Le Grand V'efour
Paris
It is perhaps the most beautiful restaurant in Paris; it is also one
of the oldest. Napoleon dined there with his Josephine, Jean-Paul
Sartre with Simone de Beauvoir. Other regulars have included Victor
Hugo, George Sand, Colette and Jean Cocteau (who brought along Greta
Garbo). Many of their names adorn plaques adjacent to the tables
where they held court.
Established in 1784 as the Café de Chartres on the north end of
the arcaded, columned Palais Royal, which would soon become a focal
point of the French Revolution, the restaurant was taken over by Jean
V'efour in 1820. He gave the café his name, which it has kept
ever since.
There are two small dining rooms--the restaurant seats about 50--and
it truly doesn't matter where you sit. The decor throughout is
breathtaking: chandeliered ceilings of painted silk, richly colored
rugs, wood carvings and walls of painted silk behind glass. The
banquettes are plush burgundy, the chairs classic
Directoire. Strategically placed mirrors allow patrons facing the
walls unfettered views of the room.
The restaurant is owned by the Taittinger Champagne Group, and it and
the chef, Guy Martin, provide a wonderful dining experience that is
just short of a Parisian three-star such as Robuchon but well worth
its Michelin two-star rating. Martin loves to combine unusual flavors
in interesting, harmoniously balanced ways. The menu during my visit
included a pyramid of fromage blanc with eel and coriander seeds, and
a roast breast of quail surrounded by chopped escargots. A recent menu
included a cold asparagus soup with tiny bits of cucumber; a baked
combination of Beaufort cheese and artichoke, wrapped in bacon and
presented with a perfectly poached egg in mustard; and a flawlessly
cooked piece of salmon with aromatic edible seaweed as an exotic
complement. For the less adventurous there are the classic Grand
V'efour dishes, like raviolis of foie gras with crème
truffée and roast Bresse chicken coated with toasted hazelnuts.
The pricey wine list has more than 300 selections, among them a 1902
Château Lafite-Rothschild for about $3,500, a 1961 Château
Margaux for about $1,750, a 1971 Grands Echezeaux de Domaine de la
Romanée Conti at about $1,700 and a 1961 Lafite-Rothschild for
about $1,350.
Cheese and desserts stand out. The former focused on Martin's home
area of Savoie. The latter explores restaurant standards including
intense sorbets and a mille-feuille, and for chocolate lovers, the
unforgettable "d'eclinaison sur la thème du chocolat": three
thick, rich, intensely dark essences of bittersweet chocolate, each
covered with a thin slice of edible gold leaf. One has the flavor of
beer, the second of green tea, the third, and strongest, of Ethiopian
coffee. Order a fine, powerful cup of French coffee--which comes with
tiny pastries and yet another chocolate sweet--and perhaps an eau de
vie.
Cigars get special attention here. Maitre d' Christian David, his face
reflecting delight at the opportunity to demonstrate his specialty,
will arrive with the restaurant's humidor, open it gracefully and
present for your choosing a selection of the best Havanas, among them
assorted sizes and shapes of Cohibas and Montecristos. A Cohiba
Robusto was impeccably humidified, gently soft to the touch. The
maitre d' will ask if you wish him to prepare it, and if you say yes
he will make a precise cut and slowly light it with a long wooden
match. Once finished with the lighting, he will either hand it to you
or place it ceremoniously in Le Grand V'efour's signature ashtray,
cupped hands of pristine white porcelain, designed for the restaurant
several decades ago by none other than Cocteau.
As you leave through the Palais Royal, you will most certainly not be
in the mood to imitate Camille Desmoulins, who in 1789 in that very
square was reputed to have urged the citizens of Paris to attack the
Bastille. But then, Desmoulins had not just dined at Le Grand V'efour.
-- Mervyn Rothstein
Mervyn Rothstein is an editor at The New York Times and a
frequent contributor to Cigar Aficionado and Wine
Spectator.
Le Grand V'efour
17 rue de Beaujolais
Phone: (33) 1 42 96
56 27;
Fax: (33) 1 42 86 80 71
Dinner: $150 to $200
per person
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