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Le Dauphin, a very hyped (and good) restaurant in Paris

How does a restaurant win a prize for best design before it opens, before the construction is even finished?

Well, you hire star architect Rem Koolhaas to design it and have star Basque chef Inaki Aizpitarte (head of Le Chateaubriand, the ninth best restaurant in the whole word) devise the menu.

I’ve never met Inaki Aizpitarte, but I know he hates me. Here’s why.

First of all, I can never remember his name, even less spell it. Pronouncing it either makes me spit or laugh ridiculously. Secondly, I don’t eat meat, something that makes most French chefs hyperventilate. Thirdly, my last (i.e. only) meal at Le Chateaubriand – years ago – was more agony than ecstasy. And finally, I don’t have five-day stubble. Inaki is cool, I isn’t.

And so it seemed, based on a number of fairly reasonable assumptions and preconceptions, that ‘The Dolphin’ and I were not going to enjoy each other’s company. But frankly, what can be better than a pleasant surprise? Our evening at Le Dauphin was to be filled with them.Let’s take a few steps back though. Le Chateaubriand has been successful for years, and Le Dauphin (as it was already called back then) was a grimy French bistro two doors down that excelled in being under average. When it closed a year ago, it was soon known that the Chateaubriand – only open in the evening – was to expand and open Le Dauphin at lunchtime. You should know that there is almost rabid respect for Aizpitarte in Paris (frankly, I’m surprised he doesn’t have his own brand cologne and record label already) but second ventures by star chefs are not always an automatic success.

Enter Le Fooding Awards, not the only culinary prize in France but quite probably the most hip. Their reviews are entertaining if only for the obvious bias and smart alec comments, and when they gave Le Dauphin the best design award before it was even open, we knew that a) they were making a strategic play to stay in Inaki’s good books, and b) that they were probably right.

The décor of Le Dauphin has managed to turn an ordinary, tiny space into something grand and impressive. The mirrors, grey marble and wooden stools at high tables give it a Spanish touch that melds perfectly with the nouveau-tapas menu. It also makes the place fantastically noisy. All part of the experience.After my experience at Le Chateaubriand, I was expecting to enter Le Dauphin and receive a welcome of well-honed steely ambivalence. Instead, our waitress was all smiles and full of genuine warmth. Looking at the menu revealed a number of dishes that sounded delectable. And for once, we had planned ahead and decided to eat with some carnivore friends in order to get a good overview of everything on offer.

Our order was quickly taken, and the (delicious, fruity) wine soon arrived. Prices are average for this sort of place (think around 35 euros for a good bottle). Before long, the dishes started to arrive…

Everything was impeccable presented with a mixture of great textures and tastes. We were seriously surprised at how good the food was, until the secret ingredient was revealed to us… Lord Inaki himself is in the kitchen, in the restaurant serving, and – at the end of the night – out front with a glass of wine and a ciggie! His light shone upon us (well, his arm brushed against us), and it was good.

Prices may seem a bit steep for what look like small portions, but they are made to savor, and two / three dishes each is largely sufficient to fill you up. As usual, we kept room for dessert, and it was not a disappointment!.

We won’t go into the details of each dish, except to say that the octopus was tender with a great grilled taste, the ham melted in the mouth, the razor shells were plump and well matched with a creamy cauliflower sauce, the crab served with cress was super fresh, the smoked mozzarella divine, the pan-fried foie gras soft but not sloppy (and who would have though of serving it with turnip?), the lemon tart outstanding, the pear poached in wine impressive too… Enough to make your mouth water?And as an extra bonus (because it was the end of the night, but a late arrival still wanted our table), we were treated to a free drink at the bar afterwards! (a great position for observing Inaki and his post-service cigarette).We are very eager to get back to Le Dauphin, and if you’re looking for a ridiculously tasty cross between nouvelle cuisine and tapas, you should get down there too. Expect to pay around 40 euros per person.

Le Dauphin (here) is open every day except Sundays, Mondays and Saturday lunchtime. Tel. +33 (0)1 55 28 78 88.

To check out all our photos, click the play button below, then click the four little arrows bottom right to go into fullscreen mode.