BUZZ: L’Opera Restaurant and Camelia at Mandarin Oriental

25 August 2011 by Margaret Kemp    3481  
BUZZ: L’Opera Restaurant and Camelia at Mandarin Oriental
Margaret Kemp
By Margaret Kemp
L’Opéra Restaurant, Paris 9th The Paris Garnier Opera House is magnificent; Garnier’s handsome building (started in 1862, inaugurated in 1875) with its sumptuous staircase, mass of sculptures, glittering chandeliers and Marc Chagall-decorated ceiling are breathtaking. That ramp, on the rue Scribe side, was built so royalty could be driven, in their carriages, straight to the royal box! Today there’s valet parking (10€). Charles Garnier really wanted a restaurant, but it was not to be until 135 years later and a successful bid by Pierre-François Blanc to Commission Nationale des Monuments Historiques. Another five years and, rumor has it, 6 million euros later (Blanc won’t comment, “quand on aime on compte pas,” he says), L’Opéra Restaurant is open. Architect Odile Decq has created a contemporary red, grey glass and steel bubble. Some love it, some loathe it, but all have a comment. The terrace has space for 180, with parasols and a very sunny aspect. Inside there are 80 seats on the ground floor and 90 on the mezzanine. “We’re ‘running in’ at the moment,” admits Blanc. He searched France for a chef, says he had meetings with remarkable men before asking Michelin 2-star Christophe Aribert (Les Terrasses d’Uriage, Isère) to compose the menus. “Christophe’s classic/contemporary approach is just right for L’Opéra,” says Blanc. Working with Aribert is young talent Yann Tonneau (Castel Beau Site and Mama Shelter) and Chef Patissier Hervé Moreau, recently at Pierre Gagnaire. Wines are displayed in a refrigerated glass cabinet and there’s the Martini Bar for cocktails or Champagne before or after the performance. A well-stocked boutique is accessed from the restaurant and sells Jean Paucton‘s honey from the hives on the roof. As you would expect there’s “house” music everywhere, even on the sunny south-facing terrace. And the loos, darling, are a sensorial experience. The dishes, which Blanc hopes will attract Michelin, are inspired by the two chefs’ origins. So, le homard, le merlan and la sole are attributed to Brittany-born Tonneau. But, as it’s breaded and served “Grenobloise” with a touch of maple syrup and a side of Hollandaise, it’s obvious there’s amicable collaboration going on backstage. Aribert takes credit for an excellent trout, smoked with Royan ravioli, a broth of Comté cheese, nuts and champignons de Paris. Tender Guinea fowl is roasted, served with baby carrots, purée of carrots, citronnelle, sesame and Opera honey. Lobster is paired with cooked and raw fennel, a broth of lobster “américaine.” No prizes for guessing the desserts: there’s L’Opéra in all its coffee-chocolate glory, but there’s also a contemporary version with yellow Chartreuse and nuts. Melba classique, Clafoutis contemporain . . .  let’s hope they add Pavlova. “People come in all the time, criticize the décor and leave,” sighs Blanc. “But often, after a Martini Charles or a “Phantôm by Martini” at the bar they come over and congratulate me on a job well done!” Whatever, L’Opéra Restaurant will bring a young crowd to the Opera House, a new joie de vivre, a new era’s beginning. Demandez le programme. World Opera Houses with restaurants include: Vienna, Austria; Sydney, Australia; Covent Garden, London, UK; Sweden; and San Francisco, Lincoln Center/NY, and Houston, USA. L’Opéra Restaurant Palais Garnier Tél: 01 42 68 86 80 Place Jacques Rouché, Paris 9th Métro: Opéra Lunch menu 40€ (from September) A la carte about 70€ + wine Open 7/7 from 7am-midnight Camélia at the Mandarin Oriental, Paris 1st Arriving at Camélia, Mandarin Oriental‘s restaurant that spills out onto lush gardens, guests forget their calorie count when confronted with the dazzling display of pastry by young patissier Pierre Mathieu (ex-Cordeillan Bages with Thierry Marx). All the classics are there, with Mathieu’s spin on Saint Honoré, the patron saint of pastry, also the rue on which the newly opened hotel is located. “We’ve got all-day dining here,” explains executive chef Thierry Marx. “Clients arrive with jet lag and can have breakfast, lunch or dinner at hours to suit them, not the restaurant staff. We also have a 45€/45-minutes menu for hurried guests.” In the garden, the chef’s table seats 8 in a massive birdcage, so you feel like Vanessa Paradis in the Chanel ad. The menu changes frequently, is traditional with touches of Asia, as in: sea bream with wafer-thin turnip ravioli or roast organic chicken with a touch of curry, fromage blanc and coconut rice. Or, sit at the bar, watch the “live cooking” and order dim sum or sushi from the Teppanyaki counter. The room and garden attract a very mixed crowd including movie stars, businessmen, fashionistas, tourists, and of course, “the ladies who do” who can’t resist Pierre Mathieu’s tea-time treats, which they also take home in designer boxes and swear, “Of course I made them.” Camélia Mandarin Oriental, Paris Tél: 01 7098 7888 251, rue Saint Honoré, Paris 1st Métro: Concorde Open 7/7 Average Spend 50-70€ + wine All day menus for informal eating New York, New York 52€ Tokyo 55€ Margaret Kemp is a Cordon Bleu graduate who spent a year traveling the world, working and watching in the kitchens of top chefs from Sydney, Australia via Bangkok, Hong Kong, California, New York and France. She reports for BonjourParis on the latest European trends, restaurants and hot spots. If it’s at Amazon.com, you can get it at our Amazon.com Boutique with new items added weekly. Same competitive prices and speedy delivery & your purchases support costs of keeping BonjourParis your most complete online France travel resource. Search hint: start at the back pages for the most recent stock. Short-cut? Check out Current Favorites for the daily top sellers.
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By Margaret Kemp

Born in Hampton, Middlesex, UK, Margaret Kemp is a lifestyle journalist, based between London, Paris and the world. Intensive cookery courses at The Cordon Bleu, London, a wedding gift from a very astute ex-husband, gave her the base that would take her travelling (leaving the astute one behind) in search of rare food and wine experiences, such as the vineyards of Thailand, 'gator hunting in South Florida, learning to make eye-watering spicy food in Kerala;pasta making in a tiny Tuscany trattoria. She has contributed to The Guardian, The Financial Times Weekend and FT. How To Spend It.com, The Spectator, Condé Nast Traveller, Food & Travel, and Luxos Magazine. She also advises as consultant to luxury hotels and restaurants. Over the years, Kemp has amassed a faithful following on BonjourParis. If she were a dish she'd be Alain Passard's Millefeuille “Caprice d'Enfant”, as a painting: Manet’s Dejeuner sur l’herbe !