Our Guide to Paris: Le Chateaubriand
Here’s the situation: You can only reserve for the first seating at Le Chateaubriand. After that, you’ll have to wait in line with everyone else for a stab at Iñaki Aizpitarte’s unique (that’s putting it mildly), 50€ menu, a parade of forgotten vegetables, fish, and meat (some raw, some cooked) that landed the restaurant on San Pellegrino’s 50 Best list last year.
Practical information
Address: 129 Avenue Parmentier, 75011
Nearest transport: Goncourt (11)
Hours: Dinner only, Closed Sunday, Closed Monday
Reservations: Book many weeks in advance
Telephone: 01 43 57 45 95
View a map of all of our restaurants here.
Average price for dinner: 35-49€
Style of cuisine: Modern French
Special attributes: no-choice menu, prix-fixe, market-based cooking, renowned chef
Type of crowd: hipsters, foodies, bobos
Interior: charming & traditional
Atmosphere: bustling
Trusted reviews
- Gilles Pudlowski (2011) “Inaki Aizpitarte, basque bondissant, autodidacte malicieux…continue d’avancer à sa manière ludique et précise…il faut être au moins une fois. Et où le plaisir est dans l’assiette.”
- Barbra Austin (2010) “The colors are odd and bold and there’s something painterly about the presentation…There’s a lightness to this food that I appreciate, particularly in summer. And I like the way the ingredients retain their integrity…the end result can be oddly austere and occasionally jarring.”
- Meg Zimbeck (2009) “…the dish names are deceptively simple. For example, ‘tranche de boeuf, aubergine, faiselle’…Like most of Iñaki’s creations, it was a surprising combination of elements that I would never dream of putting together…”
- Food Snob (2009) “This modern, cosmopolitan theme is in stark contrast to the very restaurant wherein it resides: contemporary cooking in a classic bistro; colourful food within sombre walls…”
- Food & Wine (2009) “…radical reconstructions of classic French dishes (foie gras served in miso soup)—all marvelously incongruous…”
- Le Fooding “…des plats qui sont meilleurs que d’autres, des jours où Iñaki excelle, d’autres où le plat n’a pas collé au Basque, et du monde, beaucoup de monde. Nous, on adore!”
- François Simon (2007) “…une table encensée par la presse…”
Tagged with: 75011 • Editors' Pick • Iñaki Aizpitarte • Le Chateaubriand • market-based cooking • no-choice menu • renowned chef
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As vegetarians, we had a predictably problematic time at the Chateaubriand. The first course prawns were practically still dancing on our plates, and begging to have our main dish well cooked didn’t endear us to our waiter one bit (something he made very clear).
However, presentation is amazing (think abstract painting), desserts are even better, and if you can stand the posing – diners and staff alike – you may well have an exceptional, memorable dinner!
[...] Find more reviews and information about Le Chateubriand at Paris by Mouth. [...]
we had a big dinner with 7 last winter and our pregnant friend had a difficult time with the meal along with a few more who don’t like raw foods no matter how good it is suppose to be…
it was unfortunately either our taste levels are not “riche” enough for Le Chateaubriand’s menu but will not be going back…
agreed with Jason too….the staff also served us an stressed out energy during our dining experience there…so for 100 euros each it is NOT what we wanted to have a stressed out and mostly raw food menu – the wine was the saving grace… (btw, we are all from all parts of the globe…)
I definitely want to try this for my upcoming trip to Paris. But is it really enough to book a few days in advance, as is indicated?
Hi Svein – We’ve updated the info, thanks. If you have a hard time booking, the other option is to get in line for the second seating. Good luck!
Thanks, now i’ve learned from their answering machine that they only take reservations two weeks in advance. Maybe its a new policy.
Is this place open in this month?? I have called several times to book, but never been answered.
Hi Yule – Yes, they’re open, but as you might gather, booking is not easy. Either keep trying, or try your luck for the later seating, which is sans-reservation.
It is the Emperor’s New Clothes. Everyone wants to go there for the reputation but the food is abysmal second only to the unappetizing presentations and the snotty staff. No thank you!
Is the first seating for tourists only and the second seating therefore worth the wait? How early do you have to line up for a chance to get in for the second seating?
One of the best meals in Paris, the incarnation of néo-bistrot, and a cool, unpretentious setting. Perfection.
When it’s good, it’s wonderful. When it’s not that good, it’s still interesting.
Unfriendly amendment “When it’s good, it’s interesting. When it’s not that good, it’s not.”
Perfect service. Outstanding attention to detail. Vegetarians accommodated 100% with concern, patience and kindness. Delicious food. What more can I say? Yes, the wait is long for the late seating, but glasses of wine at the bar helped immensely, and it was most certainly worth it.