Two Star Le Meurice for 45 euros

Found a new way to sample a Michelin 2-star chef’s cuisine for a relative bargain price. The Meurice Hotel lounge in their Winter Garden is located next to the Meurice Restaurant off the lobby of the hotel. There is a 45 Euro prix fixe lunch menu that changes each Wednesday, prepared in the same kitchen as the Dining room meals where the prix fixe special lunch is 75 Euros. Reservations are not required; service is excellent. There are choices of two appetizers and two entrees and a special desert or anything from the desert trolley. Today’s appetizers were a wonderfully rich fish soup with mussels and a tomato tart with an intense tomato coulis. The entrees were a crisp chicken breast with lemongrass and snow peas and celeriac and a sea bass with potato slices and eggplant caviar. We had a coconut ball with pistachio and cherry interior from the trolley and a marvelous floating island with white peaches and peach sauce.
This menu will run through next Tuesday. Call the manager Fabrice Marchand for the new menu next Wednesday. Tel. [phone].
The new 75 Euro menu in the dining room starts tomorrow and with 4 choices for appetizers and 4 for entrees, it should be good for at least two meals. It does not change weekly.

[chazzerking]

Souphie; I'm confused. I recommended Le Meurice as an excellent 2 star alternative a couple of weeks ago and you corrected me about it being raised this year to a 3 star and the price raise from 65 to 75 E for lunch. Here you indicate it is still 2 stars. whassup?

[souphie]

I don't think I indicated that it was still two stars and 65E. In any case it is still 3star and at least 75E.

This sounds great. We're going to be in Paris for a week in September, so I just sent an email to the restaurant. The reply I got said that the 45 euro set menu is at lunch and dinner. Probably the only time I'll eat in a 2 star restaurant and I'll definitely make a reservation.

I don't want to confuse you but please double check. The hotel has two restaurants. The 45E menu is offered at their second restaurnt, Le Jardin d'Hiver. Their Michelin 2-star restaurant is called Restaurant Le Meurice. They offer a 75E prix fixe lunch menu. The dinner tasting menu is around 200E. Ordering a la care at either lunch or dinner will be around the same. They have a website that you might want to visit to clarify the confusion: www.meuricehotel.com
If they are offering a 45E menu at their 2-star Restaurant Le Meurice, please report back and all of us chowhounds will stampede for a reservation.

I'm wondering if my note was confusing. My point in posting was to let people know that the 45E is available both during the day and in the evening, not just lunch. I know it's not their actual Michelin 2-star restaurant, which is out of my price range. So even if it's not the actual 2 star restaurant, I'm still looking forward to the experience.

Thanks for the clarification. Last October, I had an excellent 60E prix fixe lunch at the Carre des Feuillants, better than prix fixe lunches I've had at couple of the 3-stars. It's not available for dinner.

[theskyflyer]

Going to Paris for Thanksgiving. Tried to get L'Astrance for lunch, but fully booked. I read somewhere that Le Meurice is getting a renovation by Starck at the moment. Is that true?

[souphie]

It's true and it's done.

[Tennyson]

Souphie -

Thanks for the information on Le Meurice. We are thinking of staying there in January (and eating at the main restaurant) and I have been trying to find out about the status of the Starck renovations but until your post haven't been able to get any update.

Just to make sure I didn't misinterpret your post, could you please confirm that the renovations are done and, if so, what are the reviews on them?

Thanks so much.

[souphie]

renovations are done. They did not concern the restaurant so much but newspapers reviews were enthusiastic.

The Meurice bar is one of our favorite spots; great martinis (the price is equally impressive!) and excellent sandwiches etc. Usually there is a jazz pianist who plays in the evening as well.

That sounds like a great stop for lunch. Do you get to walk through the beautiful dining room? Actually, I think 75 Eu. for the dining room is a bargain as well.

You don't walk through the dining room, but you can certainly look in for free. We dined there today on the new 75 euro lunch menu and it was incredibly good. I cannot believe that Michelin denied him 3 stars this year, but they never give restaurant chefs 3 stars unless they made it elsewhere first.