Practical information
Address: 17 rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, 75002
Nearest transport: Bourse (3)
Hours: Lunch and dinner, Monday-Friday
Reservations: Book a few days in advance
Telephone: 01 42 60 31 90
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Average price for lunch: Menu at 35€
Average price for dinner: Menus at 37€ and 59€
Style of cuisine: Modern French
Special attributes: prix-fixe, market-based cooking, prestige ingredients, superior wine list, open Monday
Type of crowd: suits, hipsters, foodies, bobos, neighborhood locals
Interior: polished & modern
Atmosphere: casual
Reviews of interest
- Aaron Ayscough (2011) “Worst hospitality in the solar system.”
- Bruno Verjus (2011) “Voyage encore pour le merlu de ligne. En poisson de saison, il s’habile de notes de feu avec un sabayon fumé de sarments de vigne et quelques herbes côtières…Une cuisine d’artisan, pure et gourmande, sans aucune agression, à l’égal des vins organiques d’Even Lemoigne…”
- Sophie Brissaud (2011) “J’aime beaucoup Saturne, son chef semi-viking (ainsi que le surnomme mon compagnon de table, qui est, lui, totalement viking), son sens de la fraîcheur et du vivant, son talent légumier…J’aime ce décor et cet éclairage, ces rayonnages de bouteilles rappelant une bibliothèque…”
- Patricia Wells (2011) “…this is a place that I am going to want to return to again and again. What we want today is fresh, inventive fare that is at once familiar and surprisingly new and Saturne delivers… The blond wood decor and airy glass roof is warming, and service (despite a bit of confusion over a reservation) is attentive and correct.”
- Dorie Greenspan (2010) “everything was bright and fresh and mostly raw (now, having had a little time to reflect, I’m thinking that when the thermometer drops below freezing and the restaurant is so chilly that the servers draw the curtains to keep the drafts at bay, it would have been nice to have some cooked food on the menu).”
- Phyllis Flick (2010) “Chartier’s terroir-driven cuisine is focused on bringing out the best in exceptional products, so sauces and spices are minimal…The small details from the quality of the bread, to the delicious madelines served with coffee, all point to a team who are passionate about what they do.”
- John Talbott (2010) “…white tuna with a thin leek and subtle mushroom sauce and…calamari with nicely coriander-dressed, incredible heirloom tomatoes and subtle eggplant sauce…were clearly among the best firsts of the rentree.”
- Barbra Austin (2010) “I loved the late-season tomato mille-feuille with deep red jam countered by a fresh green slice and delicate pastry. Assertive mackerel was accompanied by thin grilled leeks, clean cucumbers, and herbs…The worst thing I could say about anything of Chartier’s dishes is that they sometimes border on boring…Fish with steamed spinach, no matter how fresh and perfectly cooked, will not convert any skeptics who are, let’s face it, paying good money to eat here.”
- Pudlo (2010) “On pourrait être à Copenhague ou Stockholm, voire Londres ou Sydney. Mais on est bien à Paris…dans une salle conviviale et confortable qui prend acte de sa modernité…Produits de qualité, mariages justes, assaisonnements nets, cuissons courtes, saveurs sans chichi, jolis légumes vifs et frais : voilà ce qui vous attend là.”
- The Paris Kitchen (2010) “I’ve been recommending Saturne to visitors who don’t want cassoulet and escargots – they are looking for clean modern simple use of fresh ingredients and they’ve done nothing but rave how ‘refreshing’ it was to spend an evening out without feeling ‘stuffed’…”
- Alexander Lobrano (2010) “…had a slightly puzzling chat about which wine to drink with dinner with sommelier Ewen Lemoigne… Unfortunately they hadn’t yet gotten around to printing up the wine list yet, so Lemoigne, an ardent believer in natural and biodynamic wines, suggested a Saint Peray, which was pleasant enough but shading to a bit more sweetness than would have been ideal with the menu that followed.”
- Bruno Verjus (2010) “Ewen Lemoigne, ludion enjoué, témoigne d’une rare sommellerie, celle d’un homme pour qui le vin est un être vivant. Une sommellerie de chair, de substance, du sentiment. L’association de ces deux exceptions gastronomiques et oenologiques, place Saturne, d’ores et déjà, parmi les meilleures tables de Paris.”
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Never, ever again. Food is good BUT the service is terrible, rude and completely unprofessional. The wine might be good but we did not had the privilege of the sommelier: someone mumbled a list of wines without even asking what we chose to eat, and with the enthusiasm of a depressive clerk. Anyway, the wine arrived after they served our entrees. And please do not dare to make a single comment about anything or you will get insulted with such arrogance. It is my worst experience ever. And I’m French so I’m used to arrogance but at this level, the Michelin should create a special category !
I made a comment… I wonder how I managed to survive this experience…Unless you’re a food critic, eat and pay… or AVOID saturnism!
Just to give another perspective, it seems I had quite a different experience. Actually just back from dinner at Saturne and had very friendly service and excellent food. Service was responsive and while there was a bit of a slow down towards the end of the evening, no excruciatingly long waits between courses. I think we even had a new/trainee waiter who seemed a bit nervous but professional. The only heads up is that possibly the dinner options have changed. Tonight, there was no 37euro/3 course option, only a 60euro 7 course option with an optional 60euro wine pairing. So if you’re not looking to spend that much, it might be worth checking in advance if there is a cheaper option available at dinner before you head on over. Definitely worth a visit.
I had lunch at Saturne in July, where I dined alone at the counter/bar overlooking the kitchen. I just have to say that something about my whole experience was simply “off.” I don’t think it was the food. I remember having an excellent grilled calamari appetizer and very yummy, savory lamb sweetbreads for my main course.
I think the problem comes down to the all-encompassing term, “atmosphere.” Because I often dine alone, I ask for a seat overlooking the kitchen if one, in fact, exists. The kitchen staff at Saturne made me feel awkward and like an unwanted intruder. There was a “what are you looking at?” vibe. This was completely the opposite from the good-natured warmth I received from chefs like David Toutain (Agape Substance), Adeline Grattard (Yam’Tcha), and Daniel Rose (Spring).
Initially, I thought the wait staff wanted to offer confident & professional service. But, no, they were giving off this strange, prissy, and effete affectation. I yearned for someone to be there with me to let me know if they sensed all of this as well.
My favorite, yet ugliest, experience at lunch came at the end. I declined to have a cafe because I still had at least one glass of wine left in my half bottle. Nevertheless, I did ask if I could simply try one of madeleines they offered with each cafe. Oh my…the look of disgust I received from my waiter was laughable. One would have thought I was asking if I could have my entire lunch for free. He did begrudgingly give me one. It took all of the strength I had not to throw it at him. I so wanted to!
So, that was my “off” experience at lunch. I had planned to take a close friend who was flying into town to dinner at Saturne later that week. Needless to say, we never went. I was a good boy and courteously called to cancel the reservation.
The chef is talented, but alas, Saturne is one of the nastiest and most troubled planets in the Paris solar system. Dreadful attitude problem in this place, as poor Michael explains, and it’s just not a good time. Period. I wouldn’t go back, especially when they’re other similar restaurants that are so much more accomodating–Vivant, Au Passage, Les Fines Gueules, etc.
As foodie places go, to me this is on top of the heap. The pluses – excellent quality ingredients, some very interesting flavour pairings and overall innovative cooking. The minuses – they seem to have an obsession with powdered ingredients – cheese, veggies, fruits, chocolate – a lot of the same texture over and over again. Also the price is pretty steep at 60 euros for a 7 course tasting menu, which doesn’t include wine. But that said, an overall excellent meal – they managed to get their fish course right which I find restaurants are not able to do on a consistent basis. The service is attentive, maybe a little too (I was a bit apprehensive after having read the reviews but thankfully, we seem to have caught them on a good evening). The place has clean lines and an uncluttered feel to it. A reasonably good choice as far as I’m concerned.