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| - I'll be honest that my first experience at Robuchon's a few years ago left a lot to be desired. I probably would have given it two stars simply because it was terrible compared to the price - meat overcooked, several courses with uninteresting flavors, etc. There were a few standout courses and the cheese cart was amazing, so we decided to give it another try last night (6/7/13) and I am SO glad we did! I would definitely now rank it in my list of top 10 restaurants in the country.
We had the tasting menu (16 courses that are really 12 courses because some come as a trio), which in my opinion is the only way to go - course after course of amazing and interesting combinations! I won't go into too much detail as the menu changes seasonally, but everything was exquisite. Highlights: the three caviar courses, the foie gras dumplings in broth, lobster with a curry sauce...honestly everything was a highlight. It is all beautifully presented, which makes it even more fun. Our server told us one of the courses (a side of gelee with mozarella ball dots and tiny tomato dots on top) takes a chef 25 minutes per plate just to prepare the dots.
Three different carts come to your table at different points in the meal: A phenomenal bread cart with tons of interesting fresh-baked breads comes at the beginning of the meal (and whenever you want it). I think I tried half of it throughout the meal! Definitely have the rosemary brioche!! They also bring out a cheese cart right before dessert with probably 30 different cheeses from France and the US. We tried most of them, which is definitely the best way to do it as you can't tell which ones will be your favorite from the descriptions. The ones I liked best were the ones I almost did not choose! Then, after the dessert courses in the tasting menu, a dessert cart comes by. Everything on it was good, but I think it was the weakest of the carts as there aren't as many options and I didn't love the ones we tried. (The dessert cart at Guy Savoy, for example, is much better.) However, you're so full by that point it hardly matters!
We got the wine pairing, which we were told adds to a little over a bottle per person! I would definitely recommend it. There are three tiers - I believe one is $300/person, one is $600, and one is $1000. There is no list, as they select the wines as they go, but the higher tiers have pricier wines. We chose the lowest tier since I didn't think we were sophisticated enough about wine to notice the difference, and we loved every wine we were served. The sommelier explained that they always start with a champagne, then go through mostly whites, a few reds toward the end, and then dessert wines.
Ambiance is actually a little less stuffy than you would expect. They have a lot of couch seating, a well-lit chandelier, and dark purple colors which all add to a feeling of warmth. It is definitely quiet, but for that type of meal, it's a little nice. The service is fantastic, as you would expect. They all work as a team (we were served by about 6 different people throughout the evening) and as the meal takes quite some time, we got to know them really well throughout the night! We finally left at around 1:30am, and everyone was really nice about the fact that we were the last ones there.
I wouldn't do the 16 course menu again until it changes, but I can't wait to go back!!!
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