As Seen Abroad: A Once-In-A-Lifetime Meal at Alléno Paris
We’re on vacation! For the first time since we started this blog, we’re traveling abroad. As we journey across Asia, Europe, and America, we’ll update with some of the fun places we visit. Yay! This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please read our affiliate disclosure.
In 2020, a friend asked me if I wanted to join his fantasy football league. I’d never played before, and wanted to give it a try. Due to Japan’s laws regarding sports gambling, I won’t say whether or not money was involved, but when I joined, I told my wife, “If I win, we’ll spend the entire thing on ONE meal in Paris.”
I won. We had to wait a couple years because of COVID, but this past September, I finally used my winnings to take my wife and mother to the fanciest restaurant any of us had ever been to: this is Alléno.
The restaurant: Alléno at Ledoyen
Alléno Paris is located at Pavillon Ledoyen, a beautiful building just off the Champs Elysées that has been home to fine dining for more than 225 years and which, thanks to Chef Yannick Alléno, has more Michelin stars than any independent establishment in the world. L’Abysse has two stars, while Pavyllon has one. However, the big boy on the scene is upstairs restaurant Alléno Paris, which boasts three Michelin stars and is on the 2022 list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
We’d had a wonderful evening at one-star yam’Tcha, and honestly couldn’t imagine how a three-star restaurant could improve upon that. The building was certainly gorgeous. We were led upstairs to a small but well-spaced dining room, where I sat next to a window that overlooked a beautiful garden. The pretty screen next to us provided a level of intimacy and made us feel like we were all by ourselves.
The menu
Alléno is so fancy that someone from the restaurant calls you a few days before your reservation date to ask what you plan to eat and provide any necessary information. There are two dining options: the Degustation Menu and a la carte dining. Originally, we thought we wanted to do a la carte since Eriko and my mom can’t eat that much. I told him this (along with our dietary restrictions and that we wouldn’t be drinking wine) during our brief call.
When we arrived, we took a look at the menu, which gave a rundown of both choices, along with some history on the restaurant. It was tough to decide what to get, since there were so many things that looked good. I asked my dining companions what they thought. After our incredible meal at yam’Tcha the week before, Eriko decided she thought she could handle the tasting menu. Since we were going all out that night, we agreed we’d all try that.
The Degustation Menu had six courses listed, but it was more than that. Much, much more.
Starters and appetizers
The first thing we got was a mushroom duo - tempura mushroom and a.. soupy mushroom thing? Look, I don’t know what to call that thing on the right, but it was great. Each of those things - the thin mushroom, the white broth, the little specks of orange, the white blob, the dark blob - each one had a different taste, and when combined, they were surprising and educational. The tempura was light and fluffy. Already, we were impressed by the artistry. I mean, the plates were gold and everything was laid out immaculately. We knew we were in for a special night.
Primeur: the Garden
The menu listed this course as follows:
Primeur
improvised picking
delicate extraction jelly
Based on that description, I never would have selected this as one of our a la carte choices. That’s why I’m so glad we got the tasting menu, because this is perhaps the best thing we had all night, and absolutely should not be missed by anyone who goes to Alléno.
Our server called it “The Garden,” as it’s meant to replicate a walk around the restaurant’s garden. As you can see, the dish is full of fresh veggies, fruits, cheese, a carrot puree, and Champagne jelly. There were so many elements, all laid out into a work of art, and each one of those items was the best version of that thing I have ever tasted.
We were instructed to try each thing individually, then mash them together, which I did, and it was incredible. I demolished that plate. I’d been looking forward to trying the meat and fish at this place, but the Garden really showed the skills of the chef and everyone else at Alléno: they can do a plate of vegetables better than you can do anything.
Caviar: an eggy delight
This course is listed as:
Sturgeon <<Nonette>> As A Brioche
farmhouse cream and smoked bacon
Again, reading that, I wouldn’t have realized that I was about to eat caviar. The normal way to eat caviar (meaning the only way I’d ever had it before this trip) is on top of a piece of brioche with some creme fraiche. This restaurant took that preparation and turned it on its head. The “brioche” was a thin little pancake, with the caviar tucked inside so that it oozed out when you punctured the bread. The cream was on top with some bacon flecks to make it look like you were eating an egg.
This layout allowed us to experience the caviar formula inside-out, trying things in a different order so that the caviar was the last thing you tasted rather than the first. Once everything was mixed together, it indeed had the caviar taste I was familiar with, albeit a better version than I was used to. Caviar is quite strong, so my mom could only handle a couple bites of hers, and I valiantly stepped in to eat the rest.
Interlude: BUTTER
It was around this time that they brought the butter. Rather than frozen-stiff cubes of white like at most restaurants, this was a yellowy hunk of clay that spread so easily and tasted so fresh and salty and delicious that it was a meal unto itself.
The bread was brought, and each of us were given three small rolls to have with the butter. They also brought out a little pot and showed us some bread dough inside. This was the brioche for our dessert, and would be left to prove at our table before being baked later. The pot was our companion for the rest of the meal.
If at any time a server was taking away or bringing plates and saw that you had eaten a couple of your rolls (meaning there were less than three on your plate), they would TAKE AWAY the one you hadn’t eaten and replace it with three new ones so there were always three fresh pieces of bread on your plate.
This was not the only part of the service that was baffling in its perspicacity. When you got up from your chair to go to the bathroom, upon your return, you would be escorted into your seat and supplied with a new napkin, not allowed to continue using one that had touched the top of the table.
Whenever a course was delivered, three servers brought the three plates and placed them in front of us simultaneously so NO ONE received their food even a second before everyone else. And if you had an oopsie and a spot of something got on the tablecloth, they’d bring over a small napkin the same color as said tablecloth to cover it up with.
This is where you really see the difference between three-star dining and one star. yam’Tcha was an incredible meal, but what they were doing was essentially a regular restaurant experience as well as one can do it. Alléno does not provide a regular restaurant experience. They’ve set themselves a challenge no one would think to ask of them, upping the game to the point of absurdity, and are absolutely nailing it. “Impressive” doesn’t quite cut it. And we hadn’t even gotten to the best course yet.
Seafood: I mention the bisque
This course is listed as:
Crispy Red Mullet Fillet Topped With Red Orach
atop nectavigne and duck foie gras confit
I don’t know what like half those words mean, but this was the seafood course. There was fish, and foie gras, and I think some lobster in there, and a deviously rich broth underneath. The white things on top were crunchy, and that little sliver of brown on the side provided an extra dimension to the sauce.
As evidenced by the pictures, I enjoyed this one. It was really good. But it’s the course I remember the least because the thing that followed was life-changing:
The steak: Wagyu millefeuille and complete transcendence
The meat course was listed as follows:
Millefeuille Of Wagyu Beef And Portobello Mushrooms
lettuce fondue flavored with fermented beet
Reading that, I expected a few slices of Wagyu beef with some mushrooms and beets. I looked forward to seeing how good a cut of steak they could provide. I was not prepared for what I received.
The term “Millefeuille” comes from a French dessert that means “1,000 layers.” I didn’t expect them to ACTUALLY build a millefeuille of beef and mushroom, but they did. What you’re looking at is not a solid piece of beef: it’s paper-thin layers of beef and mushroom alternated over and over to create a vast accordion of umami flavor.
The effect this has is not only to allow the beef’s incredible taste to come through, but to heighten it: by maximizing the surface area of the meat, you get to taste every last bit of salty fatty beefy goodness. It’s a marvel. It’s insanity. It’s something I never could have imagined (honestly, how do they even have the time to make this thing?) and loved unconditionally. Well, not unconditionally - they could have done away with the capers and the beet thing because who cares it’s all about the steak.
After savoring every last atom of supreme wonder and achieving a new state of consciousness, I eyed my mom’s plate, waiting for her to tap out. I think she sensed it. “I’m finishing this,” she growled, and we had to wait many minutes for her to get done while I pouted at not being allowed to finish her meat.
This was unlike any steak I’d ever had. It’s unlike anything on Earth. Go now and kill whomever you have to kill to get this thing in you. (Note: As Seen in Japan does not condone murder except when steak is involved.)
Dessert: we hit the wall
After the steak, we were pretty full. We passed on the cheese course since we’re not cheese people and we were about ready to tap out. There were several dessert courses, but they went by in a blur, so I’ll go over them quickly:
Vanilla Baked Beetroot and Rhubarb: This was my favorite of the desserts. I haven’t had a ton of rhubarb in my life, but I loved the strong tart flavor and the light and fluffy meringue. I took it down in 2.6 bites.
The Nest: I believe this is the “puff pastry and coffee ice cream” referenced on the menu. I honestly don’t remember this one. There seems to be some custard leaking out the bottom?
Brioche: It was good. Nice and sweet. I was full but kept piling it on.
Ice Cream: By now I was full, and I don’t enjoy things that taste like alcohol, so I only tried a bite of this one.
Chocolates: I wasn’t so full that I couldn’t eat a chocolate.
We’d finally reached the end, about 45 minutes after we’d been ready to pass out. This was an experience we would never forget. Then it was time for the bill, and the ultimate question.
The verdict: is Alléno worth its extravagant price?
Keep in mind that with the exchange rate, it’s only $1,215.00 American.
When all was said and done, dinner for the three of us at Alléno cost the entirety of my fantasy winnings and then some. It was rather silly to have to pay for water at a place like this, but I couldn’t really quibble with the overall cost. We received so much more than a meal, and the memories are priceless.
As to whether you should try Alléno, the answer is a thousand times yes. I know it’s expensive, but this isn’t a regular Tuesday night restaurant, nor is it even a nice date night restaurant. This is a once a trip, save up like crazy to afford it, we’re never going to get this chance again type of place, and that’s what they deliver. They introduce you to a level of dining you didn't know was possible, a level of service you didn’t think could be offered, and the food is not only delicious, it’s eye-opening. They get the best ingredients and put them together with combinations and techniques that reveal gastronomic possibilities only a master chef could even dream of.
I texted some of these photos to the guys in my fantasy league to let them know what their money bought me. Big shout-out to Derrick Henry, Patrick Mahomes, Stefon Diggs, DK Metcalf, Justin Jefferson, Robert Woods, Ronald Jones II, Justin Tucker, and the rest of the 2020 Championship Squad. You guys got me some good food.
If you get the chance to go to Alléno Paris, you go. End of story. I may never get the chance to go again, but if I do, I’m ordering six of those Wagyu Millefeuilles and eating until I barf.
