Since the Hotel de Crillon, a Rosewood Hotel, was closed for renovation for four years, I expected it to look completely different when it reopened last summer. It does, from the lighter, traditional-mixed-with modern décor, the reconfigured number of rooms, the reorganization of the salons of the lobby. The first change you notice when you walk in is the transformation of the marble and mirrored restaurant Les Ambassadeurs in front; it’s now a lavishly decorated bar. The gastronomic restaurant, L’Ecrin, is tucked away in the back, almost a secret room, and definitely an intimate one—just 28 seats.
Still, I didn’t expect it to have changed so much that the champagne offered before dinner was to be served in a glass without a base lying flat on the table…but that was just the first surprise. There seem to be several explanations for the origin of this glass but the one offered was that it was an idea of Marie Antoinette’s: you had to drink everything that was in it because you couldn’t put sit it down without spilling it. Then they would fill it again.
It was a fitting start to a succession of courses (the choice is either seven or 12 announced in a circle by the main ingredient) that had fanciful elements dancing on a base of clear, true flavors. Chef Christopher Hache, who became the hotel’s chef eight years ago at the age of 28, regained the Michelin star last month that he had been awarded during his first year as chef but lost during the hotel’s closure. He spent that time traveling, soaking up new flavors and cooking alongside chefs in New York, Rio, Lima, Singapore and Tel Aviv.
The combination of influences came through in dishes such as a ceviche of seabream, coriander and lime, succulent milk tart with eel, onions and bottarga, crayfish tartare with asparagus, silky foie gras with avocado and horseradish, sweetbreads with coconut, passionfruit and the creamy cheese Fontainebleau. Dover sole meuniere stuffed with cabbage, black truffle and fresh capers was an elegant dish; frog gizzard was one that reminded me that I was in France. His signature mushrooms combined Japanese Shimeji mushrooms and Parisian mushrooms extracted through an eight hour process into cream, then repopulated with whole mushrooms flavored with black cardamom. It’s an absolutely knockout dish. A confection of lemon, lime, pear, mandarin and saffron preceded a dense, crunchy chocolate cream to finish. And all were accompanied by either the expected—refined, corresponding wines—or more surprises, such as aged Pu’er tea or beer served by a knowledgeable staff. The overall effect is haute cuisine but fresh, modern and with a dash of wit. It’s likely to be one of the most memorable dinners you can have now in the city.
