FRANCE: Nobu Matsuhisa comes to Paris at Le Royal Monceau Raffles

bathroom in the Deluxe Collection Room at Le Royal Monceau - Raffle Paris
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The country's first Matsuhisa restaurant opens at Le Royal Monceau - Raffles Paris

World-renowned restaurateur and celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa has an internationally recognised name, although it's usually either his given or his family name hanging above a restaurant door. Both are associated with the high-end fusion cuisine that blends traditional Japanese dishes with Peruvian ingredients. His restaurants go by the name of Matsuhisa and Nobu, and together they can be found at 39 sites dotted around the globe.

The most recent addition to this galaxy of stars is the very first in the whole of France, Matsuhisa Paris, which opened in Le Royal Monceau in March this year, and is Nobu's sixth Matsuhisa restaurant.

Under the guidance of Executive Head Chef Hideki Endo, this latest outpost has both adopted and adapted the celebrated formula of Peruvian-Japanese cuisine from Nobu's other restaurants, whilst managing to incorporate some local French delicacies. Think algae tacos with black truffle, crispy oysters with caviar, and wagyu beef with foie gras ravioli and ponzu sauce.

Matsuhisa Paris at Le Royal Monceau - Raffle Paris

If 
If you'd like to put your trust into the kitchen entirely, go for the omakase menu, which roughly translates to a multi-course feast chosen by the chef on the day, dependent on the best ingredients he has to hand. I've tried an omakase menu at a sushi bar in Tokyo, to much delight. It's often the best way to go if you're feeling indecisive. You don't know what you're going to get, it just keeps coming, and it's all very good.

From the all round very well executed menu I sampled during my visit, highlights included the sashimi trio: yellowtail with jalapeno and yuzu soy sauce, scallops, and seabass with dry miso. The spinach salad with dry miso might have been my favourite dish from the entire meal, and the wagyu with antichucho sauce (cumin, ají pepper and garlic) was glorious. Our table asked for some off menu otoro (the fattiest and most prized part of the tuna belly), because if you don't ask, you don't get. And we got. Marbled, delicate, gorgeous.

the Deluxe Collection Room at Le Royal Monceau - Raffle Paris
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If you're popping over from London to pay the new Matsuhisa a visit, and you fancy pushing the boat out, it makes sense to spend the night in one of Le Royal Monceau's exquisite rooms. The property reopened in 2010 after a dramatic and complete two year transformation by designer Phillippe Starck. And the result is impressive.

The Deluxe Collection Room I stayed in is inspired by the 1940s and 50s, with a walk-in closet as big as my bathroom at home. And every inch of the actual bathroom is tiled in mirrors. No hiding in there. 

It's also worth noting that one-way tickets on Eurostar now start at just £29 (based on a return journey), if you book far enough in advance. Which is a steal, and probably cheaper than getting to the rest of the UK.

Note: the meal at Matsuhisa Paris, the travel on Eurostar, and the stay at Le Royal Monceau Raffles were all hosted as part of a media visit. All views remain my own.

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FRANCE: Hotel Marignan, Paris

In a nutshell

Forty-five rooms and five suites of modern chic and understated elegance. Independent five star boutique accommodation, with sensational views of the Eiffel Tower, trying (and succeeding) to offer something different to its neighbours.

Where is it?

In the heart of the ‘Golden Triangle’ between the Champs-Elysées and the Montaigne Avenue. If coming off of the Eurostar from Gare du Nord, take the Metro Line 4 south to Strasbourg-St Denis. Then change onto Line 9 westbound to Franklin D. Roosevelt - the hotel is just around the corner. Or start the spending early and get a cab.

Style and character

It’s an impressive building with a handsome black facade dominating the bottom half, conspicuous amongst the surrounding classic architecture. The tall golden doors don’t allow you to see in, but the doormen can of course see out through a well-positioned gap. 

The hotel states rooms and suites are intended to feel like a second home - pied-à-terre - and they’ve succeeded. Rooms have muted tones and use quality materials - wool, silk, oak, marble. Furniture is unique to the hotel and there are a lot of pieces created by French artisians dotted about.

Rooms on the 5th floor have balconies, and those on the 6th and 7th have terraces with unobstructed views of the tower.

There’s a lot of attention to detail and splashes of creativity when it came to designing the interiors, from large and colourful botanical prints on the walls in the restaurant, down to the individual choice of lighting and bread baskets.

What's unique?

Art  It’s everywhere - sculptures, paintings, photography - all chosen by hotel manager Natalie Richard. Art is used to customise rooms and to define the public areas; it’s clearly a big part of the hotel’s character.

Cinema  There’s a 20-seater in the basement. They use it for private events, but guests can request screenings and they’ll often project major sport events.

The views  If you ask really nicely, the staff may well take you to the roof of the building (where the main image was taken) to show you a truly splendid view of the Eiffel Tower (it’s where all the cables and ventilations boxes are, so it’s mostly out of bounds). I’ve seen it a hundred times, but that structure never ceases to momentarily take my breath away. I had a front-facing room with a balcony on the 5th floor and could see it quite clearly, albeit with its head quite literally in the clouds on the first day.

Who goes?

I arrived late on a Friday night to the sounds of a party. A big party, in such full swing that I walked right past the building assuming it must be a bar or club, and not a hotel. It turns out Carla Bruni was holding a charity bash and had hired out the entire ground floor - a great bash it seemed too. I discreetly weaved amongst the Parisian elite to check it out - they’d kicked off their heels and started dancing in front of the DJ long before I arrived.

Breakfast time revealed mostly French guests, a few that could have been there on business. Clientele seemed to be 35+ and I didn’t spot any children. A discreet and sophisticated customer base.

Breakfast

If the room you book includes breakfast, it will be their ‘continental’ offering and very typically French. Meaning very good bread, fresh pastries, quality preserves, great butter, and whatever you want to drink. Simple, but quite lovely. And feel free to ask for a basket refill. It’s 29€ if it’s not included in your stay, which does seem pricey for what it is. Alternatively, you can order something cooked off the menu.

Dining

Canopée is the hotel’s single restaurant, open all day. Commandeering the kitchen is chef Felipe de Assunção, originally from Portugal, with years of experience at a number of high-end Parisian and London hotels, who’s been at Hotel Marignan for two years.

The menu is seasonal and changes quarterly. It doesn’t shy away from luxury ingredients, rich textures and strong flavours - all very much at home in this sort of accommodation, in this city. 

Entrées involved soft scallops on potatoes with chives and a smack of truffled cream, fantastic lobster and spinach ravioli with a deep bisque, duck foie gras with a lick of tart rhubarb on crisp bread, and the best butternut squash velouté I’ve encountered - a velvety pool of amber with chunks of salty fried sheep’s cheese. Ask me to clear a vat of that any day.

There was a succulent roast chicken breast with mushroom and peas and a perfectly al dente risotto, so unashamedly decadent in its cream content, that I wouldn't be surprised to find it in the dairy aisle. 

A great hunk of cod with chorizo cream came with soft leeks, white cocoa beans and an armour of tiny tomatoes - turned pointy in their dehydration in the oven, I suspect - with welcome bursts of tartness to cut through all the richness. Then there was a heft of seabass sporting a layer of sliced baby courgette on a bed of citrus-spiked ratatouille. All beasts were cooked well and with balanced, albeit robust flavours.

Sweets had us cooing over Paris-Brests with light choux and a gorgeous praline cream. Roasted figs with honey, rosemary and a cottage cheese sorbet tasted as exciting as it sounds, and a pineapple tarte tatin was an exotic twist on a classic done well.

Prices match the surroundings, and the upmarket part of town you’re in. Don’t expect much change from 200€ for a three course meal with wine for two, but do expect to be suitably impressed with it. Take a look at the Hotel Marignan menus.

Service

A highlight of the hotel. From the doormen, to the reception staff, to the waiters, to the housekeeping, to the chef himself coming out to speak to us and ask how we found the food, the service here is exemplary.

Polite, charming, engaging, accessible, informed - I encountered a number of members of staff and was impressed by them all.

Perks

The hotel uses Clarins for its toiletries, rooms come with coffee-pod machines, and the mini bar of soft drinks in the room is complimentary (note - no alcohol in them). Little cakes are left in the room each day.

Liked lots & liked less

The service and the unique character of the hotel are what stood out. The experience was, for all intents and purposes, faultless. And there's free wifi across the whole building - you would hope a given.

My one niggle would be the full length mirror on the inside of the wardrobe door could do with more lighting around it. But who cares about that when the luxury bed you’re sleeping on is made of bamboo.

Pricepoint

Lowest  The Premier room ranges from 330€ to 530€ a night
Highest  The Marignan Eiffel Suite comes in at 1300€ to 3000€ a night - ouch.

Contact

Hotel Marignan, 12 rue de Marignan 75008 PARIS
T: +33 1 40 76 34 56
www.hotelmarignanelyseesparis.com
@MarignanParis

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FRANCE: Hotel Marignan, Paris