Le Clarence

Chef Christophe Pelé has taken over this lavish 1884 private mansion just off the Champs-Élysées, an area he knows well, having worked at Ledoyen, Lasserre and Pierre Gagnaire, and last but not least at Le Royal Monceau – where chef Bruno Cirino (a protégé of Jacques Maximin) introduced him to his very seasonal and vegetable-focused cuisine, a philosophy he later successfully applied at his restaurant La Bigarrade. Today, he continues to deliver, in a luxurious decor that embodies the quintessence of French art de vivre. A big fan of Brittany, he is a true artist when it comes to combining surf and turf elements in uninhibited yet rigorous cuisine featuring bold marriages of flavours. The surprise set menu comes with a savvy series of satellite dishes all on the same theme (eg red mullet with beef marrow and sea urchin) and draws on wide-ranging influences – from Italy and Corsica to Japan. The wine list is enough to make your head spin; one of its two sections is devoted to the owner's prestigious wines. Ask to visit the attractive vaulted cellar that houses them.

• A lavish private-mansion setting near the Champs-Élysées, all salons and soft lighting rather than a minimalist dining lab.
• No fixed menu, the kitchen builds the meal around seasonal products and a single organising theme, then riffs with satellite plates.
• A deep, prestige-leaning wine list with a dedicated section for the owner’s flagship wines, and breadth beyond that.

The house style is defined less by one signature dish than by surf-and-turf pairings, seasonal luxury products and sauce work. Expect seafood and meat to be cross-cut within the same sequence, with Italian-seasoning notes and bold contrasts used as the through-line.

A two-star dining room inside an 1884 private mansion just off the Champs-Élysées, run as a chef-led sequence rather than a fixed menu. Andrea Capasso’s cooking pushes bold, disciplined surf-and-turf ideas and a single theme per meal, with small satellite plates that tilt Italian in accent. The room is built for a long, luxurious evening, with lounges upstairs for a pre-dinner drink and coffee afterwards.