Agapé Substance

C’est fermé depuis plusieurs mois, trop petit et surtout trop cher, encore un restaurant qui a coulé sous l’égo…l’idée était bonne mais l’endroit était si exiguë que j’en serveurs peinaient à vous servir, il va être remplacé vite par un resto italien ou encore un magasin de fringues, un de plus?

I really wanted to like this restaurant, and I will grant that the food is good, but when you have a prix fix w/​wine pairing for 200 euros per person, guess what? You are held to a higher standard, and unfortunately, the team at Agape fell short.
One of their many mistake includes not actually pairing the wines correctly with the meal, and I don’t mean their choices were «off», they simply forgot the wine itself with one of the dishes. As well, the service was ho-​hum, a feat in of itself when there are only ~10 diners in the restaurant.
Perhaps what colored the experience the most, however, is that we had to interrupt our meal mid-​way through as someone in out party became ill (not from the food at Agape). Now… given we had only eaten 50% of our meal, I would have expected a commensurate discount to our bill, not so. We were offered 10% off our prix fixe and they made the biggest deal about it. No wonder people don’t speak up in french restaurants.
Now I don’t take negative Unilocal reviews lightly. So more importantly, when I emailed them at «
» a few weeks later to lay out what happened and ask for them to reconsider the refund… crickets. I emailed again… and nothing. No response, not even so much as an acknowledgment that the experience was not what was expected or an apology. I fully expect a place that caters to rich foodie tourists to maintain higher standards, this isn’t the french bistrot on the corner, and Agape came up short.
So, the food is 3 stars (for the price, you can really find better in Paris), service is 2 stars, and follow-​up customer service is 1 star.

Surprenant.
La salle est minuscule et on voit le chefs cuisiner juste à côté.
Les mets sont excellents et les produits sont très bien mis en valeur.
En tout cas j’ai adoré.!

J’ai A-​DO-​Ré !
J’y susi allé pour le déjeuner en semaine, nous n’étions que 5 ou 6 dans le restaurant, totu petit, aux murs vitrés, ambiance, wagon d’un train futuriste. C’est tout petit ! On voit les cuisiniers s’affairer, et le maître d’hôtel, Thibaut était charmant et d’une gentillesse fondante. Nous avons pris un menu à 100 euros avec les vins en accord et un autre menu à 65 ou 75 euros, sans les vins. Je n’ai malheureusement pas noté avec précision les 8 plats que nous avons eu dans ce menu découverte. Tout est basé sur quelques produits frais (veau, artichaut, omble chevalier, fraise…), après avoir fait mention de vos allergie sou intolérances alimentaires.
Et après, c’est la valse des saveurs. C’est bon, très bon, très très bon, c’est fin, d’est surprenant (pas mal de petites fleurs, de la crème de thé fermenté…), j’y ai mangé le meilleur poisson de ma vie, de l’omble chevalier qui était tendre, doux, onctueux, à couper à la cuillère, un régal. J’y ai goûté un sorbet au sureau, je n’en revenais pas. C’est à tomber par terre. Je le mets au même niveau que Ze Kitchen Galery, ma référence à Paris.
Huit petits plats, mais qui sont juste assez (3 entrées, 3 plats, 2 desserts).
Seul hic: ça peut être bruyant le soir, car la salle est petite et les sons résonnent. Mais au déjeuner, c’est une (longue) pause de bonheur. Et les vins étaient succulents.
Mon coup de coeur de l’année.

Le dîner dans ce restaurant fût dément. Occasion spéciale, on marque le coup.
C’était un véritable plaisir pour les sens, une explosion de saveurs dont on se souviendra.
Le menu «substance» a été fantastique du début à la fin.
Des amuses-​bouches et quinze plats, tous plus étonnants les uns que les autres. Je pourrais vous faire la liste mais cela trahirait l’idée du menu surprise qui est justement intéressante. On vous demande quand même au début du repas si vous avez des allergies ou certaines choses que vous n’aimez pas, histoire qu’il n’y ait pas de mauvaises surprises. En tout cas, croyez moi c’est fin, succulent, surprenant !
Quand on choisit l’accord mets et vin, (environ 6 – 7 petits verres de vin), le sommelier vient vous donner tous les détails de fabrication et c’est sûrr que les choix s’accordent parfaitement avec les différents plats (héhé c’est fait exprès). En revanche, la différence se sent aussi dans le prix, c’est beaucoup plus cher avec le vin.
Le cadre est plaisant et l’agencement de la salle est atypique. Une grande tablée au milieu qui peut accueillir une quinzaine de personnes; trois tables de deux personnes je crois qui sont autour. La cuisine est dans la même salle, c’est donc aussi enrichissant de voir les cuisiniers attelés à la préparation, même si on sent parfois la tension montée.
Les plats s’enchaînent très vite, ce qui est un bon point et le service est correct mais pas encore parfait, et j’estime qu’à ce prix-​là, il devrait l’être.
Ce fût une superbe expérience mais on n’atteint pas encore les 5 étoiles à mon goût. En effet, on a oublié à plusieurs reprises de nous dire ce qu’on avait dans nos assiettes et à la fin du repas, une des serveuses à renverser du lait chocolaté sur la chemise de mon frère. Je né suis pas très pointilleuse là-​dessus d’habitude car ça peut arriver à tout le monde mais le prix du repas motive mon jugement sévère.
J’ai oublié de faire mon check-​in, c’est dommage, j’aurais sûrement obtenu le badge «Crésus», tant pis.

Dinner as theatre. Loved it!

Amazing experience consisting of 17+ dishes served over almost 3h. every dish was a total surprise as Chef picks what you will get, and none tasted like anything I had before. using unusual seasonal vegetables such as Jerusalem Artichokes, revealing strong intriguing flavors.
One disappointment, we were asked for food restrictions, I had none, wife doesn’t eat see food, and unfortunately, her restrictions were also applied to me, no delicious looking scallops for me…
I will return in the summer for a very different culinary experience and feast on delicious summer fruits and vegetables
A word of caution: beware of the wines. It gets very pricey when you add wines to the menu. Despite being a wine lover, I don’t see the value being quite right. I still resent the Champagne glasses paid 22 Euros each. They were good, but not worth that much. So I recommend you get a glass for the full meal, if you don’t want to spend your whole rent on this meal.
I have to say the service was awesome, very caring, considering it is Paris we are discussing here, and casual, unlike all these snobbish places! Just another way you will remember this exceptional experience!

I still can’t believe this happened. It’s like waking up from a nightmare. Background: have eaten at many similar restaurants, am not a stranger to tasting menus/​curious experimental cuisine. This bordered on masochistic.
I am literally agape right now. Agape at the lack of substance at Agape Substance in Paris tonight. 500 Euro and an agonizing three hours later, My dining companion and I are trying to piece together the shards of a confusing evening of Samuel Beckett-​esque futility. TL;DR: I have never had a worse meal in my life.
To put it succinctly, Agape Substance is best left for a clientele tired of being beaten with birch switches and paying for it, a special type of customer who wants something a little more public. To them, I recommend this tasting menu, accompanied by dim fluorescent lighting and sallow-​toned smoked mirrors. A scarily accurate glimpse into the future, I now know how it will look when I go to the DMV when I’m 40. Throughout the course of an evening, we went through over 20 courses of incongruent, vapid bites with strange visual cues and a seemingly Freudian undertone in a restaurant best suited to a 1980’s swinger’s club. This is the Dorsia of the Left Bank.
Everything about eating here felt like an exercise in sexual transgression, from the backless chairs to the smoked yellow mirrors to the strange swathes of cowhide strategically placed around the table, and of course, the weird surprises and punishment food. I pity the waiters and waitresses, the only bright spot in the dinner service.
Come for the promise of phenomenal reviews and stay for the bitter end. You paid for the prix fixe, baby, so wipe that egg yolk off your chin, smile, and say «Merci.»
Lowlights:
I was anxiously anticipating our next dish, a berce sponge with hogweed flower. Agape is known for its flagrant usage of berce, but the improbably bright Soylent Green coloring and kitchen sponge-​like flavor were disconcerting.
We ended our selection of amuse bouches with a dried salsify with white chocolate crème fraîche and olive. Wow, this dish was confusing. Texturally, it was like eating flaccid carrots with slightly stale dip, as though the inspiration for this was found rooting in the back of the chef’s refrigerator one late evening. The chocolate was dulled by the richness of the cream, a white sploogy void on the plate.
Parsnip with smoked sea salt, olive, and rye came shortly after. Tasted like a loaded baked potato sans Bacos. It was also at this point that we noticed that the «special truffle supplement,» an additional 50 Euro per person, merely consisted of hunks of truffles shaved over this, as well as other dishes, we received throughout the evening. A must to avoid.
Following this was a runny half-​boiled egg with orgeat syrup, blanched almonds, and polenta. I do not know why this was placed where it was in the menu, or really, what purpose it served all. It was, as Camus may have said, an indicator of a wholly indifferent universe. It raised some important questions about taste and the meaning of life. For instance: Why am I eating raw cookie dough-​flavored food sandwiched between the appetizer and main course? Who wants to see their date awkwardly dribble gooey, raw organic fluid down the corner of their mouth in public? As tasty as it was, reminiscent of marzipan, it was existentially confusing to a fault.
Carrots and mustard, a trial in mental tenacity. Why, I ask, would any self-​respecting restaurant toss hot carrots and mustard on a plate halfway through the meat courses? In a recent review of Agape, Alexander Lobrano praised a similarly simple dish as «lucid.» This, too, was lucid, though more in a Ken Kesey fashion than a Kubrickian genius as he would have us believe. Mindfuckery served with bread and butter.
Sea scallop with seaweed butter and chestnut foam had a dated elegance straight out of American Psycho. Served in a whole scallop shell on a massive slab of frosted, custom-​cut Lucite with the pomp and ritual of a Patek, I wish I had worn big shoulder pads and Paloma Picasso to match. Shoddy preparation and repeated themes characterized this dish– the scallops had not been detached from the shell and were nearly impossible to remove whole. It wasn’t reassuring to already see overlapping flavors (seaweed butter and chestnut foam) so early on in the meal.
Raw cubes of kabocha squash, raw flour ice cream (really), and squash caramel. Easily the most puritanical dessert I’ve ever had. This literally hurt to eat. It was chalky, unsweetened, and vegetal.
Blackberry ice cream, macadamia nuts, lychee, and meringue was bizarre and also clash-​heavy; the buttery, oily nuts greasy mingling with icy sorbet and slippery fruit pieces.

What a wonderful culinary adventure. We dined at Agape Substance at dinner and opted for the full Substance menu with wine pairings. Each of the 20 or so courses was delicious and not overworked. That Toutain trained at L’Arpege was clear, as the vegetables were the great stars of the show.
The kitchen and waitstaff timed the meal perfectly and the wine pairings were creative and enhanced the courses with which they were served. The great enthusiasm of the sommelier and the waitstaff made this an even more memorable meal.
As others have commented, backless stools are not the ideal seat for a 3 – 4 hour meal, but I didn’t even think about the seat on which I was sitting during this ballet of a meal. I will absolutely return on my next visit to Paris.

L’Agapé Substance reste pour l’instant indétrôné dans mon Panthéon de restaurants.
Emmenée par surprise par mon chéri, on y a passé un soirée incroyable pour nos papilles. Dans ce tout petit espace, 2 ou 3 tables de 2 personnes (où nous étions), une grande table centrale façon table d’hôtes, et la cuisine complètement ouverte au bout, avec des miroirs au dessus qui permettent de suivre le travail à la fois affairé mais d’une maîtrise absolue de la brigade.
Mais le meilleur reste à venir. Nous avons dîné et donc pris le menu découverte en 15 petits plats. Nous avons également choisi l’accord mets et vins.
Rien de ce que nous avons dégusté né nous a déçu. Tout est parfait: cuisson, présentation, accords des parfums… les sensations en bouche sont incroyables, rien n’est superflu, tout est étonnant mais en aucun cas décevant.
Les accords mets et vins sont splendides, généreux.
Nous sommes ressortis de l’Agapé avec la sensation d’avoir été au Paradis des gourmets pendant quelques heures…

La claque culinaire vous connaissez? C’est là! Sorte de couloir où l’on croise El Bulli et de nombreux critiques gastronomes de tout poil, ce restaurant est à part. Une sorte d’OVNI culinaire du 21ème siècle, telle est la substance là! Aux manettes, deux passionnés, anciens de l’Arpège, Mugaritz, maison Veyrat à Mégève, et ça rassure. Ensuite une carte sans fioritures où le boeuf s’appelle boeuf, la lotte idem etc… Pour le déjeuner vous avez le choix entre 3 plats (39 euros), ou 4 plats (51 euros); vous pouvez aussi laisser libre interprétation au Chef, et la Carte Blanche à 65 euros (dîner de 51 à 99 euros). Dès l’amuse bouche, le ton est donné, le Chef joue avec subtilité sur les saveurs et les textures. Les plats s’enchaînent ensuite avec précision, aucun temps mort. Tout est délicat, coordonné, parfait en bouche, beau, magnifique, l’oeil, les papilles, tout le monde est satisfait au niveau du cortex du client. Même les plats sont beaux, originaux, choisis avec soin. Au dessert, l’apothéose, un tout chocolat avec 5 différents pourcentages!!! C’est convivial, très convivial, un poil bruyant quand tout est plein, mais l’on sort ravis et heureux. Merci David Toutain et Laurent Lapaire!

surely you’ve seen foam, powder, bubbles, snow in your plate. had benoîte urbaine, consoude, oxalis, pied bleu. if not, Hello, welcome to l’Agapé Substance. portions might be skint but in a dozen dishes (65 €), from berce and yuzu gel amuse to persil-​basil sorbet, flavors surprise.

Another reason we stayed at Hotel Relais in the St Germain area (other than to dine at Le Comptoir) was to dine here. Agapé Substance was a 1 minute walk from our hotel, and we were rushing from Masion Richeux in Cancale, France, to make our lunch reservation here. It’s about a 4 hour drive from Cancale to Paris, and we were running a bit late (we couldn’t bear to leave Olivier Roelligner’s magical place!!), so we drove straight to the restaurant and checked into the hotel right after lunch. I am SO GLAD we made it to this lunch reservation, as it was the most inventive, creative food we ate in France. We’ll be back again! The workers here are so sweet… I have a picture somewhere…

This place is outstanding. I had heard good things, but was not prepared for the excellence that was Agape Substance. Reservations are definitely necessary as they only have one seating a night, and they only have one long communal table for seating. I think there is probably room for about 20 diners total.
They have a set menu of about 20 courses that takes you through a mind-​blowing almost 4 hours experience of flavor combinations and ingredients you’ve never had before. One person in our group has food allergies as did the gentleman sitting next to us, but the restaurant happily accommodated them. They offer wine pairings with the dishes, and I would recommend doing that as their pairings are expert and really bring out the best in the already amazing dishes.
It is expensive, but if you can afford it, it is definitely worth it. It may be the most inventive and amazing meal I’ve ever had, and the people sitting around us all said the same thing. Ah I wish I could go back right now…

C’est le genre d’endroit où on est sans arrêt surpris et par moments déconcerté même. Le menu carte blanche laisse libre court au chef pour vous préparer de très beaux plats au gré de ses envies et du marché. Les produits centraux sont bien mis en valeur, assaisonnés et accompagnés d’un max de deux à trois autres ingrédients. Ils restent donc très présents.
Certains goûts sont difficiles pour nos palais comme le navet dégusté entier (racine et fanes) à peine blanchi ou le poivron chocolaté en dessert sans parler du velouté d’algue-palourde Ça vaut le coup d’y passer pour le côté surprenant et ludique (on né montre bien quelle algue a été mixée pour avoir le velouté par ex.)
Endroit exigu et un peu bruyant quand mm s’il fallait un bémol

Une table incroyable, David Toutain est un virtuose. La liste des plats serait trop exhaustive. Mais la rencontre avec un chef pour qui le partage est essentiel, qui enseigne son amour pour la cuisine. Des pieds bleus divins, une glacé à la vanille et à la truffe somptueuse, un oeuf cuit a basse température marié avec du maïs, un risotto au celeri et à la chataigne renversant

I want to reveal my 1000^th review — for the most innovative meal I had in 2011.
Agape Substance was opened for just 6 months but had gained quite a reputation already.
A meal that was a total surprise it’s by the people previously from Alain Passard and Mugaritz, chef David Toutain. It was unpretentious I didn’t expect it to be so good it was amazing because of the service, food, wonderful company and that it was simply PARIS :)
Will update with more in my review. I need to go to bed now.

Récemment inaugurée, cette table où officie le chef David Toutain fait beaucoup parler d’elle et les louanges né cessent de pleuvoir. On profite d’un jour de congés pour réserver au déjeuner et profiter des prix plus doux de la carte :
— Menu 3 plats: 39 EUR
— Menu 4 plats: 51 EUR
— Carte blanche: 65 EUR (ce menu passé à 90 EUR au dîner). On prend la seconde option, histoire de tenir debout l’après-midi. Concept devenant récurrent: on nous demande s’il y a des aliments qui nous rebutent et l’on nous liste les différentes dominantes de goûts que l’on pourra trouver. Le reste, c’est surprise ! On n’est pas déçu: on commence par allier le cresson à la mer, on continue sur des champignons croquants, puis risotto, noix de veau, pour finir sur de délicates notes sucrées.
Les quantités né sont pas bien grandes mais la richesse des goûts nous apaise pour tenir le reste de la journée ! Quant au lieu, le restaurant tient tout simplement dans un mouchoir de poche. Une longue table/​bar qui est une prolongation du plan de la cuisine ouverte.
Impératif: visiter les toilettes TOTO, made in Japan ! Un vrai plaisir pour les papilles et une très, très belle sélection de vin au verre.

Diners who love lots of little portions of delicate, tasty bite-​sized bits from the buzziest of Paris chefs will love the latest Agape. Diners who don’t like one of their first dishes arriving with a side of — literally — two tiny seeds on a slate plate as part of the meal, won’t have time for it.
I arrived for lunch and the exceedingly friendly servers showed us the mysterious menu — 9 or 10 choices, without explanation or differentiation between starters, mains, or desserts. So, if you order a la carte, you can choose those (vaguely general) things which interest you and the chef will create your menu from that. But, we didn’t experience that because we went straight for the 65 Euros tasting menu. (lunch prices, I believe carte blanche in the evening is around 100 Euros)
And thirteen (I think… you start to lose track after a bit) courses later, it was clear that there is some sincere thought going into each course even if on first glance they seem simply lighthearted, fun. Each course, though tiny, is packed with flavor, and introduced by the above-​mentioned ubercool waitstaff with knowledge and enthusiasm. There is a clear asian influence. I’ve read reviews that have frequently used the words «genius» or «magical» Now, I’m going to go against the grain here for a bit (as much as I loved the place) and say I’m not sure I can say «genius» but I can say it was definitely more than worth the price of the carte blanche menu. (although more on the price later…)
I left fully satisfied and tickled by the menu. As well as by the Japanese toilet, which if that’s your thing, might be worth the price of the meal alone!
One thing to note is that drinks are a bit dear. We didn’t look at the wine menu (which I understand comes to the table in iPad form) but simply asked for a recommendation. We also started the meal with an apero of champagne. The drinks more than doubled the price of our tasting menu. For me, it was worth it for an occasional splurge on amazing meal territory, to spoil myself rotten for an afternoon and to or just give in and order without worrying about the inevitable bill. But 300 Euros for lunch for two is definitely an occasional splurge for me. However, if you rein in the drinks orders and actually look at the wine menu, order the more reasonably priced set menus instead of the tasting menu and skip the bubbly apero you can get out for much less than that.
Of note, the décor is rather casual… high tables with stools is the deal. While some friends have complained about sitting on a hard stool for a few hours, I actually didn’t really notice and wasn’t bothered. But, it’s an open kitchen, busy place — not the kind of establishment where you’ll find yourself tucked into a private corner with your date over candlelight and cushy banquettes.
If, like me, you like amazing food & are also interested in checking out some of Paris’ latest lauded restaurants, it’s more than worth one visit here. After that, you can decide if it’s worth a return visit.

Une adresse pour les curieux, pour ceux qui font rimer plaisir, rock and roll et découverte… attention au vin c’est cher. Exemple de plat huitre et chocolat blanc allez pour le reste débrouillez vous. J’adore.