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Dining in Paris at Le Chateaubriand – the World’s 40th Best Restaurant

While I was in Paris I ate at the world’s 40th best restaurant – Le Chateaubriand – located in the 11th Arrondisment.

It was intimate, there were no pictures on the wall, the tables were wooden and packed closely together. There was only one menu – 5 courses – and absolutely no choice!

The only way to maybe have something changed or removed from the dish was for allergy reasons (and even this wasn’t guaranteed). Simple dislike of a food type i.e. tomatoes did not warrant it being removed from the dish.

Le Chateuabriand - image courtesy of Meg Zimback (http://www.flickr.com/photos/megzimbeck)

Le Chateaubriand - image courtesy of Meg Zimback (http://www.flickr.com/photos/megzimbeck)

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I didn’t think I’d enjoy the inflexible menu as much as I did. I loved the fact that I did not have to choose my meal! It was really easy – the food was all very enjoyable – and we had a great evening.

Diner-proof menus are something I’ve noticed are appearing in a number of the top restaurants world-wide. Are they a trend or are they here to stay?

My personal opinion is that they’ll be around for a while. The customers that visit the top restaurants in the world all lead exceptionally busy lives and, when you’re that busy, it’s nice to have a few hours where you’re not required to made decisions. Plus when the menu has been diner-proofed the emphasis is placed on enjoying spectacular dishes the way they were meant to be enjoyed.