Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen

A Pavilion Full of Sauce

4 of 5

Yannick Alléno has built a career on the idea that a sauce is a serious subject. His restaurant sits on the first floor of the Pavillon Ledoyen, a neoclassical building in the gardens off the Champs-Élysées with protected woodwork and a dining room that manages to be grand and private at the same time. It holds three Michelin stars, awarded in 2015, and it also appears on the World's 50 Best list.

The technique has a name, Extractions, a way of pulling flavor out of a product and concentrating it into something you can pour. Fermentation shows up as well, pushing the terroir angle. I will not pretend to follow the chemistry. I follow the result, and the result is flavor with a very clean edge. There is also a table concierge, who consults with you ahead of time so the evening is built around what you like.

Dinner is Monday to Friday, seven to half past nine. Menus run from about 330 euros for the Discovery Collection to 415 for the Complete Collection, with a 465 euro scent-driven option built with Xerjoff. Proper attire is required, and they mean it. Go for the sauces, the building and the sense that someone has thought about every minute. Three stars have a way of focusing the mind.

Order this: The Discovery Collection, The Complete Collection if you are committed, The Saveurs Olfactives menu, for the curious
The damage: $$$$
Go: A weekday evening, Monday to Friday
Find it: Pavillon Ledoyen, 8 Avenue Dutuit, 75008 Paris