r/MichelinStars

Went there on July 4th and was quite disappointed given how well reviewed this place is.

Edit: I feel like I have to preface this post by saying that this didn’t ruin my night in any way. We enjoyed the food and the company of friends. The whole point of this post is to compare it with the level of service I have seen from other restaurants at this level and price point.

Edit 2: Apparently, my comments about not deserving of its stars have riled some other folks. Even if the food is worthy of the stars (borderline), the service does not befit a place of this price and reputation.

The good part: food was well executed for the most part. One fish course was overcooked in particular. We enjoyed most other courses though.

The bad part: service and attention to detail was lacking. Not deserving of 1 star, much less 2 Michelin stars. Not deserving of its reputation and price.

Examples:
- Inconsistent pacing. Main squab course took about 40 minutes to arrive. Bread arrived so early that it got cold by the time the accompanying course arrived. No explanations or remedy given for the long wait. Total dining time was 4 hours end to end for only 10 courses plus 2 desserts.

- Wine pairing was not explained for a few courses. It was also explained to the wrong person for other courses. Also, they didn’t seem to have a sommelier that evening.

- Billing confusing. They made us fill out a gratuity first. When the final credit card receipt came, it wasn’t added, so we had to fill it in again.

- No menus (or any memorabilia) given to diners to take home. I thought this was standard practice at most Michelin starred places by now. And definitely saw some other diners get one in other reviews.

- Service was a bit chaotic and cold. Staff tried their best to be professional in between the lapses described above. But it lacked the warmth and cohesiveness of similar NYC restaurants like EMP, Aska, or Atomix for example.

- Decor somewhat outdated. More of a nitpick, but wood paneling in the dining room is reminiscent of early 2000s fine dining.

- Price is not something we normally notice. But if you expect to charge $295 + 20% for a wine pairing, you better make sure that all of the other aspects of service are on point.

- Is there a dress code or not? It was a hot day, so I can understand not enforcing it. But some diners came in wearing jean shorts and t-shirts despite the dress code. I don’t like dressing up either, but if you’re going to have a dress code, then at least enforce it for the other people who made the effort to follow it. Otherwise, get rid of it.

Overall, it seems like the transition from the former Chefs Table to Cesar has resulted in service taking a major hit. Given that this place has been open for over a year now, it seems unacceptable that service is still this bad.

I’m normally not one to pay attention to the intricacies of hospitality until it is sorely lacking, which it was in this case.

Bertrand Grébaut, chef and co-founder of Septime, died at the age of 44 from cancer

Truly one of the nicest chefs I've had the honor of meeting. A huge loss for the gastronomic world.

Who's going to be the first guest to be ridiculed online by Sam Hart?

We just had lunch at Le Pré Catalan in Paris. It was wonderful...a classic version of a tasting menu. The chef has been there for nearly 30 years and the signature dish (langoustine ravioli with foie gras) has been on the menu for 20 years

If you like the most modern and innovative cuisine (think foraged and pickled and unconventional ingredients) then this is not for you. But I can recommend it if you want a delicious tasting menu of creative (if not completely new) and extremely well-executed dishes composed of traditional french ingredients. The only slight disappointment was the pigeon.

You won't have anything here that you can't explain to your friends, but you will be very happy

Le Menu Orsay

* L'Aubergine -- Croustillante, préparée en Caviar, crème d'Avocat et Curry

* Le Dashi -- Gelée chaude. Crème de Fenouil (avec crabe)

* La Langoustine -- Ravioli, Foie Gras de Canard, fine gelée à la Feuille d'Or

* Le Cabillaud (deux façons) -- Cuit au Naturel, Algues, Beurre Nantais aux zestes de citron vert. Brandade Moelleuse et Croustillante

* Le Pigeonneau -- Poché, Dattes, Semoule croustillante

* Le Fromage -; Soufflé chaud vapeur. Crème de Comté

* Le Pollen -- Sablé, Glace au Miel

* Le Chocolat -- Tarte Fondante au Cacao amer, Crème glacée à la Fleur de Lait!

(Amsterdam)
Miso Scallops, Chicken Larb wraps, Mama Wong’s dumplings, Spicy Soft Shelled Crab, Noodle Box

Džiaugsmas (meaning 'joy') is one of three 1* restaurants in Lithuania's capital, Michelin having published their first guide for the country in 2024. The food is oriented towards an a la carte selection, itself a novelty nowadays. Starters range in price from €8 - €17, main courses range from €24 to 5€3, and desserts are priced between €8 and €12. There is also a tasting menu priced at €120, which consists of various a la carte courses. All ingredients are sourced within Lithuania.

Wine: the wine list is not provided on the restaurant's website, so I did not have time to do a full Andy Hayler style appraisal. As I was dining alone, I stuck mainly to wines by the glass and the restaurant mark ups here seemed fair. A bottle of Kim Crawford NZ Sauvy B retails for £25 in the UK, and is sold here for 50. Likewise, Charles Frey Reisling retails for £22 and is sold here for €55.

Picture 1: Exterior, Vilnius old town.
Picture 2: Sourdough bread, with salted butter and pork fat. The bread was solid; both spreads were tasty and the animal head moulds were a clever bit of work from the kitchen.
Picture 3: cheese crisp (l) with cod's roe and cured herring. Pleasant enough, but not particularly well balanced and lacking in punchy flavours. The summer roll (r), however, was as stunning to eat as it was to look at- shiso, radish, trout, pickled carrots, all incredibly fresh tasting. Served alongside a very tasty smoked oyster mayo.
Picture 4: potato latke, beef tartare, shiitake, pickled pumpkin, cheese cream. Another beautifully put together dish, very tasty but lacking overall balance.
Picture 5: potato pancake, beef tongue, tuna sauce, onion. Big improvement over the previous course, rich and full of flavour. Onions provided some welcome sweetness, and the beef was clearly of good provenance.
Picture 6: White and green asparagus, served with yeast sauce, vegetable demi glace. Midsummer has already passed, so potentially the last outing of the year for this vegetable. great quality asparagus, perfectly cooked, very tender with no woody texture. Sauce was delicious. A simple but very enjoyable course.
Picture 7: flatfish, leek & butter sauce, beans, asparagus, spring onions. I was unfamiliar with this fish and pleasantly surprised by how full of flavour and firm it was. The vegetables in this dish were merely passable, but the butter sauce was very nice indeed.
Picture 8: lamb rump steak came served with a dolma style grape leaf, broth sauce, and roasted vegetables. The meat was perfectly cooked, but unfortunately was not particularly flavoursome. The vegetables had taken one some great flavours from the roasting process and helped round things off.
Picture 9: Cheese ice cream, elderflower mousse, strawberry granita. More than the sum of its parts- each element by itself did not carry much flavour, but worked really well in combination. This was followed by the petits fours; a caraway cheese style choux pastry, a chocolate, and a cherry sweet. All of which were nice, I would single out the cheese for the ingenuity and good integration of traditional ingredients.

Bill: The total cost for the evening was €148, consisting of €120 for the tasting menu, two glasses of wine (€10 apiece), a coffee (€4) and a bottle of water (€4, tap water is not provided). The restaurant failed to bill me for a glass of pet nat and it did not occur to me to correct them. There is no autograt, however QR details are provided if you wish to leave a tip.

Service: Fairly hands off compared to experiences I've had in other countries, although not unusual in this part of the world. There was often a large wait between courses which were then served two at a time; better pacing would have improved the overall experience. The wait staff were all pleasant enough and the somm seemed knowledgable.

Overall thoughts: A pleasant enough meal with some highs and lows. QPR is fair compared to other European one stars, and the restaurant is worth a visit if you happen to be in this part of the world. A good introduction to one of the lesser known cuisines.

As far as 3 stars we've tried. We would rate our experiences as:

SingleThread breakfast - 8/10 (10/10 for the inn room itself)

We both had each the japanese breakfast and sonoma breakfast on separate days. I preferred the sonoma breakfast and the amazing egg souffle. From the japanese breakfast the salmon and the rice were each really delicious and I would love to have them again.

Quince Lunch - 10/10

Quince was the standout, everything was so delicious, the beetroot spaghetti with caviar was one of the best dishes of the trip. The bread was great, and it was perfect to dip in all the sauces of the dishes. The cheese board was incredible as well, a lot of unique and delicious cheese flavors.

Benu Dinner - 7/10

Everything at Benu was technically excellent, but we found overselves thinking its not food we really want to eat again and again if given the chance. As a one time novelty it was good but its not the kind of food we find the most delicious so much as just technically impressive.

French Laundry Bonus Bites

On another day of the trip, we got to stop at The French Laundry as well, while we didn't do a sit down service, we had a special experience with a private group event where the restaurant was wide open from the kitchen to the wine cellar to stroll around in and have wine and hangout. Thomas Keller was there and walking around and chatting with everyone, and at various stations there was a buffet style layout of dishes coming out fresh constantly and you could grab repeats of anything you wanted. There were extras of each dish after everyone got full. Everything there was incredible, every bite was so flavorful. The salmon cone, and the ice cream desert stood out to me. The ice cream dessert was one of the most unique, pleasingly less sweet ice creams I've had. I didn't get enough pictures there but did grab a few.

Congratulations on getting their 3rd star and being the first Mexican restaurant with that distinction. Here is my meal from two weeks ago.

Definitely the most elegant and delicious Mexican cuisine I’ve ever had.