Since Le Chateaubriand opened in 2006, we’ve watched it transform the city’s dining scene and seen it rise and fall in the World’s 50 Best rankings. We returned recently and were delighted to find that it’s still one of our top picks for a casual (not fine dining) tasting menu in Paris. We recommend it for diners who are on the more adventurous side – those who enjoy natural wine and an unfussy, frenetic dining room. Le Chateaubriand may no longer have the center-of-the-culinary-world energy that it had a dozen years ago, but it’s still an incredible restaurant.
Le Chateaubriand is included among our favorite restaurants in Paris.
LE CHATEAUBRIAND
129 Avenue Parmentier, 75011
Open Wednesday-Saturday for dinner
Open Friday for lunch & dinner
Closed Sunday & Monday
Reservations online or at +33 1 43 57 45 95
Their Instagram / Our Instagram
OUR PHOTOS OF LE CHATEAUBRIAND
Our most recent visit
Earlier visits
IN OTHER WORDS
Bon Appétit (2017) says you should go here “to plug into the city’s most exciting, experimental food. Chef Inaki Aizpitarte’s menu changes daily, but raw seafood, aged meat, and a crazy dessert course of candied egg yolks are reliable favorites.”
The Wall Street Journal (2016) discusses Aizpitarte’s impact on the food scene, saying “now, 10 years later, it’s impossible not to notice the effect Le Chateaubriand and its maker have had on Parisian dining, where beloved restaurants such as Septime and Saturne (both of which have garnered Michelin recognition)—as well as Au Passage, Spring, Le Servan and Frenchie—grew up in the path Le Chateaubriand carved out.”
Le Fooding (2016) says that “ten years running and the Iñaki Aizpitarte-fronted rock band at Le Chateaubriand is just as hip as ever.” They rave about bonito from Saint-Jean-de-Luz “cooked in a fragrant garden of crisp nectarines and purslane” and “a pearly-white filet of line-caught yellow pollack surrounded unpretentiously by juicy coco beans with hints of dill.”
TimeOut (2012) calls this “cooking at its most adventurous,” featuring dishes that “have been deconstructed down to their very essence and put back together again. You’ll understand if you try starters like chunky steak tartare with a quail’s egg, or asparagus with tahini foam and little splinters of sesame-seed brittle.”
Not Drinking Poison in Paris (2011) “The list at Le Chateaubriand is nowhere near as baroque as I was expecting – just a few printed pages… there’s something a little chaotic and inattentive about it, like someone has picked a lot of distinctive all-star wines, but presented them without quite enough context. On the one hand I admire the list’s concision; on the other hand, concision without consideration looks an awful lot like impatience or ADHD on the part of the wine director.”
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…”
Gourmet (2008) calls this “one of the city’s best contemporary bistros and certainly its most popular,” and says that chef Inaki Aizpitarte’s dish of grilled pork belly with a sauce of licorice root and a small salad of grated celery root “offers a brilliant contrast of textures and flavors.”
Wonderful dining night out in Paris late in the year – just a few days before X-mas. Loved all the plates ! Very creative and modern cuisine, not overrated nor overpriced at all (which some reviews stated). Thoroughly enjoyed the wines, we were recommended, although we are not huge natural wine lovers. The atmosphere is just perfect, not pretentious at all, down-to-earth, but still very professional service. Open, easy-going, accessible and fun to be around. The exchange with all of them was great.
Le Chateaubriand is high on creativity and presentation, and short on flavor. The staff is not there to make this a personal experience. The assembly line production of the tasting is impersonal and not worth the money. Never order the wine pairings, as they are not well paired in several of the courses. Order your favorite wine and taste the three out of eight good courses.
Overpriced for what it is, esp the paired wines. Good food and wine BUT much better value elsewhere eg. Semilla
Maybe one of the best food experiences my wife and I have had in any country. Food was wonderful, tasty, well-delivered, carefully explained. Service was energetic, pleasant, helpful, just fun to be around. You would have to be a crank not to thoroughly enjoy Le Chateaubriand. Our new favorite in Paris.
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We felt so fortunate to secure a reservation at the 18th top restaurant in the world. What a huge disappointment. There was nothing positive to say about Le Chateaubriand, from the rude and arrogant staff to the terrible food. What a complete waste of an evening.
The food was good and so was the service, good for a bistro not for a restaurant that has been set as one of the best restaurants in the world.
Critics have overrated this restaurant, fortunately it seems that this had little influence on the establishment that maintained its spirit.
I would return once the hype is over.
I recently ate here and had a lovely time, the staff were friendly and accommodating and the wine waiter was really flirtatious and fun.
Some of the food was incredible, other dishes (I’m looking at you raw mushroom dessert) was horrid, but the adventure was WELL worth 50 euros.
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.
Unfriendly amendment “When it’s good, it’s interesting. When it’s not that good, it’s not.”
When it’s good, it’s wonderful. When it’s not that good, it’s still interesting.
One of the best meals in Paris, the incarnation of néo-bistrot, and a cool, unpretentious setting. Perfection.
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?
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.
Thanks, now i’ve learned from their answering machine that they only take reservations two weeks in advance. Maybe its a new policy.
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 this place open in this month?? I have called several times to book, but never been answered.
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!
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?
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…)
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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!