Le Gabriel *** – Paris (4/14/2026)

On a two week trip in France with my girlfriend with the following restaurants lined up:

1. Le Gabriel (Paris)

2. AM – Alexandre Mazzia (Marseille)

3. Mirazur 20th Anniversary (Menton)

4. David Toutain (Paris)

Went to Le Gabriel for lunch on Tuesday and had the 5 course Escale menu.

The meal began with four amuse bouches (first two photos). The first was a shrimp dish with grapefruit (picture 1). Unfortunately, the grapefruit overpowered the delicate shrimp. The second was an oyster with a Granny Smith apple condiment. It was good but I wish it had more of the oyster juice (taste of the sea). The third was a puffed potato chip. Fairly simple but was delightfully savoury and well executed. The final amuse bouche was my favourite. I forget exactly what it was but was served in a small pastry shell and was a savoury explosion.

The first course was my favourite and one of the best dishes I’ve ever eaten (picture 3). It was chef Jérome Banctel’s signature carrot dish. A carrot marinated in limestone powder, injected with a carrot juice and served with a carrot ginger puree. Flavour bomb. The ginger married perfectly with the carrot but didn’t overpower. The natural sweetness of the carrot shone. Perfectly balanced and seasoned dish. Wow, I won’t forget about this dish.

The second course was the blue lobster (photo 4). It was served with potatoes that were filled with some sort of cream and a sauce made from the heads and shells of the lobster. The lobster was cooked perfectly and the potatoes and sauce were good but there was an underlying bitterness from the char on the lobster or added black powder that detracted from the dish.

The third course was the “merlan de ligne” fish (photo 5, sorry I forgot to take a photo before beginning to eat!). It was served with morels and peas. Overall, this dish was a bit underwhelming. There was a lack of distinct flavour. The dish was missing an identity.

The last savoury course was duck served with a sweet and sour sauce and white asparagus cooked with miso. The duck was cooked beautifully, the sauce added a good punch, and the white asparagus + miso added some umami.

For dessert was a dish that featured chocolate in various forms and percentages of cacao. The chocolate sauce served with it was overly bitter which detracted from the dish overall.

Finally, the mignardises were delicious.

The bread served with the meal and the butter were fabulous. I also had one glass of Ballot-Millot Meursault which was enjoyable.

The service was very warm and professional. All questions regarding ingredients and techniques were answered with great detail.

Overall, the meal was good but not great. The carrot dish stole the show and I’ll be thinking about it fondly for a while. I was hoping this level would be maintained through the meal but unfortunately, consistency was lacking.

Today, I just had one of the best meals of my life at AM – Alexandre Mazzia, which highlighted the difference in inventiveness, consistency, and flavour with Le Gabriel. That write up to come shortly!