We’ve rated L’Ambroisie as GOOD with two stars * *
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How should I review a dinner that cost 1300€? I’ve been pondering that as I review my photos of L’Ambroisie, Paris’ bastion of fine dining in the Place des Vosges. I returned to take the pulse of this 3-star restaurant following the retirement of chef Bernard Pacaud in 2025. Pacaud ran L’Ambroisie - one of the most expensive restaurants in Paris - for an incredible 43 years. It’s still open, but in what state?
The chef now in charge of is Shintaro Awa, who was Eric Frechon’s second-in-command at Le Bristol’s Épicure for +10 years. He was not Pacaud’s first choice. Christophe Moret was engaged in 2023 for a gradual takeover at L’Ambroisie, but he left two months later without any official reason and is now at Le Domaine Les Crayères in Reims. Awa has an impressive CV, but little name recognition. That might be a positive feature, because Awa’s role at L’Ambroisie is that of a preservationist. He is tasked with recreating the same recipes that Pacaud himself repeated day-in and day-out for decades. His name is visible in small print on the carte, but is otherwise absent from the website.
As for the carte, it remains the most expensive I’ve ever encountered. There is no menu at L’Ambroisie - all dishes are ordered à la carte - and lunch is the same price as dinner. This isn’t a place you come for a deal.
The price for two people, including a 210€ bottle of wine (one of their more reasonable options) totaled 1296€. That’s a huge expense - more than most people’s rent or mortgage. So what does 1300€ get you at l’Ambroisie?
AMUSE-BOUCHES
We started with this bite of artichoke with gilded leaves, an absolutely perfect scallop, and a rich savory Kouglof studded with lardons (bacon). All were fine - the scallop was more than fine - but nothing dazzled.
STARTERS
It’s important to mention here that the carte in 2026 includes most of the same dishes I saw in 2014. So I’ve now tasted many dishes twice, twelve years apart.
My companion ordered the caviar with celery, which floated quenelles of caviar and cream on a raft of celery root that had been cooked on the wood burning stove.
In the fall of 2014, the caviar was presented table-side and served with the celery branch instead of the root. Both versions were delicious, but there was something obscenely luxurious about watching them spoon caviar directly from the massive box.
Another repeat was this dish of plump langoustine tails sandwiched between sesame seed tuiles in a pool of bright yellow curry sauce. The sauce, which had a slight skin on it when it arrived at our table, was incredibly rich with cream. The curry was barely discernible. The tuiles immediately softened and I’m not sure what they added.
FISH COURSE
This round included my favorite and least favorite dishes of the night.
My friend ordered the lobster, which I also tried in 2014. It was identical and delicious both times. Rosemary and garlic are the defining flavors in the glossy jus that coats these perfectly turned and confit potatoes. It’s a deceptively simple dish: lobster + rosemary + garlic + potatoes, and truly one of the best I’ve ever eaten.
I opted for this turbot meunière. The flavor from kampot peppercorns was delicious, but the fish was too heavily dusted with flour and the thick mushy coating was a bummer. The truffled raviolis on the side were delicious, but all the cream and butter were starting to get to me. I say that as someone who is very used to cream and butter.
What I wished that I had re-ordered was the sea bass that I had in 2014. It’s still on the menu, and looks exactly the same. I hesitated to order it again because we were already having caviar with our starter. I worried that - horror! - this would be too much caviar. But it was a much better dish than the turbot.
MEAT COURSE
I misinterpreted the menu and ordered both fish and meat courses - a costly mistake that our server didn't correct. Our “unnecessary” meat course was priced at 380€ for two people.
This is a whole Bresse chicken, rubbed with truffle butter and roasted. It was served for two with salsify and a heavy shower of black truffle.
It was, as you might imagine, obscenely delicious. It was also - have these words ever been written? - too much truffle. We struggled to finish this dish because of the parade of rich foods that had preceded it. Our incredibly lovely server asked if we wanted to take the rest home, and he added the legs and a little bowl of jus to our package. What a lovely touch. But honestly, it felt like such a waste to leave heaps of uneaten truffle on the plate. I suppose there’s a feeling of glee for some people in being able to order a 380€ dish and disregard half of it. I’m not one of those people. At least not right now.
DESSERT COURSE
L’Ambroisie’s signature dessert, which anyone dining here should order, is this deceptively simple sounding dark chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream. I’ve never had anything like it. The crust is so thin as to be almost non-existent. The interior is mousse-like, and barely sweet. The ice cream is a testament to how good real vanilla can be.
We also ordered this pear cooked in a crust of spiced sugar. The pear itself (poire Williams) was delicious. I’m not sure if this presentation was my favorite:
The process of scraping away what looked like wet oatmeal recalled breakfast more than haute cuisine.
A simple selection of mignardises closed the meal. No over-the-top presentation or trolley. We were bursting, so this was more than enough.
AMBIANCE
There are two main dining rooms, each with a very different feel.
The first dining room features black and white floor tiles rescued from a convent in Normandy, and an Aubusson tapestry that stretches across the entire back wall. It feels regal, and also a little cold. Loire valley chateau vibes.
The second dining room was redesigned shortly after my 2014 lunch. Grandmotherly depictions of fruit and foliage have been replaced by red LED lights and a more modern carpet atop the ancient parquet floors.
OUR VERDICT
I’ve rated L’Ambroisie as good, which it is. Standout dishes include the caviar with celery, the lobster with rosemary and potatoes, the sea bass with caviar, and the dark chocolate tart. These are delicious, and I felt fortunate to eat them.
But fortune is really the key word here, and most people don’t have the means to spend so freely at L’Ambroisie. If you - like most humans - would feel the sting of a 1300€ bill, there’s no way this is going to feel worth it. I spent for dinner what most families spend on groceries for a month. And I wasn’t transported to another plane. The clouds didn’t part. I wasn’t elevated to a higher consciousness. It was good. I was lucky to be there. I liked my lunch at Cypsèle more.
L’AMBROISIE
9 Place des Vosges, 75004
Open Tuesday-Saturday for lunch & dinner
Closed Sunday & Monday
Reservations online or at +33 1 42 78 51 45
classically French
good for special occasions
in the Marais
near Notre-Dame
STILL SEARCHING?
Our restaurant index organizes the restaurants we’ve anonymously visited since 2021 by location and ranks them all as:
GREAT * * *
GOOD * *
FINE *
NOT RECOMMENDED
If you want to dine at a Michelin starred restaurant there are so many good - and less expensive, less stuffy - ones to choose from. We had a memorable lunch at Le Jules Verne that rang all the right culinary bells and somehow managed to be fun and charming for a special occasion. Ditto La Tour d'Argent. And many very original tasting menus around town if that is what you like. Thanks for the review - did not make me nostalgic for the past!
great pleasure reading about a meal I'd never could afford have and feel Ok about it !