These days, not many people are game to spend $200 a head for lunch (without wine, that is), but if you’re interested in sampling classic haute cuisine from a major talent who’s finally coming into his own, read on.
With two Michelin-starred chefs caught in the proverbial revolving door, Paris hasn’t had this much to talk about in a long time. Out went Philippe Legendre, the maestro who snagged three stars for Le V, the bronze-and-gold dining room at the Four Seasons George V hotel; in came Eric Briffard, who received two stars at the Le Régence in the Hôtel Plaza Athènée, where he worked prior to 2002 before being unceremoniously shuffled offstage to make way for Alain Ducasse. (Why? The Plaza Athènée didn’t play a cameo role in several episodes of Sex and the City for nothing—the hotel is all about designer names, famous faces, and bling. It needed a celebrity chef.)
After his stint at the Plaza Athènée, Briffard soldiered on for a few years at Les Elysées, the restaurant at the quiet Hôtel Vernet where he also won two stars. Every time I ate at both places, though, I came away impressed by his talent but unable to remember anything I’d eaten after a few days.
But that was then. Now Briffard is making some very memorable food at Le V, where a recent meal began with spider crab under shaved cèpe mushrooms that was bright, delicate, and delicious. Grilled red mullet with dried fennel, sauce diable, braised zucchini flowers, and fresh almonds turned out to be equally sublime—impeccably cooked and with every layer of flavor perfectly amplified by the taste of the fish. A brilliantly subtle, rosy red veal medallion with frizzled lardo di Colonnata, carrots, turmeric root, sorrel, and a scattering of tiny black currants was as finely parsed as a piece of music.
Unfortunately, not everything was perfect: My provençale chevre with nepita (wild mint) oil simply never showed up, a major service flaw; a granité de Mojito (Mojito ice) with a layer of strawberries and a deep-red gelée was the kind of dessert you’d expect at a golf-club dining room. But these gaffes aside, Eric Briffard’s food may be worth the extravagant price—and in the rarefied world of Parisian dining, it may even be somewhat of a bargain.
Le V Four Seasons Hotel 31 Ave. George V, 8th, Paris (01-49-52-70-00; fourseasons.com)
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