Have you ever eaten in a Michelin Star Venue ? View Points

[Alexandria Profile]

To say, that a Michelin Restaurant is like a local venue, would be saying that Pavorotti could carry a tune ..

Ambiance, the product, the service, and the visual art of plating delivered to one´s table of course, is what has created the majority of One, Two and Three Star establishments into desirable special occasion restaurants ..

Being in the travel industry, of course, my clients( tourists, expatriates, business travellers, university students, senior citizens ) who come from the four corners of the globe, request a Michelin star eatery and a winery with tasting degustation ..

I have eaten in numerous Michelin meriting restaurants. To name a few:

Heston Blumenthal - The Fat Duck
Joan Roca - El Celler de Can Roca
El Bulli - The Adrià Brothers
Sant Pau - Carme Ruscadella
Massimo Bottura
Eleven Madison Park - Daniel Humm ( Manhattan )
Casa José - Fernando Del Cerro - Aranjuez, Madrid
Giancarlo Perbellini - Casa Perbellini- Verona, Italy
La Pergola - Heinz Beck - Rome - Italy
Eneka Axta - Bilbao - Vizcaya ..
Enrico Crippa - Milan, Italy
Pierre Gagnaire - Hong Kong ( The Mandarin Oriental )
Joel Robuchon - Paris
Alain Ducasse - Paris
Eric Frechon - The Hotel Bristol Paris
Le Cinq Paris - Eric Briffard & Christian Le Squer
David Scabin - Combal Zero - Turin, Piedmont ..


Please tell us about your experience .. Do you have plans to have a degustation at a Michelin Restaurant in 2017 or 2018 ?

My husband and I always go to a Michelin Star for our birthdays which are a few days apart .. And with our parents for either Mother´s Day or their anniversary .. The same with my inlaws and sons and daughter in laws and for Gastro Eno profesional / tourist activities as per requested by the Director of the Tour Group ..

[WhitefieldFoodie Profile]

I have eaten in 3 Michelin starred restaurants.

City Social - Jason Atherton - London
21212 - Paul Kitching - Edinburgh
Purnell's - Glyn Purnell - Birmingham

Each time I have been thoroughly impressed with the attention to detail in all aspects of their products delivery. However I have fallen out of love with fine dining somewhat over the last year or two. After 6 months of trying to work out why, I think I have finally figured it out. As somebody who cooks a lot, I, unlike many of my friends and family appreciate the time, skill and effort it takes to produce something so flawlessly beautiful. But this understanding has made me resent paying for it.

I, as all of you on here love my food, but I get the same satisfaction out of a beautifully flavoured plate of food, presented nicely but simply as I would given the same veg beautiful turned and scrubbed, the same meat cut into a perfect cubes and all imperfections taken away and my sauce sent out in a little separate jug for the server to pour for me.

I hate to say it, but the more I appreciate their skills, the less I want their final product.

[Pampy Profile]

I've stayed at Le Manoir aux Quatre Saisons and absolutely loved it.
However, I now also tend to agree with WFF's comments about preferring a simply presented but beautifully sourced and cooked plate of food. For me, quality and provenance takes precedence over everything as far as food is concerned.

[Joanbunting Profile]

Over the years we have eaten in many. Some wonderful and an unforgettable experience others considerably less so. Our latest I referred to on this forum - was one of the latter.

However in October we are going to Vonnas. just north of Lyon for a few days of luxury chez George Blanc. We have been once before and I am looking forward to it very much. However I will reserve my judgement until afterwards. I am too old to be over-awed and star struck by a Michelin star (or three).
Sometimes I am just as happy to have moules frites in the relais routier down the road

[WhitefieldFoodie Profile]

I am too old to be over-awed and star struck by a Michelin star (or three).

A great point. Many are unable to look past the reputation of a place.

I am more critical of an acclaimed establishment than I am of say McDonalds, and this can also spoil my enjoyment.

[Alexandria Profile]

Over the years we have eaten in many. Some wonderful and an unforgettable experience others considerably less so. Our latest I referred to on this forum - was one of the latter.

However in October we are going to Vonnas. just north of Lyon for a few days of luxury chez George Blanc. We have been once before and I am looking forward to it very much. However I will reserve my judgement until afterwards. I am too old to be over-awed and star struck by a Michelin star (or three).
Sometimes I am just as happy to have moules frites in the relais routier down the road

Joanbunting,

Pâtissier et Chocolatier, Benoit Charvet, at Three Michelin Georges Blanc, is absolutely incredible. I interviewed him two years ago for a magazine collaboration in Asia on desserts ..

Unforgettable creations ..

I am happy period .. Be it Three Michelin or " fresh oysters or clams" on the half shell at Vieux Port or steamed mussels in White wine too .. Or tapas .. However, I am a grand enthusiast of the beauty and the extensive labors that go into the final presentations. I am a photography hobbyist and love food photography ..


Have a wonderful time !!

[Alexandria Profile]

I've stayed at Le Manoir aux Quatre Saisons and absolutely loved it.
However, I now also tend to agree with WFF's comments about preferring a simply presented but beautifully sourced and cooked plate of food. For me, quality and provenance takes precedence over everything as far as food is concerned.

Pampy,

Thank you for your feedback ..

The product is key .. whether I am the purchaser or a profesional is the Restaurateur / Chef ..

I find it amazingly fascinating and we enjoy it very much .. We are avid restaurant & bar diners whether it be a tapas bar, hotel restaurant or foreign restaurant or a Michelin .. or a classic Catalan or Spanish restaurant ..

Have a lovely day ..

[Alexandria Profile]

I have eaten in 3 Michelin starred restaurants.

City Social - Jason Atherton - London
21212 - Paul Kitching - Edinburgh
Purnell's - Glyn Purnell - Birmingham

Each time I have been thoroughly impressed with the attention to detail in all aspects of their products delivery. However I have fallen out of love with fine dining somewhat over the last year or two. After 6 months of trying to work out why, I think I have finally figured it out. As somebody who cooks a lot, I, unlike many of my friends and family appreciate the time, skill and effort it takes to produce something so flawlessly beautiful. But this understanding has made me resent paying for it.

I, as all of you on here love my food, but I get the same satisfaction out of a beautifully flavoured plate of food, presented nicely but simply as I would given the same veg beautiful turned and scrubbed, the same meat cut into a perfect cubes and all imperfections taken away and my sauce sent out in a little separate jug for the server to pour for me.

I hate to say it, but the more I appreciate their skills, the less I want their final product.

@ Whitefield Foodie,

I agree on the key product always being number one, the time, the skills and all the effort to produce amazingly dazzling flawless cuisine whether Michelin or not. And I am just as happy chowing down on Tapas at my favorite bars .. I enjoying cooking at home, too however, when I am off and have the time to enjoy it ..

Must run .. I have a tour to provide ..


Have a nice evening ..

[Lusciouslush Profile]

I think you'll find many here have eaten at Michelin starred restos, but life isn't that slow that we list them.


Generally, there are few that live up to expectation in my experience - in fact the Michelin star has certainly lost it's brightness from the days when clueless people using sweeping generalisations about the 'exquisite. etc.' food did so out of intimidation by the flunkies who serve them, presentational fuss & reputation awe.

We have moved on, thank goodness & are more discerning - many of these restos now are frequented by people who do not pay their own bill - suits on expense accounts, bloggers & journalists who blather on about food meeting art........etc. and have less knowledge of cooking than the position of the cutlery/glassware & starch in the napkins. A mockery.

Having said all that there is one for me that has always been consistent, classic and elegant, without any pretentions and the focus totally on the food, and that is still Chez Bruce.

[DEB Profile]

hi

We are off to Barcelona for half term and would realy welcome some ideas as to what we should see and nice places to eat, within a reasonable budget.

Hopping for some good ideas.

Thanks

[Alexandria Profile]

I think you'll find many here have eaten at Michelin starred restos, but life isn't that slow that we list them.


Generally, there are few that live up to expectation in my experience - in fact the Michelin star has certainly lost it's brightness from the days when clueless people using sweeping generalisations about the 'exquisite. etc.' food did so out of intimidation by the flunkies who serve them, presentational fuss & reputation awe.

We have moved on, thank goodness & are more discerning - many of these restos now are frequented by people who do not pay their own bill - suits on expense accounts, bloggers & journalists who blather on about food meeting art........etc. and have less knowledge of cooking than the position of the cutlery/glassware & starch in the napkins. A mockery.

Having said all that there is one for me that has always been consistent, classic and elegant, without any pretentions and the focus totally on the food, and that is still Chez Bruce.

Lusciouslush,

Though we have differences in view, thank you for your feedback ..

Have a nice evening ..

[Alexandria Profile]

hi

We are off to Barcelona for half term and would realy welcome some ideas as to what we should see and nice places to eat, within a reasonable budget.

Hopping for some good ideas.

Thanks

Deb,

Thank you for your feedback and good luck on your trip to Barcelona ..

I would be more than glad to make a short list of tapas bars & restaurants: However, in order to make some suggestions, I would require some detailed info regarding your dislikes and likes, to know if you are a carnivore, pescatarian or vegetarian and what is a reasonable budget in Euros ? (as variable as there are people) ..

Must run as it is 23.00 and I need to be up at 6am ..

Goodnight ..

[Alexandria Profile]

hi

We are off to Barcelona for half term and would realy welcome some ideas as to what we should see and nice places to eat, within a reasonable budget.

Hopping for some good ideas.

Thanks

Deb,

Thank you for your feedback and good luck on your trip to Barcelona ..

I would be more than glad to make a short list of tapas bars & restaurants: However, in order to make some suggestions, I would require some detailed info regarding your dislikes and likes, to know if you are a carnivore, pescatarian or vegetarian and what is a reasonable budget in Euros ? (as variable as there are people) ..


I would suggest that you pick up a Time Out Barcelona for the monuments as we are chockful of uncountable tiny museums as well of course, The amazing Sagrada Family and all the architecture by Gaudi ..

The La Mercat de La Boqueria Market ( the largest central market of Barcelona ) and definitely worth one´s time to stop for tapas and a wine or beer ..

The Joan Miró Museum / The Dali Museum / The Picasso Museum ..

Güell Park .. Very pretty ..

A stroll on the Paseo Maritimo which is parallel to the beach or a walk on the beach ..

A wine at the Hotel Arts, which has a lovely café & serves a lovely brunch ..

The Barcelona Tourist Bus which shall give you an indepth tour of the city in all languages ..

Suggestion would be to go to Tourist Office of Barcelona and pick up some brochures there ..

Must run as it is 23.00 and I need to be up at 6am ..

Goodnight ..

[Badger's Mate Profile]

We've eaten in a number of fine dining establishments over the last ten years. I probably wouldn't have paid the prices previously and remember feeling uncomfortable in the first Michelin starred place we ate at. However, Mrs B and I both like them as an occasional treat. We prefer country house restaurants with rooms, as we can stay in a nice setting, and we have a couple of favourites. We've had splendid meals in city restaurants, but I think it's more of a treat to stay somewhere nice.

The things to bear in mind (surely) are that Michelin stars are not the be-all and end-all of fine dining, and fine dining is not the be-all and end-all of eating out. Fine dining is a style, nothing more, some places do that better than others. I find it sad that plenty of restaurants, pubs in particular, try to copy the style, charge significant sums, but produce mediocre food. The experience of dining at Le Manoir and The Hand & Flowers is rather different, but the food is lovely in both (2 starred) places.

It so happens that both my favourite restaurant and my favourite pub restaurant have got Bib Gourmands (I suppose that should be Bibs Gourmand). There are plenty of other nice places that offer great food in a simple style that would never get stars.

In many ways it's like eating spicy food or going for a curry - I don't always eat the same things, sometimes I want spicy, sometimes tandoori, sometimes fish. It's not about 'look how hot I can take it', nor should eating out be a question of 'look how much I can afford'. Equally it shouldn't be the inverse - criticising everybody who likes spicy food or fine dining, for showing off. Maybe some people do like to be seen doing these things, but each is a perfectly valid food choice in its own right.

We used to get the odd debate on the BBC boards about spicy food and others about posh restaurants. Often the people who liked fine dining used to be challenged by somebody asking why anyone would want to spend hundreds of pounds on a meal. A thread on chillies would often have a post dismissing anyone who would want food so spicy. Sometimes however, it was one of the fine dining brigade condemning the other group. I used to find that amusing.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I dont think it's necessary to quote every post in full to reply to please, it gets very hard to read on a smaller screen. We can followjust by mentioning the name

I think sometimes we can get carried away with Michelin stars, it's not the only criterion for quality and frankly it's not always right

In the UK the AA used to rate hotels and restaurants using a similar star system, and became infamous for rating on a checklist - so many toilets, so much parking, so many staff, so many choices on the menu, check, check, check, check but appeared to take little or no account of how enjoyable the experience was likely to be

I sometimes think Michelin are going the same way, different criteria of course, but they appear to include a mission statement, a tasting menu, and innovative presentation, not always asking "does this innovation add to the eating experience as well as being artistic?"

Of course I've had great food and service in Michelin star restaurants, I've also had food in which I thought every individual dish was great but didn't add up to a great meal. I've had presentation so extreme as to detract from the food, in particular portions of sauce inadequate for the amount of meat or fish on the plate.
In one case I also had a drunk wine waiter, but that's exceptional

I've also found a few restaurants that surprisi gly didn't get a Bib Gourmand or a crossed knofe and fork, let alone a star and been puzzled by the omission

[Badger's Mate Profile]

Do you think the Michelin criteria have changed, or is it that we are slowly realising what they are? (I don't profess to know the answer)

Certainly, a generation ago they wouldn't have had a mission statement, or if they did, wouldn't have realised it. No pub would have got a star, but in those days pub food was rather different.

Everyone has got an idea of what a Michelin starred restaurant is like; they are not all alike and so sometimes it comes as a disappointment. A pub with a star is still a pub; sit outside and there might be people in shorts smoking. I remember a Trip Advisor review of a favourite restaurant with rooms that asked how they could charge so much 'when they haven't even got a spa'.

I probably wouldn't have ever gone to any starred establishments if they hadn't started to appear on the telly. Programmes such as Great British Menu are essentially adverts for these places and the people who run them. Prior to that I would have thought they weren't for the likes of me, although I had heard of the odd celebrity chef through books or newspaper reviews.

[WhitefieldFoodie Profile]

https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article ... elin-stars

Interesting...

[Joanbunting Profile]

WWF I heard that on French radio a couple of days ago and kind of cheered! We have been to his restaurant but it seemed to us that he was not, as the French say "In his assiette" What is the point of flogging yourself to death doing something when your heart is no longer in it?

I had a very good chef friend in the NE and happily helped him celebrate his first Michelin * but not many years later he shut the restaurant and turned it into a bistro because he was sick of trying to keep up.

[WhitefieldFoodie Profile]

Joan - They are right, I think. Even now, I am only doing my catering P/T and I am doing everything possible to build my business around the social, fun, engaging aspect of food as it is this that I am so passionate about. Because when you boil it down (mind the pun) it comes down to feeding people and making them happy.

I imagine with *'s comes so much pressure that the love and passion you have is wiped away amidst the torrent of expectation and ruthless critique.

[Pampy Profile]

Totally agree, WFF - what's the point of a Michelin starred meal if you are eating it on your own or in bad company? Like you, the enjoyment for me is the social situation as much as the food and my ideal dinner with friends and family goes on long past the food. We stay seated at the dinner table, pick on any leftovers, drink (usually copiously ) and just thoroughly enjoy ourselves - I can think of nothing better.