If you have been following my blog, you know that we are very happy eating out at bistros, and that we quite rarely spend extravagant amounts of money at restaurants (we also think that Paris has so many excellent, affordable bistros that hurting your wallet isn’t necessary!). However, this summer we did a bit of splurging and enjoyed a dinner with an other couple at Atelier Maître Albert.

It was a beautiful summer evening and the sun was shining at our table. A family sitting next to us was leaving and suggested we finish their half-full bottle of rosé wine. What a nice gesture we thought!

We had king prawns with orange salad and poached egg with asparagus as starters. There was one thing we all agreed on: coupe de champagne rosé everyone!Presentation of the starters was so beautiful that we almost did not dare to eat them… Both starters received ten points.

Our friend, who is a regular at Atelier Maître Albert, ordered his favorite bottle of red: Chambolle Musigny from Burgundy (fyi: if you have 130€ extra euros to spend, your money will be well spent on this one!).

Since the specialty of the restaurant is roasted meat, we had to try it! Three of us had a slice of roasted beef and I had lamb chops. My husband commented that his slice of beef was “une belle piece” (a beautiful slice); juicy, tasty and copious.

The gratin potatoes that came with the beef were served in a cute Staub mini cocotte. When my husband stopped eating his potatoes, the waiter came over encouraging him to finish his mini cocotte. At the moment I thought this was a rather risky move, but in fact it suited that situation: it brought some lightness to the overall feeling, which can often be quite stiff at restaurant of this level. In fact, ten points again to the creativity and human touch!

After the main course, my husband and I shared a delicious goat cheese plate:

…and afterwards we shared a grapefruit terrine that I absolutely loved:

As I mention in the title of this post, two words that best describe this high-end restaurant of the famous chef Guy Savoy are “classy” and “playful”. These are also the words that describe well my first-ever visit to Atelier Maître Albert back in the early 2000: I went in alone to have just a main course and a glass of wine, and the restaurant offered me a starter and a dessert. Classy and playful, what else?

Atelier Maître Albert (http://www.ateliermaitrealbert.com/): 1 Rue Maître Albert, 75005 Paris. Tel. +33-1-56 81 30 01

PS In case you are wondering, the bill came to 571€10.