FRÉDÉRIC SIMONIN

Beautiful experience with my wife there for dinner for our anniversary last night. The dishes were exquisite, the service was exemplary and the atmosphere was impeccable. Our only regret was getting the 4 dish pairing instead of the 7 dish pairing! Can’t recommend more highly.

I was in Paris on a work trip and came here for a break from being professionally "on" all week. To be honest, Frederic Simonin was not my first choice, but it was the closest Michelin-starred restaurant to my hotel and you know how it is when you're an introvert.

For a one-star restaurant, the experience was disappointingly average--and I say this based on having been to one Michelin-starred restaurants all over the world (yes, the world, not just Europe). The dishes were well-cooked, but not particularly unique or creative, and even by French fine dining standards, it felt like the chef played it too safe.

I did the five-course Tentation menu. The most promising bites were honestly the two amuse bouches: 1) Radish jelly, horseradish cream, bread, and 2) A mushroom tartelette and curry yuzu tartelette with fois gras.

Then things got boring with a dish of asparagus, mustard seeds, and matcha powder. I appreciated the fresh mustard seeds, but the asparagus was unseasoned and the use of matcha just eye-rolling. Some homemade buckwheat bread and buckwheat butter came after, which was nice, but they took my bread away before I had a chance to finish it all!

Next was a dish of monkfish with daikon, mushrooms, chive flowers, and dill, which was perfectly cooked but too salty. The next dish of seared veal was unfortunately even more oversalted, though the accompanying swiss chard-wrapped dumplings were great.

I was at a loss when my server set down a large bowl of "super-sized mashed potatoes a la Joël Robuchon". By "super-sized", I guess they mean that this one has even more butter than Chef Robuchon's...but the whole thing felt bizarre and out of place for a tasting menu that's supposed to celebrate the produce of spring.

Dessert was better: a hazelnut cigar with oranges, raw hazelnuts, orange slices, and a delicious scoop of saffron ice-cream. The obligatory petit fours were a bit lackluster: a yuzu marshmallow, a candied pear gelée, caramel, and a pear and almond financier--but I suppose it's not nice to complain about freebies.

Where FS really fell flat was the service. I had multiple servers throughout the dinner, and they were all at least a BIT snooty. Look, I lived in France many years ago, grew up speaking French and have been to Paris many, many times. I expect a bit of that French haughtiness everywhere I go. But at a Michelin-starred restaurant, the service shouldn't be like this. I've dined at enough to know. The service was the worst part of Frederic Simonin.

Came for lunch and had an exceptional meal. I feel really sorry to cluster all the French chefs in one but I have not had one bad experience at any place who is listed, let alone have a star or more on Michelin. They are half the reason why I keep coming back to France (other half is boulangeries and wines) and I want to say Frederic Simonin keeps my beliefs that France provides one of the best western food in the world.
If you can see, the chefs attention to detail is exceptional and the presentation was really cute. It was like eating a miniature forest!
The dessert was also amazing, it wasn’t just so dynamique and elegant but the flavour blew my mind as it had the best of what a citrus can provide all condensed in one plate.

Servers spoke very good English so I didn’t get to try my broken up French that I’ve been studying for a while now but they were very nice and didn’t make me feel out of place for wearing a t shirt (I still had pants and shoes) as I had trouble with the transportation and didn’t have time to change.

Next time I come back I will check out some recent photos and definitely come back, hopefully this fall when I can make time to come back to Paris again. Thank you for the great experience to all the staff(and other French food industry professionals), you make my life 100x better and something to look forward to everyday as your dining experience ads color to my life which I only get to live once. You are one of the reason why I do not regret being born to die and not regret at all, as long as I am able to experience something you share with me.

Nous sommes venus à l’occasion d’un anniversaire et nous avons été chaleureusement accueillis par toute l’équipe au sein d’un lieu très cosy.
Les plats se sont succédés avec un mot d’ordre, le plaisir. Les assiettes se sont suivies avec chacune leur particularité : revisite, surprise, réconfort, réflexion, gourmandise.
Nous reviendrons très certainement pour d’autres occasions.

J’y suis allé pour le déjeuner avec un ami, menu à 60€ sans boissons. Franchement, c’était excellent du début à la fin.

Le lieu est très joli et calme, avec une déco simple mais élégante. Le personnel est gentil, professionnel et attentionné.

On a eu trois plats : une bonne entrée, un plat principal incroyable (super bien présenté et plein de saveurs), puis un café gourmand avec des petits gâteaux délicieux.

Oui, c’est un certain prix, mais pour un restaurant étoilé, ça vaut vraiment le coup.
Je recommande à 100 % à ceux qui veulent se faire plaisir sans exploser leur budget.

J’y retournerai sans hésiter !