A well-traveled friend once shared a bit of advice. When visiting one of the great cities of Europe, go to the top hotel in town for a drink. Whether it's a cosseted bar or lobby lounge, you're assured of the ultimate in European style.
Europe's grand hotels occupy a special and time-honored place in continental society. They are a gathering place for the elite of commerce, arts and politics, as the palaces of the aristocrats once were. In fact, many of these establishments once were those palaces. The hereditary monarchs are largely gone, but their architectural legacy of opulence lives on in these bastions of privilege. For the price of a cocktail or espresso, you are afforded a glimpse into society that most tourists never see.
On a recent trip to Paris, I modified my friend's advice and chose to eat at the grand hotels. I found a feast for all the senses, with the extraordinary cuisine and unsurpassed service the capital of haute cuisine has to offer.
Epicure at Le Bristol
The lavish Le Bristol hotel steps from the Elysee Palace served as a setting for Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, and its three-Michelin-starred Epicure is considered one of the top restaurants of the world. Elegant couples and well-dressed families filled the bright dining room flooded with sun from the courtyard garden when I arrived for Sunday lunch. The first course, a checkerboard of stuffed macaroni with black truffle, artichoke and duck foie gras is one of chef Eric Frechon's signature dishes. A superb fish course followed, a pillow of whiting with almonds and spinach flavored with curry and pequillo pepper. For dessert, a trio of chocolate consisted of chocolate mousse in a cocoa pod, with chocolate sorbet infused with lemongrass.
Le Cinq at George V
Sophisticated and imperial, the Four Seasons George V is one of the grand hotels of Europe. The soaring ceilings and resplendent floral displays of the marble lobby set the mood of Old World opulence. You pass through Le Galerie, the lounge adorned with rich tapestries, lacquered cabinets and art objects to reach the Michelin-starred Le Cinq. Golden light suffuses the dining room, slender columns as exclamation points alongside floor to ceiling windows that open onto the hotel's courtyard. Aristocrats of an ancien regime gaze from outsize oil portraits on the prandial gathering of grandees below them. Staff in formal vestments circulate like vicars in a High Church of Gastronomy, with ritual, reverence and paraphernalia, elaborate enameled carts their monstrances offering wine, cheese and pastries for adoration and consumption.
Christian Le Squer's menu employs classic French culinary techniques with newer, lighter cooking styles and fresh regional ingredients. A starter of scallops with litchi and sea urchin preceded an exquisite entree of structured spaghetti with lobster, truffles and cepe mushrooms. Crunchy grapefruit sorbet made a delectable and refreshing dessert.
20th Century history on the menu at The Peninsula
The Peninsula Hotel offers a course in Twentieth Century history along with food, eye-popping Belle Époque interiors and more gilding than you can shake a goldbeaters skin at. White uniformed bellmen greet you in a grand lobby dominated by a chandelier whose eight hundred hand-blown crystal leaves nearly touch the floor. The hotel was formerly known as the Majestic and this is where George Gershwin wrote "An American in Paris." What is now the clubby Kleber Bar is adorned with a painting of a larger than life peacock, and in the 1970s Henry Kissinger strutted here to broker the Paris Peace Accords ending the Vietnam War.
The rooftop restaurant, L'Oiseau Blanc (the White Bird), is named for the French biplane that disappeared while attempting the first trans-Atlantic crossing and was never heard from again, a la Amelia Earhart. A replica perches outside on a bearing headed for the Eiffel Tower. Bistro-inspired fare including scallops from Morlaix's bay, and the glorious views of the Eiffel Tower, make this an unsurpassed romantic dining spot.
Starck Follies at Raffles
Philippe Starck's playful, bold interiors tickle the senses at the luxurious Le Royal Monceau-Raffles. In place of a hotel gift shop, the Royal Eclaireur, part luxe boutique, part gallery, offers a unique collection of curated clothes, jewelry, art and design objects.
The hotel's Michelin-starred Italian, Il Carpaccio, an intimate, tented dining room with garden views, was celebrating their white truffle festival when I dined. Superb beef carpaccio preceded a pasta course, all topped with shaved white truffles. The server tossed tagliolini in a wheel of aged parmesan tableside. For dessert, a perfect panna cotta by pastry superstar Pierre Hermé.
<
Europe's grand hotels occupy a special and time-honored place in continental society. They are a gathering place for the elite of commerce, arts and politics, as the palaces of the aristocrats once were. In fact, many of these establishments once were those palaces. The hereditary monarchs are largely gone, but their architectural legacy of opulence lives on in these bastions of privilege. For the price of a cocktail or espresso, you are afforded a glimpse into society that most tourists never see.
On a recent trip to Paris, I modified my friend's advice and chose to eat at the grand hotels. I found a feast for all the senses, with the extraordinary cuisine and unsurpassed service the capital of haute cuisine has to offer.
Epicure at Le Bristol
The lavish Le Bristol hotel steps from the Elysee Palace served as a setting for Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, and its three-Michelin-starred Epicure is considered one of the top restaurants of the world. Elegant couples and well-dressed families filled the bright dining room flooded with sun from the courtyard garden when I arrived for Sunday lunch. The first course, a checkerboard of stuffed macaroni with black truffle, artichoke and duck foie gras is one of chef Eric Frechon's signature dishes. A superb fish course followed, a pillow of whiting with almonds and spinach flavored with curry and pequillo pepper. For dessert, a trio of chocolate consisted of chocolate mousse in a cocoa pod, with chocolate sorbet infused with lemongrass.
Le Cinq at George V
Sophisticated and imperial, the Four Seasons George V is one of the grand hotels of Europe. The soaring ceilings and resplendent floral displays of the marble lobby set the mood of Old World opulence. You pass through Le Galerie, the lounge adorned with rich tapestries, lacquered cabinets and art objects to reach the Michelin-starred Le Cinq. Golden light suffuses the dining room, slender columns as exclamation points alongside floor to ceiling windows that open onto the hotel's courtyard. Aristocrats of an ancien regime gaze from outsize oil portraits on the prandial gathering of grandees below them. Staff in formal vestments circulate like vicars in a High Church of Gastronomy, with ritual, reverence and paraphernalia, elaborate enameled carts their monstrances offering wine, cheese and pastries for adoration and consumption.
Christian Le Squer's menu employs classic French culinary techniques with newer, lighter cooking styles and fresh regional ingredients. A starter of scallops with litchi and sea urchin preceded an exquisite entree of structured spaghetti with lobster, truffles and cepe mushrooms. Crunchy grapefruit sorbet made a delectable and refreshing dessert.
20th Century history on the menu at The Peninsula
The Peninsula Hotel offers a course in Twentieth Century history along with food, eye-popping Belle Époque interiors and more gilding than you can shake a goldbeaters skin at. White uniformed bellmen greet you in a grand lobby dominated by a chandelier whose eight hundred hand-blown crystal leaves nearly touch the floor. The hotel was formerly known as the Majestic and this is where George Gershwin wrote "An American in Paris." What is now the clubby Kleber Bar is adorned with a painting of a larger than life peacock, and in the 1970s Henry Kissinger strutted here to broker the Paris Peace Accords ending the Vietnam War.
The rooftop restaurant, L'Oiseau Blanc (the White Bird), is named for the French biplane that disappeared while attempting the first trans-Atlantic crossing and was never heard from again, a la Amelia Earhart. A replica perches outside on a bearing headed for the Eiffel Tower. Bistro-inspired fare including scallops from Morlaix's bay, and the glorious views of the Eiffel Tower, make this an unsurpassed romantic dining spot.
Starck Follies at Raffles
Philippe Starck's playful, bold interiors tickle the senses at the luxurious Le Royal Monceau-Raffles. In place of a hotel gift shop, the Royal Eclaireur, part luxe boutique, part gallery, offers a unique collection of curated clothes, jewelry, art and design objects.
The hotel's Michelin-starred Italian, Il Carpaccio, an intimate, tented dining room with garden views, was celebrating their white truffle festival when I dined. Superb beef carpaccio preceded a pasta course, all topped with shaved white truffles. The server tossed tagliolini in a wheel of aged parmesan tableside. For dessert, a perfect panna cotta by pastry superstar Pierre Hermé.
<