Restaurant Plaza Athénée (Alain Ducasse)

Description:

• Few other chefs have been catapulted to international fame as quickly as Alain Ducasse. There's a lot of marketing and glitter involved, but what you'll find in this world-renowned hotel is a lobby-level hideaway that top-notch decorator Patrick Jouin originally decorated around the turn of the millennium and then artfully redecorated, much to the fascination of haute Paris. The six-star chef, Alain Ducasse, who supervises the kitchens here, divides his time among Paris, Monaco, New York, and Tokyo. In this, his Parisian stronghold, he places a special emphasis on "rare and precious ingredients," whipping up flavorful and very expensive combinations of caviar, lobster, crayfish, truffles (both black and white), and shellfish. Cuisine is vaguely Mediterranean and decidedly contemporary, yet based on traditional models. Some of the best examples include smoked, tea-glazed pigeon or line-caught sea bass with green asparagus. For appetizers, try the creamy pasta with truffles and giblets. Desserts are perhaps the finest in all of Paris's luxe restaurants. The wine list is superb, with some selections deriving from the best vintages of France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, California, and Italy.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Wine Spectator

•  says World's Greatest Wine List 2008

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010