where jess ate

You’ll notice that most of the restaurants on San Pellegrino’s list of the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” are on the splurgey side.  While doing some research for our Paris trip, we discovered that Le Chateaubriand has an affordable 60€ tasting menu. Unfortunately we discovered this a little too late and weren’t able to secure a reservation. The good news is that Le Chateaubriand has a no reservation, first-come first-serve second seating.

The first seating starts at 7:30pm and the second seating begins around 9:30pm. I say around 9:30 because it really depends on when the customers in the first seating leave – they’re not rushed out exactly at 9:30. We arrived at 9 and were second in line. We were seated around 9:45 and even at 11:30, there were still people waiting to snag a seat. Oh, and if you’re coming here for the second seating, they only do groups of 4 or less.

Unlike some of the other restaurants on the San Pellegrino list like Eleven Madison Park and Per Se, Le Chateaubriand is very lively and casual – nothing pretentious here. The man behind the restaurant is chef and owner Iñaki Aizpitarte. We’d see him clearing tables, serving dishes, working in the kitchen, checking on the queue…he’s a very hands-on guy!

We got to meet him and found him to be very personable and charming. At one point in the meal, he came by and said to me “I know the service is terrible but at least the food is good!”

Le Chateaubriand only offers a 60€ tasting menu which changes daily. I found the food to be very inventive, modern and exciting. Definitely not your traditional French fare. Since the menu changes daily, I’ll just post the pictures to give you an idea of what to expect.

Amuse Bouche – tomato gazpacho shooter

Spicy Fried Shrimp

Turnips – with green beans and peas

Celeriac Broth – with coffee

Rouget, Salicorne, Pimenton – rouget fish with sea asparagus

Turbot, Encre, Artichaut – turbot fish with squid ink and artichoke chips

Veau de Lait, Arroche, Feta – veal with French spinach and feta

Cheese of the day

Citron de Sicile, Concombre, Livèche- Sicilian lemon, cucumber and lovage

Tocino del Cielo – an egg yolk and caramelized sugar on a meringue

Fresh Strawberries

Overall, we had a very memorable meal. We enjoyed every dish and after finishing each dish, we were excited to see what was next. If you were like us and didn’t anticipate popular Paris restaurants requiring reservations months in advance, the second seating at Le Chateaubriand is a fantastic option.

At a glance:
• #18 on San Pellegrino’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants
• 60€ tasting menu only; changes daily
• Very inventive, modern and exciting dishes
• Reservations are only taken for the first seating; the second seating begins at 9:30pm and is first-come first-serve
• If you don’t have a reservation, get in line around 9pm
• Closed on Sundays/Mondays

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 4.5 stars
• Service: 3 stars
• Atmosphere: 3 stars