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Not worth its Michelin star: Restaurant L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon (29. December 2018)

| May 4, 2019 | 1 Comments

As I haven’t been to the L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in any city so far but have only heard good things about it. And also because the Gaggan and the Nahm had been booked out already, I decided to give the L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Bangkok a shot. I went for the “tasting menu in five courses” (4’950 BHT) which started with a luscious bread basket with “bacon and mustard, thyme, baguette, squid ink and a croissant”. Great selection really – a bit buttery for my personal gusto but else, absolutely delicious!

As a starter, they served “tapioca with lemon grass foam” which I absolutely loved and “foie gras with red wine coating”. The second wasn’t bad either but somehow the red wine coating was a bit too intense with the foie gras for my personal gusto.

The first course of the menu was the “Royal of Foie Gras, ‘Maury Vielle Vigne’ reduction, parmesan foam” which was a good combination – hearty, smooth, delicious.

The second course wasn’t too much to my liking. “A surprise of Sologne Imperial caviar in a lobster jelly” was just having too much of that “lobster jelly” taste which was really just sea water and not enough of anything else. If you’d eat it in tiny bites with a tiny bit of caviar, it was fine. But not more than that. I had expected more from one Michelin star.

And it continued – the “pan-fried duck foie gras, Coco de Paimpol beans with chorizo and chili” looked admittedly amazing. In combination with the chorizo, the foie gras was actually great. If I’d just try the foie gras itself, it was lacking taste. And I’m not talking about any specific taste but frankly, there was no taste of its own. There was the grill taste from it being on the grill. There was the smoothness of foie gras. There was everything – but taste was missing.

The next course was the “black cod served with malabar pepper sauce and coconut foam” and that was fine. It wasn’t overwhelming either but it was fine. Good to eat, overall tasty, definitely better than average but also no fireworks in my palate.

The “beef tenderloin warm spinach with wasabi and capsicums assortment” was nice as the beef was medium rare as requested, it had a nice bite, the combination with the spinach and the wasabi was nice but the black truffle didn’t really add to the dish. Overall, nothing overwhelming again.

What I did like a lot was the ‘pre-dessert’ which was a “variation of citrus fruits with tarragon, Greek yogurt sorbet”. This combination was really delicious – and I’m not even huge on desserts. But the combination of the mild Greek yogurt and the sourness of the citrus fruits with the tarragon sauce was just mouth-watering.

And it looked nice even after the tarragon sauce was put all over it.

The final dessert was a “hazelnut praline, cremeux milk chocolate ‘Bahibe’ 46% with coffee emulsion”. Now, I’m always not so fair when it gets to chocolate as I’m not a big fan of it but I must say, the dish was fine. Too much chocolate for my personal gusto but well executed and overall a lovely combination of flavors, textures and intensities.

Last but not least, some chocolates were served to end the evening with madeleines, jelly and choco crips. Decent. Nothing exciting.

What I liked about the place was the interior – rather dark, all in red and black. A bit special really but frankly, okay in terms of atmosphere.

I was wondering what Mao was doing there though?

What was impeccable I must admit – despite the rather sub-optimal seating at the bar and the waiters always reaching over the counter to serve you – was the service. They were super attentive, super friendly, and – and I must admit I was extremely surprised – they did not let empty the glass of water or wine. Surprising really!

What is also rather cool is the view into the kitchen. You get to watch how they prepare your food – right in front of you (okay, there is two meters in between). Still, it’s a rather direct view into the kitchen.

All in all, one can try the L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. But frankly, I do not understand how the joint gets one Michelin star. I’ve eaten better for less and with no stars attached.

Yes, the dishes are executed flawlessly and the service is impeccable – so, all in all, things are good. But frankly, I do not see how you have to pay 4’950 BHT for this menu – besides maybe the fact that foie gras is expensive and you kind of have to cover your expenses on the ingredients. Else, don’t know why!

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Contact Details:

Restaurant L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

5th Floor, MahaNakhon CUBE

96 Narathiwas Ratchanakharin Rd

Silom, Bang Rak

10500 Bangkok (TH)

Tel.: +66 2 001 06 98

Homepage: http://www.robuchon-bangkok.com

About the Author:

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.
15'418.70 BHT (incl. tip) Filed in: Bangkok (TH), Restaurants
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1 Comment on "Not worth its Michelin star: Restaurant L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon (29. December 2018)"

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  1. Mix-Movie.com says:

    L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Etoile had been recommended to us, but we actually were heading out to a different restaurant. The Uber driver dropped us off at the wrong place. So we started looking around to see what was in the area. We were close to L’Atelier, so we decided to go. We got the last three seats at the bar. Yes, it is expensive, but we had a wonderful meal and probably the best meal the whole time we were in Paris. The staff was great and the food was excellent. Two of us order the lamb chops while the third ordered the steak tartare. She had ordered steak tartare almost at every meal and said this was the absolute best! We started with a complimentary cold melon soup which was creamy and delicious. Along with the meal comes their famous all you can eat mashed potatoes. We asked what made them so good and our server said it was the 1:1 ratio of potatoes to butter. Because we hadn’t planned on dining there that evening, we felt it was just meant to be ! We will definitely go back next time we’re in Paris.

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