Photo: Guy Savoy and his team © Bernard Bakalian

Paris, on the red carpet, in search of three exceptional addresses. From Guy Savoy to Maxim’s, via Chef Adam Bentalha at the Brach, the capital of taste embraces us with its finest jewels.

By Sabah Kaddouri

Guy Savoy, when cuisine becomes divine

A name, a culinary identity, a location that evoke the homeland of gastronomy around the world. The multi-starred Guy Savoy restaurant is one of those institutions that stir up praise, curiosity and emotion. So many expectations even before crossing the threshold! Or rather, the majestic steps covered in a red carpet leading to the upper floor of the Monnaie de Paris… Here stands the table most highly rated by La Liste. The other gastronomic bible, with its eagerly awaited autumn ranking, as it scrutinises 1,000 restaurants worldwide using an algorithm compiling more than a thousand sources (guides, blogs, press) and millions of customer reviews. For nine years now, this address has reigned supreme. One particularly elegant line comes from Philippe Faure, chairman and founder of La Liste, who readily compares haute cuisine to tennis, drawing a parallel with the Nadal, Federer and Djokovic era. As Swiss readers, Guy Savoy is the “Federer” of the kitchen.

As with any Grand Slam worth the name, you will need patience to get a table in this setting. A matter of weeks — at a minimum — and more realistically months. The experience lives up to the wait… Multiple pleasures for an eternal moment. The culinary journey begins with a truth displayed in neon letters at the entrance: “La Cuisine est l’Art de transformer instantanément en joie des produits chargés d’Histoire.” — inviting you to ponder the chef’s own words. Be patient: he will come and greet each guest one by one at the hour of the feast. Like in a Paris palace, you are welcomed with every courtesy all the way to your table, many of which offer a magnificent view over the Seine. You will hear every language — Chinese, English, Italian, Arabic, Russian… — murmurs that will in no way disturb your tranquillity. Your dedicated brigade masters the art of safeguarding your space, your summit rendezvous. One has the pleasant impression of being alone, so sensitively does a tilt of the head or the position of your hands immediately register with your maître d’hôtel and sommelier.

Beyond this unparalleled staging, what is it that draws the (beautiful) world to this culinary lighthouse? A cuisine that nourishes the soul, Guy Savoy might answer… Among the signature dishes to taste is the famous “Huîtres en nage glacée”. This dish captures the precision, creativity and respect for terroir of a true artisan chef. A lightly cream-enriched oyster purée coats the bottom of the shell, topped with a raw oyster, while an oyster-water jelly blankets the whole. A thread of sorrel, pepper and tiny diced lemon complete the seasoning. At the first bite, you may well wonder whether you had ever eaten oysters before… Then comes the “Rougets-barbet en situation”, another classic you will remember for a very long time. The sea is clearly where the native of Bourgoin-Jallieu, a region bordering French-speaking Switzerland, moves in majesty. For this dish, Guy Savoy has removed the bones from the red mullet — one of the fish most riddled with bones — before pan-searing it whole. Plated on a “sea floor” made of spinach shortbread and dried seaweed, mingling with squid, seasonal vegetables and mushrooms, bound with the mullet jus and topped with a spinach leaf, this dish is a gustatory and visual masterpiece.

Guy Savoy’s culinary repertoire is as prolific as his bibliography! The chef also finds time to write bestselling cookbooks. These two emblematic creations of the house will, without doubt, make for an excellent opening act — one that fully justifies a round trip to the French capital.

Adam Bentalha, the art of travel through a sunlit chef

His name is inseparable from Hôtel Brach Paris in the very chic 16th arrondissement, our Rhône district in Geneva. Chef Adam Bentalha, originally from Constantine in Algeria, has turned the address into a trendy hot spot that never seems to slow down. Year after year. The Paris of serial entrepreneurs, business lawyers, artists and discerning tourists mingle here alongside PSG star footballers; all have their habits and culinary passions. One wishes the sunny menu would never change, a true expedition into Mediterranean terroir. In a single meal, you are whisked all the way to Lebanon to discover delicious dishes redolent of the Land of Cedars: Pita bread freshly out of the cauldron; hummus with sumac powder and zaatar; grilled halloumi with honey and smoked almonds; or baba ghanoush. One plate is all it takes to move from one register to another. We love this idea of gastronomic routes that evoke our finest summer holidays. The dishes are generous, faithful to heritage recipes; Chef Adam Bentalha is at home everywhere.

Now we are in Italy, another place where food is a religion. A stop in Naples to sample Paccheri with morels and pecorino, or aged beef carpaccio. Sun-dried tomatoes and olive oil are part of the journey, naturally. As is the contagious good humour of the maître d’s. They are the dining-room extension of the chef’s love for the good and the beautiful, each expressing his or her personality with authenticity. Everything is convivial. And when Bentalha the artist leaves the kitchen for a moment to step into the 120-cover arena, it is to carve your confit suckling lamb shoulder with zaatar sauce (to share). You are rewarded with a sensory show and a fine human exchange. On some evenings, the decibels rise with the arrival of a DJ electrifying the restaurant. Already cheerful, the atmosphere intensifies: one senses the Brach spirit because, here, the walls become places to live, fostering inspiring encounters. You get a taste of the private club at the hotel’s origin. Energetic, hedonistic, refined, cultured, the clientele who frequent the address are there for a reason.

You too. All these quiet luxury codes will make you want to make it a go-to destination on every Paris trip. A Brach in Switzerland? An appetising prospect, but not on the cards for now. The Evok Collection group is methodically expanding from Madrid to Venice. Inextricably linked to the brand, former Royal Savoy in Lausanne chef Adam Bentalha oversees the kitchens as Executive Chef. Enthusiastic day in, day out, he never tires of sharing his all-consuming passion, even though this profession was not an obvious choice at first. In 2006, when he enrolled in a hotel management BTS programme, he cooked twice a week… enough to spark a vocation and ambition. Learning from the best and working in some of France’s most prestigious houses, from the Ritz to the Shangri-La and the Prince de Galles. Quite a CV! One constant runs through this journey: honouring his roots and enlivening the experience of gourmets through his sunlit personality, which contributes to his aura.

Brach Hôtel Paris is the perfect synthesis of all this. International designer Philippe Starck has left his unmistakable mark there. Warm colours, natural and raw materials, unusual accessories and works of art, boho-chic décor… A patchwork born of multiple influences, to which the chef’s cuisine responds instinctively. When you sit down at Brach restaurant, you are lifted by this hospitality object that is not quite like any other. The much-sought-after venue, also popular for fashion shoots, is decidedly unclassifiable. Cult.

Maxim’s, from 1893 to the third millennium

“Since Paris became fashion, since Paris became the world, I am told of it as a fatal address, a mythical house, a legend among legends, the light of the great city.” Restaurant or monument, certainly both! Maxim’s has been in the spotlight since the 19th century. If former café waiter Maxime Gaillard — the man who created the venue in 1893 — could see his work 133 years later, he would surely stage a party that would relegate even The Great Gatsby’s to a tedious symposium! At Maxim’s, celebration goes hand in hand with fine dining and grand dreams! Whatever the hardships of time and its procession of storms, once you arrive at 3 rue Royale and take shelter beneath the red awning with gold capital letters spelling “MAXIM’S”, the world may quarrel all it likes: here, everything is luxury and voluptuousness. Calm? It is replaced by glam’. For more than a century, the table has upheld the promise of letting you live the Belle Époque spirit. The latest major revamp of the building was overseen by the Paris Society group, which has paid it a vibrant tribute. After the Pierre Cardin era, new owner Laurent de Gourcuff had the heavy task of waking the Sleeping Beauty after ten years. The result is dazzling!

Polished, set and revived, this Art Nouveau jewel — listed in France’s historic monuments inventory like Versailles or the Louvre — unfolds its flamboyant aesthetic across three levels. Spectacular glass roofs and stained glass, bronze foliage, copper ornamentation, bevelled mirrors, mahogany scrollwork, appliqué frescoes, and abundant red velvet on the seating, a stage fit for the Olympia, all draped in a botanical jungle through which wildlife roams. An arch, an allegory of the world placing Paris at its epicentre. The main room welcomes regulars, the curious, jet-setters and the old-money crowd. Anonymous guests and celebrities. Even if you returned on a Tuesday evening rather than Friday, the image would not change. Maxim’s still gives us a thrill through its timeless décor, but also through a menu calibrated for fine palates. Whole lobster salad with truffle vinaigrette; chilled velouté of beefsteak tomatoes, king crab and basil; caviar spaghettini… The nobility of ingredients elevated by the house’s table arts. Maxim’s also delivers at the plate, and its culinary preparations win us over. You reward yourself twice over by ordering one of the historic dishes, such as the whole roast chicken with fresh herb butter, baby potatoes, peas and morels, or the turbot with beurre blanc and caviar.

On the dessert side, bistro roots inspire the menu: you can drift between Île flottante, Crêpe Suzette or Madagascar vanilla crème brûlée. The strawberry soup? It comes bathed in champagne… You are at Maxim’s, so opulence is never far away, and that is exactly what one comes looking for! As the hours go by, we move from well-informed gourmets to night owls. The dim atmosphere, the fervour of the waiters, the spontaneous singing and dancing of delighted tourists all push us out of our typically Swiss reserve. It is a performance unfolding before us. In this living theatre, we let go, carried along by the live musicians performing the most beautiful songs by Edith Piaf, Juliette Gréco or Joséphine Baker. Delivered with accuracy and energy, the hits are taken up by your neighbours in their faraway accents (Chinese, American, Russian…). France takes centre stage and is shared. Maxim’s remains an institution in every sense.

Once the coffee has been served, we head upstairs for a tour of the premises. The 4.0 socialites occupy the gleaming armchairs, sipping signature cocktails and mocktails in their red-carpet attire. The after-party will take us very far, very late.

So many stories to live and tell at Maxim’s! In its guestbook, the address has just added the recent filming of Emily in Paris… If we were allowed to dream big, we would want to be there for the establishment’s bicentenary. More down to earth, the best way to keep the myth alive is ultimately to keep coming back.

See you soon, Maxim’s…

Find all our articles Inside