France, often considered to be the epicentre of European haute cuisine, has more than its fair share of Michelin-starred restaurants.
The three Michelin stars mark out the best of the best when it comes to excellent and innovative cooking, and with these as your guide you can easily plan a tour around France with a different three-star restaurant to dine in each night of your trip. Alternatively, take these as the piece de resistance of your stay in any of these regions of France.
Capital City of Cuisine
Paris has numerous three-starred restaurants, many of which have held this top accolade for ten years or more. However, none come more highly recommended than L’Ambroisie.
Located on Places de Vosges, a beautiful cloistered square, L’Ambroisie has an elegant dining room and first-class service as you would expect from a three-starred restaurant. All the dishes are prepared with exquisite, locally sourced fresh produce and created with utmost care.
The dessert menu is a particular delight, and you can expect to enjoy a selection ranging from delicately poached fruit to perfect meringues and mousses.
Top all that off with a fine wine list and you will truly have a night to remember in one of the most romantic cities in the world.
Sumptuous South-of-France Dining
In the Rhone city you will find Maison Pic, a restaurant run by three-starred chef Anne-Sophie Pic. With an eye unwaveringly fixed on her culinary history, Pic curates a menu that takes the diner through four generations of recipes from her family’s genealogy of fine chefs.
Having taken some of her father’s and grandfather’s recipes and modernised them, Anne-Sophie brings a lighter touch to fine French food. Whether with her own interpretation of her father’s recipe for sea bass with caviar through to innovative combinations of john dory and green anise, the fish menu is brimming with fresh flavours and wonderful cooking.
For a small taste of what’s on offer in Le Restaurant Pic, you can book at the bistro, Le 7, with an ever-changing prix-fixe menu at €30 per head.
Whether you choose the restaurant or the bistro, for lunch or in the evening, you’re guaranteed a culinary experience to remember.
Grand Prix Cuisine
Of all the places you can enjoy fine dining in France, there are none grander than Monaco. Located on Place du Casino, Louis XV is a restaurant with impeccable class that has both food and service to make you feel like royalty.
The dining room, decorated in gold and glass, is opulent in regency style and is crowned with an elaborately painted high ceiling. The staff, skilled in putting you quickly at your ease, will guide you to your table and will be happy to explain the menu, details about the locally sourced ingredients and wine list to you in as much detail as you like.
Once you turn your attention to the menu, you’ll find the chef, Alain Ducasse, has curated a perfect selection of meat, fish, cheeses and sweets drawing on inspiration from France, Spain and Italy from which Monaco takes many influences. In 2012, Louis XV is celebrating its 25th anniversary and Alain has created a special menu, complete with wine pairing by the restaurant’s expert sommelier, to truly tempt the palate.
Conclusion
France is the home not only of European fine cookery and dining but also some of the finest restaurants in the world. With this small selection, the best of the best, you can experience flavours from across the country cooked by the best chefs on the continent in surroundings ranging from simple and classic to opulent and grand. If you are traveling through France and need a hire car, use the Car Rentals Price Comparison Search Engine.
Image Credits: Wikipedia 1 & 2.