its second Michelin star just four years later. The third star would come in 2007. The restaurant also gained international acclaim, being listed in the prestigious World’s 50 Best Restaurants for the following 10 years.

Yet, as early as 2017, Barbot had expressed concerns about the future of the profession, highlighting the importance of staying active. Together with Christophe Rohat, they had been searching for a new location for the restaurant for over two years. They felt cramped in their 120-square-meter dining room, a 16-square-meter kitchen, and three separate wine cellars. They had even consulted architects about expanding the existing kitchen a few meters.

In January 2019, the Michelin guide demoted L’Astrance to two stars, along with Auberge de l’Ill in Alsace and La Maison des Bois in Haute-Savoie. While the reason for this demotion is not entirely clear⁴, the reason provided by Michelin was that the restaurant was deemed less focused given that they were searching for a new location. For Christophe and Pascal, who deny this, it only served as further motivation to improve their venue.

After four years of searching, the couple found the perfect location for L’Astrance in July 2019 – the former Jamin, located at 32, rue de Longchamp in Paris. From 1981 to 1993 it had been the home to the restaurant that gave Joël Robuchon his first three stars. This new location offered a large, open space with beautiful natural light and a basement, exactly what Barbot and Rohat had been looking for. Unfortunately, covid was about to seriously disrupt these plans.

With more than 2 million euros of investment on the line, L’Astrance would have to wait until December 2022 to do a soft opening. Meanwhile, an online shop, pop-ups in Maldives and in a bistrot, Cèna would keep them up float.

Understanding Pascal’s cuisine

Pascal Barbot’s culinary style is defined by his creative and precise approach to cuisine. He learned the art of cooking from his mentor, Alain Passard, who instilled in him a deep respect for the quality and integrity of ingredients. All ingredients, whether they are considered noble or ordinary, are treated with the same level of importance and care. He pays close attention to how each ingredient is cut and prepared in order to bring out its full flavour and texture.

What this entails in his cuisine is characterised by a focus on the perfect cuisson, or cooking technique, for each ingredient. Seasonings are always kept to the minimum, as he does with sauces. Barbot uses less of them compared to traditional French cuisine. He focuses on the natural flavours of the ingredients and allows them to shine without masking them with sauces. This is a way of respecting the produce and valorising it.

Cooking is finding an equilibrium between what the customer wants, your own ego and showcasing the work of your producers.

Pascal Barbot, Omnivore 2023

In addition to these elements, which are partly inherited from a Passardian philosophy, Barbot is known for incorporating exotic ingredients and flavours into his dishes, drawing inspiration from his travels in Asia and Oceania. Evidently, another defining aspect of his cuisine is his use of acidity in his dishes, playing with different types of citrus to add depth and complexity to the flavours. It appears in almost all the dishes.

Barbot’s love for travel and discovering new ingredients started early in his career. Already in London with Antunes, he discovered soy sauce and oyster sauce. During his time in New Caledonia, he also became accustomed to cooking without cream and butter, using milk as his base liquid instead, which resulted in lighter meals. His time in Indonesia after finishing his military service familiarized him with peppers, lemongrass, basil and other exotic ingredients. He is constantly looking for rich taste sensations with contrasts, creating a French cuisine with influences from other cultures – a ‘cuisine de voyage’. In fact, one of his favourite utensils in the kitchen are the chopsticks, which he describes as “the prolongation of the hand” and allows him to focus on precision, elegance, and the consistency of his dishes.

In its origins, when dining at L’Astrance, guests were introduced to a world of flavours and ingredient combinations that were previously unknown in Western cuisine. Pascal Barbot was one of the first to introduce unique ingredients like black garlic, oyster leaves or finger lime to haute cuisine. However, as these exotic ingredients have become more widely available due to globalisation, their novelty in the last 10 years has diminished. With fewer opportunities to incorporate radical new ingredients, the chef has shifted his focus to experimenting with unique flavour combinations.

When asked about this fusion or exotic aspect of his cuisine, Barbot has stated that he doesn’t care about labelling it as Japanese, French or Asian, he simply uses the products in his kitchen in France, and doesn’t want to be limited by any one label. He emphasizes that since French cuisine has always been influenced by other cuisines, he uses his travels and knowledge of how different ingredients grow and are used in other cultures as inspiration for his dishes. He states that all these products are part of his culture.

A great source of information about the philosophy of L’Astrance is their book, L’Astrance. Livre de cuisine (2013). Here Pascal narrates how his signatures dishes came to be and how they constantly change, improve or adapt with the seasons and what his suppliers have in offer⁵. Each component in the dish has a defined role that Pascal justifies in detail⁶. According to Barbot, the success of a dish relies on the balance between crunchy, fresh, and sweet elements, and requires pleasure, seduction, and letting go – being in the moment.

Le menu surprise –pioneering the carte blanche ⁷

L’Astrance was probably the first haute cuisine restaurant to offer a menu-less experience. The idea was inspired by their time at L’Arpège, where Passard had already introduced the concept of a carte blanche menu where the entire meal was served without being announced beforehand.

At first, L’Astrance’s menu was more traditional, offering a choice among three appetizers, two fish dishes, two meat dishes, and three desserts. However, due to the limited size of the kitchen, they struggled to accommodate tables of four where each person chose a different dish. To resolve this, Christophe suggested to Pascal that they remove dish names from the menu and replace them with a simpler list of ingredients like “John Dory” or “pigeon”. Since it is complicated to always serve the best in large quantities, this menu would be made up of small portions. As a result they could offer the best products at their best form and, in turn, it gave Barbot more flexibility to choose accompaniments and condiments.

In this context, everything is decided during the briefing before the service, when they assess the arrivals. Pascal tells Christophe what he can make that day, and then Christophe manages the pace of that list of products on the menu. Over time, Barbot wanted even more freedom in the kitchen, and the menu was further simplified into ‘families’ of dishes, such as ‘game’ or ‘autumn fruits’. In 2002, the restaurant began offering a single surprise menu option for dinner (i.e. only carte blanche), and by 2004, they had adopted this format for lunch as well. This allowed Barbot to fully showcase his culinary creativity while Christophe took on the added challenge of explaining the concept to customers.

The new L’Astrance

In the larger new L’Astrance, with a four times larger kitchen and double the staff (from 15 to 30), the team can now host up to 45 customers. But more surprisingly, the menu surprise is now accompanied by an à la carte option, after 20 years of not having one!⁸ We understand that the decision arises from having a larger kitchen that can cope with the ensuing more complex logistics as well as an attempt to respond to the demand of customers in the current gastronomic environment. Christophe and Pascal react to a changing world. Even some of those clean platings that one would see in their 2013’s Livre de cuisine now come accompanied by a rich jus de viande or a beurre blanc.

In any case, if not tempted by the four-course menu Déjeuneur or the seven-course menu Astrance, one can now choose from an à la carte selection of steamed fish, dishes from the best seasonal finds from their suppliers, or meats and vegetables coming from their brand new robata.

The ambiance and the service

The dining room exudes a balance of luxury and sophistication. With a modern hotel lounge-like atmosphere, it boasts a minimalist design featuring natural lines and an abundant use of wood. The kitchen, visible at the very back, discretely enters the diners field of vision. The soft light and adds to the serene ambiance of the room. The walls are adorned with astrances, the flower that gives the restaurant its name, while the wooden tables are dressed with crisp white linens and pots with young saplings – of oak in our case – selected by the French National Forest Office. Hoping that they will survive the services, these saplings are to be replanted in the wild once more mature, in an effort to help reforestation. Comfortable cream seats and a long built-in bench complete the refined atmosphere.

Yet, what really sets the vibe is the courteous service. L’Astrance’s a dining experience is defined by the ever-present tall figure of Christophe. He conveys ease and professionalism with every interaction, creating a welcoming atmosphere for guests. One of the unique aspects of Christophe’s work is that, as he outlines in L’Astrance Livre de Cuisine, the menu is tailored to each table, ensuring no two contiguous tables have the same dishes. This personalisation is based on wine or beverage choices, availability of produce, and any allergies or intolerances, resulting in an ever-evolving and unique experience. You might be savoring lamb as your main course while your neighbor is relishing pigeon, tourte, or suckling pig, leaving you with a hint of envy and a desire to come back to the restaurant for more.

We must note that, during our visit, the service was particularly slow. It took three hours for a four-course lunch menu. This was not due to any issues with the front of the house, but it rather seemed to be a back end issue. We waited 30 minutes for our first course and 20 minutes for our main. However, there was an endless supply of Poujauran bread to keep us satisfied while we waited.

Wine lovers will be pleased to hear that the wine cellar boasts over 15,000 bottles, offering a wine list that is sure to satisfy even the most palates. Yet, as common in Paris, the markup on the wine list is on the higher end, with very few options under 50 euros. However, the breadth of the selection is commendable, with an impressive array of Champagne and Burgundy, including some rare aged references and a whole page dedicated to Jura whites. In addition to these, the wine list also includes a fair amount of offerings from the Loire and Rhône regions. To round out the selection, there are even a few international wines such as Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and California.

After missing the chance of tasting a 1997 Muscadet, the last bottle of which a fellow diner had snatched before us, we opted for a beautiful Guiberteau.

Tasting menu

Our first reaction after receiving the menus was to immediately explore the à la carte options. To our surprise, we did not find the famous Champignon and Foie Gras Millefeuille on the menu, but we were still able to spot some classic dishes such as the Koshihikari; Scallops with Bone Marrow; Pigeon with Cabbage and Juniper; and Artichokes with Grapefruit and Truffle. The menu also offered some brand new dishes created at the new location, including a Seafood Platter and a dessert, Neige de Roquefort, a unique granita/frozen powder accompanied with parsley and red kiwi.

In the end, however, we chose the famous menu surprise for the lunch menu, which was priced at 125 euros.

It starts with a trio of light amuse-bouches designed to awaken the palate. The first of these offerings was a ripe and juicy red kiwi, bursting with sweet and tangy flavors and scented with an aroma akin to quince. The next bite was a dry shiitake mushroom rehydrated in a miso broth. This boldly accentuated the umami and deep mushroom flavour. The trio was completed with a bouquet of bitter herbs, tossed in an acidic vinaigrette and bound together by a cucumber slice. An elegant trident of wooden skewers was provided to pick up each bite, making for an elegant eating experience.

After a long wait, the first course of the menu – Racines d’Automne légèrement glacées au beurre – finally arrived. On a base of citron and celeriac purée, lay a mound of faux tourné of rutabaga and parsnip that had been glaced in butter sous vide, and garnished with thin slices of truffle and raw chevril root. Its jus de cuisson had been mixed with a touch of vanilla and poured as a sauce. Finally, a spice mix powder was sprinkled on top as a pep⁹. As the warm roots volatilized the aromas of the spice mix, our nostrils were filled with notes of citrus, mint, and curry. The glaced roots from Pascal’s maraîchers were full of pure flavour and their texture portrayed that perfect sweet spot between a crunchy bite and fondant. Although we didn’t detect the vanilla in the jus, the reduction of butter and vegetable juices worked wonderfully to accentuate the notes of the roots. On the other hand, the citron in the purée was easily recognizable, adding a fresh touch to the dish in classic Barbot style.

The remarkable purity of the flavours in the dish truly elevated the humble roots to a level where they could compete with any noble ingredients. The delicateness and refinement here are in the same league as other mighty vegetable dishes like the gargouillou from Bras. It also worked spectacularly well with the wine. The intense salinity complemented the earthy notes of roots.

And the bread would become an excellent tool to mop up the sauce of our next dish¹⁰, Filet de maquereau caramélisé; beurre blanc & sauce soja. This dish served in a minimalistic manner consisted of a mackerel fillet accompanied by a beurre blanc dosed with soy sauce and a raw salad. The fillet of mackerel was pan-seared mainly on the skin side and briefly passed on the flesh side to achieve a contrast between the deep caramelisation on the skin and the juicy flesh. Prior to the cooking the mackerel had been marinated in white miso. This is more noticeable in the thinner part of the fish. The cuisson was homogenous even in the thinnest past of the fish. Perhaps the temperature to which the fish was cooked was slightly higher than what it is fashionable right now, not nacré. However, the texture of the mackerel is right on the spot here. Mackerel has a slightly higher fat content compared to say monkfish or seabass for which the lower temperature generally works better. The higher fat content allows cooking the mackerel up to higher temperature without making the fish dry. This yields a slightly firmer texture which we found to worked particularly well with the beurre blanc. Needless to say the quality of the mackerel was outstanding.

The beurre blanc with soy sauce was of textbook quality. This classic French sauce, enlivened by the soy, was the highlight of the dish with its deep umami flavour and sharp, yet balanced acidity. The texture was perfectly viscous and shiny. Preparations as simple as these require high quality ingredients. It was clear that both the butter and the vinegar were excellent. The combination with the rich mackerel really hit the spot. Fortunately, the entire saucier was left on the table for us to top-up. The accompanying vegetables added a light and aromatic element to the dish. The pak choi was simply sautéed offering a hint of peppery flavour. The raw salad consisted of purple radish, citron skin, and kanpyo. The pungent notes of the radish complemented by zesty citron and sweet-and-salty kanpyo provided a fresh contrast to the dish.

The wait between dishes was made more enjoyable by the constant supply of Jean-Luc Poujauran’s miche and some lait cru butter. This bread was the closest contender we have had to that of Tartine, providing our best restaurant bread experience since Sollip. The similarity in flavour is so striking that our first bite transported us straight back to the Mission district, to our first bite of the warm-out-of-the-oven Tartine sourdough. Although smaller and slightly lighter in color, Poujauran’s miche boasts a well-baked crust and a crumb with a similar color to Tartine, but with a slightly more open texture. Evidently the hydration levels are a bit lower here in France. L’Astrance also serves it warm, reheated and toasted on the transversal cut of the slice until it gets a golden colour.

At this point during the lunch, the dining room was already full. Unfortunately, after a few sips of wine in their bodies, it became quite loud inside. Contemplating the beautiful ivory knives from Perceval (the Grande Table¹¹) provided some distraction, but we could barely hear as our waiter served us Des cótelettes d’agneau de lait de Lozère; datte et gingembre. It was in fact collier, neck, and carré, rack accompanied by a confit date, filled with ginger and preserved lemon, and a Biquinho pepper. The lamb was nothing short of extraordinary, with a perfect cuisson that made each bite melt in our mouths. The rack was particularly tender, while the neckwas a bit firmer but packed with even more flavour. A jus de viande, which itself was a pure extraction of lamb flavour, amplified the richness. We could spot a few specks of chile in it, perhaps Aleppo pepper, but it was hard to discern their mild flavour. On a side, the lonely Biquinho pepper packed a very mellow and sweet flavour.

Meanwhile, the date had that refreshing touch from Barbot’s travels. In this occassion, it seeked to evoke memories of Moroccan cuisine. Its texture, achieved through a long confit, was extremely supple, even ethereal – a term that one would not normally associate to dates. The filling of ginger and lemon carried the acidity for the whole dish while giving a break to the palate from the lamb. Despite the intensity of the preserved lemon, the luscious sweetness of the date achieved a balance that for some reason reminded us of sweet and sour sauce.

This balance was not respected in the side dish – a bowl of puffed wheat with spinach, finely diced carrots, the grilled skin of the lamb and a powerful amount of garlic and preserved lemon. It was served simultaneously with the lamb as a way to showcase the crisp rendered skin from the robata. Indeed, those intense funky notes in the fat of lamb took us right back to Campaspero. On the other hand, the wheat, which acted as a sort of couscous, had the perfect texture and carried the fragrance of the vegetables and the pungent dominant note of garlic. If the date reminded us of a sweet and sour sauce, here we couldn’t help but think of the dressing of a Thai stir fry of morning glory. Nonetheless, that thought was quickly interrupted by the intense sharpness of the dices of preserved lemon. Pascal’s love of citrus went too far here.

The palate-cleanser at L’Astrance is a timeless classic and we are thrilled that it remains on the menu. Reversioned by many (we can remember a granita at The Clove Club in 2020, for instance) the Peppers, lemongrass and ginger sorbet is a bold and spicy sorbet that delivers clear contrasts on the palate. The sorbet starts with a wave of sweetness that is slowly followed by a spicy kick (about a 7 out of 10 on our heat scale). The complex flavour profile is a mystery without the knowledge of its ingredients, but one might guess the presence of lime, ginger, lychee, and eucalyptus. After the dinner, we now stand corrected by the Livre de cuisine from L’Astrance. We can state that it actually has ginger, lemongrass, chiles, kaffir lime leaves, basil, coriander, mint and lime juice. Concerning the texture, it was impeccably smooth and fluid, with no perceptible crystals.

For dessert we were served Une tartelette tiede chocolatée; orge grillée & fleur de sel. A chocolate tart with ice cream is a restaurant classic that it is hard to get wrong, but also not easy to surprise with. This particular rendition comes as a individual tartlet with a quenelle of toasted barley ice cream served separately. Here, Barbot delivers the element of surprise in the ice cream, with a complexity that we would have never expected from barley. At first, the ice cream showed a deep smoky aroma, both in the nose and on the palate. Slowly, a range of spices opened up in our mouths: clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, peppercorn. The flavour was slightly bitter, earthy, almost savoury; while the after taste was nutty. The texture, of course, was impeccable.

The tarte soufflé au chocolat[/efn_note]As presented to us by Christophe.[/efn_note] was served warm, baked to order. This style of chocolate tart has been adapted by many cooks, but it was originally conceived at L’Ambrosie, thus the name tarte ambrosie. Even we have made a version of the tart ourselves. For us, it is the best expression of what a chocolate tart can be. It is similar to a warm chocolate mousse. In L’Astrance, its base was likely pâte sablée with a high fat content that almost resembled a cookie crumble with abundant butter, yielding a very brittle and crunchy texture. The aroma of sweet butter was very present, slightly caramelised, bringing up a nutty flavour. The chocolate filling of the tart was based on a sabayon, but leaning slightly to a chocolate soufflé. The airy, light interior was protected by a thin crisp layer that would delicately shatter in the most ethereal manner – just like a soufflé top. Shortly after the tart is baked, a thin disk of tempered chocolate is placed on the top. This is a elegant move – the chocolate disk melts with the residual heat, providing a glossy texture akin to a chocolate ganache. 

Regarding the chocolate itself, it was certainly of high quality. We would guess that it was a 70% Guanaja from Valrhona, given its good equilibrium of bitterness and fruitiness. Although the flavour of the chocolate is dominant, Barbot adds other layers that complement the chocolate. In between the chocolate and the pastry, there was a thin layer of salted caramel while, on the very top, grated lime zest and some shards tasted barley finished the dish.

The meal was concluded with a couple of petits fours, accompanied by tea and coffee.  On a beautiful nest of moss and dried grasses, the second classic dish of the day was presented – the Lait de poule au jasmin. This light and creamy eggnog was made from a sabayon base which was then diluted with milk and scented with jasmine essence. The aroma of sabayon and jasmine are predominant. The other offering was a chocolate cracker that consisted of a sandwiched ganache infused with tansy in between a chocolate sablé or tuile and a thin disk of tempered chocolate. The textures were very elegant, combining the snap of the tempered disk, the crisp and crumbly base and the rich ganache. The tansy and chocolate combination was new to us but proved to be successful. Tansy has hints of citrus, anise, or oregano, and when combined with chocolate, it reminded us of lemon thyme.

The espresso, sourced from Brazil, was of an average quality for France, with a traditional dark roast. Despite the lack of any acidity, it was well-brewed and pleasantly free of bitterness. Along with the espresso, we were offered a range of teas from the tea specialist Adeline Grattard (chef patron at Yam’tcha and Pascal’s disciple). We opted for the white tea, which was served piping hot and delicately perfumed with fragrant peony notes.

Some conclusions

The newly transformed L’Astrance continues to impress with its unwavering commitment to delivering dishes that showcase the purity of flavours and respect for high-quality ingredients. The menu is a celebration of the best of French cuisine, featuring carefully sourced produce that is treated with great care to highlight its natural flavours. What sets L’Astrance apart is its ability to elevate the dining experience without relying on extravagant or ostentatious ingredients like caviar or truffle, which are often overused in other grandes maisons¹². Nonetheless, exotic (with the nuances that the Western cultural context induce to the word exotic in the 21st century) flavours and bold combinations are still present in the menu, ensuring some novelty from time to time.

It is the new venue with its spacious kitchen and the corresponding increased staff which promises to bring an infusion of innovative dishes and cooking techniques to Pascal’s cuisine. This revitalization of creativity is just what the restaurant needs to shake off the artistic lull it may have experienced in the last half of the 2010s. The famous surprise menu remains a feature, but now diners can also enjoy a more flexible à la carte option. This is a follows an attempt to adapt to the ever-changing gastronomic environment while taking advantage of the larger kitchen’s improved capabilities. The new dining room’s elegant and naturalistic design is also a step up from the previous location. It creates a serene atmosphere, while the open kitchen enhances the dining experience by providing a glimpse into the culinary magic.

We can confidently predict that L’Astrance will receive 2 stars in March 2023. With a few refinements to the dining experience, such as reducing noise levels and consistently delivering a well-paced service, the restaurant has the potential to earn its 3 stars back in 2024. We will surely be back in spring for the long menu.

Footnotes

1. At least it feels so after spending a few months in Spain.
2. Rangs are groups of tables in a restaurant, in the French hospitality jargon.
3. For a great first hand interview, click here
4. Some have speculated that it was a calculated move to generate media attention.
5. Among tens of suppliers, Hugo Desnoyer is his butcher, Jean-Luc Poujauran his baker, and Asafumi Yamashita one of his supplies of vegetables. Before, he also bought from Joël Thiébault.
6. Plenty of quirks, tips and prescriptions to be found in the book: If laminated, his avocados must be Hass and calibre 16, if adding chiles he won’t be using black pepper to showcase their taste, cook artichokes sous vide at 86C, the obsession for obtaining those nacre tones in the cuisson of the fish…
7. For Christophe’s explanation, click here
8. Well, at Cèna they also did a menu formula close to à la carte.
9. Pep is normally used in France as a way to refer to an element that adds a burst of flavour.
10. Traditionally, this is not very well seen in la haute gastronomie in France, but nous nous en foutons.
11. For the mackerel we had another Perceval, the 9.47.
12. Coughs, coughs, L’Ambroisie.