L'Astrance ***

Since making reservations in October, I have been anxiously waiting to eat at what would be my first 3*** Michelin restaurant experience in France. I happily dined with Ulla, our chef/professor, Sébastian, and my friend, Nina. I'm going to make this post short and sweet, and well illustrated with photos.

Go Ferrandi !


Second day in France and I didn't even touch the butter !


*Special thanks to Ulla and Nina for their wonderful & vibrant photo-taking abilities!

Brioche tiède
Crème fouettée à la truffe blanche et pistache.
Palet amande et pomme verte au praliné.



Velouté de pain grillé. At first, they wouldn't tell us what this was. I immediately tasted bacon and charcoal flavor (in a fabulous way, obviously. Think BBQ ummm!)


Foie gras mariné au verjus, galette de champignon de Paris, pâte de citron confit. One of Pascal Barbot's signature dishes. Very light as well !


Langoustines dorées, velouté d’huîtres, beurre de Kombu, herbe à huître . I have never been a big fan of oysters, but this was quite nice. The langoustine was so perfectly cooked.


Turbot cuit meunière, chou et sarrasin, coulis d’oursin. This dish was GREAT. I love turbot!


Razor clam with olive oil and thyme.


Quasi de veau grillé, parmesan fondu, lentilles cuisinées à la truffe noire. The server called the truffles "champignons de saison" or "mushrooms of the season". HAHAHAH.


Selle d’agneau grillée, condiment curry noir, poireaux, soja et câpres. In addition, there was a purée of black garlic, which I love. We had previously tasted the black curry when Chef Pascal Barbot came to our class for a demonstration. I could have done without the olives.


Piment et citronnelle en sorbet. I absolutely love things spicy, sweet, and citrusy. What a great sorbet; nicely balanced, but a bit too sweet for me. The sweetness was fine for everyone else.


Vacherin glacé à la noix de coco et litchi, crème au beurre à la rose, gelée tagette.


Tartelette aux fruits de la passion et yuzu. Perfect. I love passion fruit and yuzu. !!!


Croustillant au chocolat blanc, cappuccino amande et agrumes. This was everyone's favorite. You couldn't really taste the white chocolate (which was nice since I am generally not a big fan of it.). Again, a perfect balance of citrus and almond.


Lait de poule au jasmin. Also with vanilla bean.


Mignardises, fruits frais. I was so incredibly full by the time this came around. Tasted his famous madeleines that my friend Chris who staged at L'Astrance had explained to me how they required 1000 steps to make. I'd have to say the best madeleines I have had. They were crunchy on the outside, and soft in the inside.


As for the fruit, I only had the clementines which were perfect.


Simply put, everything on this menu was very French, but very light, and very fresh. I enjoyed eating the well executed courses made with seasonal produce. The dishes were all very well balanced. Despite all the lightness of the menu, I could barely finish the tasting! But that's just me. =)

I am a HUGE fan of the service here. There is absolutely no pretention. Everyone is extremely attentive without being obstrusive. Also, the servers tend to joke around a lot making the meal very nice but light-hearted and enjoyable. In fact, when Nina and I arrived, they joked and said our reservation wasn't until next week just to see the reaction on our faces. ahhahaha. Everyone was extremely wonderful and friendly.

After dinner, Chef Pascal Barbot came out to say hello. Sébastian and Pascal were old colleagues together at L'Arpège. Actually, Sébastian had just eaten at L'Astrance last week! La chance !





After a bit of chatting, we took a nice little (and I mean little) tour of the kitchen.

7 cooks work in this kitchen. There is another little nook for pastry on the other side which can somewhat be seen in the video below.


Magnifique !


L’Astrance
4, rue Beethoven
Paris 75016
Tél : 01 40 50 84 40