Once And Still King: Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse A L’hôtel de Paris

Monaco’s enduring appeal extends far beyond its glamour, excitement, history, beauty, and, of course, an annual Yacht Show. The culinary scene in Monte-Carlo always holds a special allure that tempts, fascinates, and always impresses.

We never cease to be surprised and delighted at what we find, and this year was no exception, as we were ready once more to host NAVIS’ annual dinner to celebrate and touch on trends, insights, and innovations in this industry we love. We return once more with the excellent culinary team at Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse a l’Hotel de Paris.

The Venue

The beautiful dining room and terrace with its often open-air balcony setting on the Place du Casino, effortlessly makes Le Louis XV - Alain Ducasse à l’Hôtel de Paris one of the most romantic and glamorous dining venues on earth. Its incredible design is part of what makes this restaurant a must-dine, even legendary.

Beneath the gilded rococo ceilings with their delicate pastoral scenes, the recent renovation has taken the ambience to new heights, quite literally. The venue is more open and airier, although gone are the gilt table ware and quite a bit of unnecessary formal gravity, the exceptional quality remains. It has a modern palace feeling, in some ways even minimalistic, which melds with the baroque grandeur and makes for an intriguing, almost magical contrast. The design is subtle and innovative. “The lights are responsible for this” says Hervé Descottes, who conceived the lighting design. A fantastic, modern seven-meters-in diameter chandelier illuminates the room. Almost eight hundred unique pieces of glass, carefully hand-assembled in an immense halo of over two thousand bulbs magically glowing like fireflies. As well, lighting devices illuminate the underside of the tables, making them seem to almost float.

The Menu

Since 1987, the Michelin three-starred restaurant has enjoyed a reputation for innovative dining concepts reflecting international influences. Cuisine here is light, fresh…” inspired by the generosity of the Riviera,” as Ducasse is fond of saying.

One of Ducasse’s greatest innovations in this venerable history was in promoting light and fresh cuisine and creating a venue for diners who appreciated vegetables taking center stage. Aside from the menu selections, guests also enjoy a first tasting with some delicious seafood, like fish, octopus, and shrimp, served on a copper grill just removed from flames which impart a delicate smoked flavor. After the head waiter asked our party about any dietary limitations, we learned one of our party did not eat meat. This reveal provided further collective inspiration to leave the decision for each course to the chef. The head waiter returned after consultation with the kitchen, and announced the chef would prepare three different tasting menus, including the one vegetarian. What might be considered a real challenge for the kitchen resulted in incredible artistry. Exquisitely executed starters included San Remo shrimp on a bed of rockfish jelly with caviar and Provence garden vegetables cooked with black truffle, the latter of which has been delighting palates since 1987. The carnivores in our party enjoyed such delights as lamb from Pyrénées roasted over fire, with small spelt from Sainte-Jalle, and braised blue lobster with cocoa beans from Lantosque, among them.

As if the evening could not have been more inspirational or magical, our attentive server set out a selection of Alain Ducasse Chocolates, which became a perfect ending together with a delightful coffee or green tea. But surprises don’t finish there. Right before departing, each guest was presented a gift box with a mention to open it the following day during breakfast. A delicious Italian panettone is the delightful reward that extends a superb Ducasse experience even into the next day.