Le Collectionneur -- Restaurant Review

 

For address, menu & reservations see website: https://www.hotelducollectionneur.com/en/fb#restaurant

Rating Standards: 5-Stars = Extraordinary; 4-Stars = Excellent; 3-Stars = Average; 2-Stars = Fair; 1-Star = Poor € = Inexpensive: 30€ and under; €€ = Moderate: 31€-49€; €€€ = Expensive: €50 -75; €€€€ = Very Expensive: more than €76 (prices based on minimum 2-courses) 

1-Bell = Pleasantly quiet (less than 65 decibels); 2-Bells = Can talk easily (65-70); 3-Bells = Talking normally gets difficult (70-80); 4-Bells = Can talk only in raised voices (75-90); BOMB = Too noisy for normal conversation (90+)

4.25- stars ................................€€.....................................   🔔 (Exterior)  

We were meeting up with our dear friend Sarah for lunch, and I had made the arrangements two weeks ago, right in the middle of the heatwave. Thinking we’d still be escaping the heat, I figured, why not meet at a hotel restaurant? High-end hotels are usually wonderfully air-conditioned, after all. So I chose the Hôtel du Collectionneur, which came highly recommended.

 

The hotel is absolutely beautiful—and, after all, it is a five-star hotel. We were pleasantly surprised that by the day we met our friend, the weather had turned perfect: sunny and a gorgeous 72°F (22°C). We were seated on the terrace overlooking the beautiful garden, and it felt as though we had been transported away from the city. Tucked into the hotel’s courtyard, we were completely removed from the hustle and bustle of the busy Paris streets.

Just an FYI, the hotel is located in a very posh part of Paris, not far from the boutiques of some of the world’s most prestigious designers, including Dior, Loewe, Gucci and Bottega Veneta.

NOTE: I’ll only be reviewing the dishes I personally had.

The restaurant offers a €56 lunch special that includes an entrée, plat and dessert, which we thought was an excellent deal for a five-star hotel. Naturally, we all went for it. There were quite a few tempting choices on the pre-fixe menu, so we had some decisions to make.

AMUSE BOUCHE 

Gougeres of Comte cheese. -- What a wonderful way to begin. The gougère was beautifully tender, with the cheese offering a lovely contrast—melted and creamy on the inside, yet with just enough crispness to add texture. It practically dissolved in your mouth, setting the stage for what was to come.

ENTRÈE

Artichoke with a quinoa, green apple, feta cheese with artichoke hearts, and served with a lemon vinaigrette dipping sauce.  -- I really enjoyed this dish. It was fresh, vibrant, and, admittedly, had one major advantage going for it: I love artichokes. The large, generously portioned artichoke hearts were the star, while the feta added just the right touch of saltiness and richness. I was particularly pleased with the dipping sauce—it wasn’t thick or heavy, but rather a bright, simple citrus vinaigrette that allowed the artichokes to remain the focus.

Overall, it was a beautifully composed dish: clean, fresh and satisfying without feeling overly indulgent. My only criticism was that some of the artichoke leaves could have used a little more cooking; they were slightly too firm for my liking.

PLATS

Steak topped with shaved parmesan cheese with roasted potatoes and accompanied by an arugula salad (Rocket) with a light citrus vinaigrette and also topped with shaved Parmesan cheese. -- A very typical French dish—basically steak and frites, but with a more elevated touch. I asked for the steak à point, which usually means medium-rare, although mine came out closer to rare. No complaints, though—it was tender, flavorful and delicious.

They probably could have skipped the shaved Parmesan on top, but lucky for me, I love Parmesan, especially when it’s been aged properly. In place of frites were roasted potatoes, they were moist, tender and full of flavor, and the salad added some much-needed freshness and lightness to what can otherwise be a fairly heavy meal.

And don't let the size of the plate fool you. It was actually a very generous portion, in fact,  I couldn’t finish it.

DESSERT

Chocolate and coffee sorbet. -- Since we had just returned from Italy, I naturally had to have something gelato-like. They did have gelato on the menu, but I opted for the sorbet, erroneously convincing myself that it would be a lighter choice. It wasn’t necessarily, but it was still a delicious and refreshing dessert on a warm summer day.

SUMMARY

I normally don’t like eating at hotel restaurants because once you’re inside, you could be just about anywhere in the world. But in Paris in August, the pickings for good, affordable restaurants are pretty slim—and finding one that’s air-conditioned is even harder.

You can usually count on the “fancier” hotels to have air conditioning, but they also tend to be either very expensive, not very good, or sometimes both. So finding one that’s both good and reasonably priced feels like hitting the jackpot, especially in August.

Although we didn’t actually need the air conditioning when we went, we’d definitely go back any time of year. The atmosphere was elegant without being stuffy, the service was attentive, and the food was genuinely good. And, even better, because I booked through La Fourchette, we received a 30% discount. Now that makes a five-star hotel restaurant even more appealing.

Costs: for 3-pre-fixe lunches at €56 each totalled €168 minus our 30% discount = €117.60, plus 2-cokes, 1 badoit = €146.60, about €49 each. Note: we had no wine nor cocktails.