Le Gabriel - Paris, France

The building in which Restaurant Le Gabriel is situated is a former 19th century mansion (typical of the area), which has been tastefully updated and currently houses a luxury boutique hotel called La Réserve. Located just one block off ​​Avenue des Champs-Élysées, about halfway between the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre, the property is situated in a very central location in Paris’ 8th arrondissement. The dining space is designed in a classic sophisticated style, with dark wooden furniture, gilded accents, and plush materials.

Since the restaurant was opened by owner Michel Reybier in 2015, executive chef Jérôme Banctel achieved consistent success, earning the restaurant two Michelin stars less than a year later in 2016, and its third in 2024. Our first experience with Chef Banctel was in late 2024 here in Paris at a special event arranged by the champagne house Krug, of which Banctel is an Ambassade Chef. His signature dish for that event, the “Iodized Red Pepper” left a good impression, so we had to discover what his own restaurant was all about.

Chef Banctel is native to Brittany, which is showcased throughout the dishes of the “Virée” menu, one of the pre-fixe menus featured for the dinner options. The other menu, “Périple,” features more globally-inspired dishes. Each menu is 7 courses by default, with the option to be expanded to 9 courses for an additional fee. For our meal, we opted to try his Virée menu, hoping to see how chef Banctel honors his roots through his culinary expression.

With the exception of the main protein, which was chicken, the Virée menu was primarily seafood, featuring shellfish, both squid and octopus, as well as a delicious mackerel. This was certainly a broad reflection of the rugged coastal region of Brittany in the northwest of France. Aside from the exquisite quality of the ingredients, the menu showcased a variety of flavors, textures, and unique preparations. While each dish could stand on its own in terms of achieving a balanced variety on a single plate, the menu as a whole was a diverse journey through the coastal countryside.

One of chef Banctel’s signatures is a cooking technique that uses alkaline lime water, which enables ingredients to be cooked through on the inside, while maintaining a firm, almost raw appearance on the outside. This technique showed up in a carrot dish on our menu, which appeared as a simple boiled whole carrot in sauce, but had a very unique texture, being very soft inside while the outside remained firm enough to hold it all together. The flavors of this dish were a far cry from boiled carrots though, as the natural sweetness was balanced against the buttery spices of the sauce; all in all delicious.

As I mentioned, all of the dishes were excellent and could hold their own, but another standout for me personally, was the smoked octopus. Similar to the carrot, the outside of the meat was a firm layer with a slight amount of pleasant chewiness, almost as if it were glazed. The inside though, was amazingly tender and soft, really unlike any octopus I’ve tried before, which typically suffers from some degree of less-pleasant chewiness; this one had none. Of course the flavors were top notch to match the cooking and preparation, which really set this dish on another level, among the best dishes I have ever had.

Rounding out the meal were a few desserts based around seasonal ingredients which happened to be pear and plum during our visit. Like the rest of the meal, the humble dessert even managed to exhibit all different textures and temperatures, not settling to be something forgotten. I would say it ended the great meal with an exclamation point, rather than a period.

Throughout the meal, the service was prompt and friendly. Exactly what would be expected for such an establishment. The dishes were well-paced, and the atmosphere was reserved, yet alive. This meal, though a pricey option, was well worth the expense. Chef Banctel’s talent in the kitchen has really earned him his place among the elites of fine French cuisine.

Overall, Le Gabriel definitely lives up to their esteemed reputation, and is worth visiting when in Paris, or even being a destination itself. Highly recommend.