David Toutain

Are you ready to eat the best meal of your life? Go here. Do not miss this amazing dining experience, it is not just a meal, it is truly something to savor and enjoy. This was the best meal I had while in Paris, and it was worth every penny. Be aware, that you definitely need to make reservations far in advance, and plan to spend at least 300 euros (at least!). But I cannot reiterate to you enough that it is worth it.
Start off in this well-​appointed restaurant where you will be greeted by the most helpful and kind staff, but be prepared to practice your French. Then just let them bring you food. Don’t order, don’t ask questions, say yes to anything they offer to add to your meal. Just do it. Splurge. My husband and I enjoyed a wonderful glass of champagne followed by a bottle of wine with our 8 (maybe 10?) course lunch. Yes I said lunch. Still worth it. Just go. Every morsel of food that I put in my mouth was heaven.
I am not going to go into too many details about the food, because the menu changes often, but really, just go and order food and enjoy. You will thank me later.

It can’t be long before his stars grow. Wow — just wow. This Michelin 1-​star was far and away one of the best executed, most creative, sexiest meals I’ve ever had. Culinary creativity on par with The Fat Duck, service and quality far superior to some three stars (such as the disappointing Arpège that we went to the following night), and all with a casual sophistication that doesn’t take itself too seriously. There is charm and whimsy in the presentation and layers of flavor in every course. I can’t wait to go back — and I’ll be watching to see how long it takes before Toutain gets those inevitable, coveted three stars.

Just visited here last week. Very nice staff and restaurant. Food was excellent. Wife loved the squid pasta. The only dish that we didn’t care for was the coffee uni… only tasted like coffee. Would’ve never known there was uni unless I was told before hand. Highly recommend you try it. Price for 2 with a 70 euro bottle of wine was about 400 usd.

Just go. Don’t ask, don’t think, just go.
You’re welcome.

Went long for lunch — tasting menu w/​blue lobster option and wine pairing to boot. Wow — everything perfect — i.e. well-​sourced, well-​conceived, well-​executed, excitingly innovative and as pretty as the Impressionists’ art at nearby d’Orsay. 400+ and a bargain.

Dès l’ouverture de son propre établissement, on se doutais que ce Monsieur allait vite décrocher une petite étoile.
Le menu déjeuner vaut vraiment le détour, c’est une formule unique qui propose des découvertes gourmandes en 5 étapes. Veillez à bien informer votre serveur sur vos différentes allergies ou contraintes alimentaires dès le départ.
On vous laisse choisir vos couverts au début du repas, sympa.
Deux entrées, parmi lesquels le fameux œuf à la coque. Une brioche au foin accompagne les entrées. Le foin, on le retrouve également dans la décoration du plat.
Mes deux plats étaient à base de poisson, heureusement ce n’était pas répétitif. On adore la précision de la découpe des aliments, les associations et la mise en scèné sur les belles assiettes.
Les tables sont bien espacées, le service au top.
Il est nécessaire de réserver plusieurs jours en avance.
J’y retournerai pour le déjeuner sans problèmes! Vivement la ré-​ouverture en Septembre.

I can’t deny the true creativity of the plates that they serve. They give us impression of creativity even to Asian people. I recommend this restaurant even to Asian guests who are quite likely to be disappointed by the Asian influenced creative modern French food.

Do it miss this exquisite experience. Lovely space and great staff. Not a sour note the whole dining experience. Our menu:
Roasted beet purée and blackberry
Beef carpaccio w almond
Marsay Oyster w kiwi jelly and crème fresh
Chicken wing on a stick w licorice crème
1^st– lightly poached egg w lemon verbena sponge cake and elderflower and elderflower foam
Brioche w salted butter fromNormandy
Normandy King crab w peas and pea purée /​confit rhubarb
Shrimp cream w avocado purée and truffle oil
Green asparagus w egg white whip, Yuzu concentrate and Parmesan water concentrate
Turbot w crème de vichyssoise, fava beans green small bean and sweet onion
Gnocchi pan fried w sorrel mushrooms, crispy chicken skin and sesame sauce
Smoked eel w apple and black sesame sauce
Chicken breast crispy skin w iced white asparagus w bird garlic
Predesert– cauliflower, white chocolate and coconut
Lemon tart deconstructed
Food: ⁴⁰⁄₄₀
Staff: ²⁰⁄₂₀
Ambiance/​space: ²⁰⁄₂₀
Value: ¹⁹⁄₂₀
Total: ⁹⁹⁄₁₀₀

David Toutain is the next big thing in Paris. I had the pleasure dining at this no frills establishment and all I can say is wow! I expect big things from this man whose cuisine is inventive and cooks food based on the freshness of the produce in the area. Yes he does foraging and there is a lot of greens and veggies in his dishes but the taste of his dishes and progression of the courses are immaculate. He is the hottest chef in town right now and it is tough to get a reservation. He already has one michelin star and I hope they give him another one soon. The staff and service is accommodating and impeccable. We also met his wife who is a sweet person and knows the menu inside and out. If in Paris, I recommend definitely giving his restaurant a try. It is not too pricey as well. Each dish was unique and every detail was considered. Bravo!

Une belle découverte, une explosion de saveurs et surtout de la délicatesse et de la poésie dans chacune des réalisations.
La cadre
est sobre et élégant, des matières nobles: bois et béton, des couleurs douces. On se sent bien, les chaises avec ou sans accoudoirs sont confortables et laissent présager de bons moments! Quelles bouquets épars et des touches métalliques pour rendre l’endroit moderne.
Le service
et l’accueil sont chaleureux sans être guindés! Pas besoin de sortir le costume 3 pièces.
Sobre et élégant, vous pouvez y allez sans craindre des oeillades parce que vous n’avez pas vos mocassins messieurs :)
Le test
Nous avons pris 2 formules reine des près: carte blanche selon l’inspiration du chef.
L’accord mets et vins est agréable, léger et se marie à merveille!
Des bouchées (avec les doigts s’il vous plaît), qui apportent un peu de légèreté et de retour à l’enfance, clin d’oeil au snacking?
Des plats: sèche, truite, côte de boeuf, anguille, le ballet était léger, savoureux, délicieux et surtout gracieux. Nous avons apprécié le changement de couverts à chaque plat.
Le rythme de croisière, sans attente et sans pression.
La vaisselle est de bon goût et est une première invitation au voyage.
Chez David Toutain, il y a l’inspiration, l’assiette, le plat visuel et gustatif.
Ici, on voyage avec tous les sens! Ce qui est amusant, ce sont les titres, simples comme les plats.
Nos préférés: 1/l’anguille fumée au sésame noir et à la pomme. 2/​le petit pot de crème glacée: chou fleur, chocolat blanc et noix de coco. 3/​la truffe au chocolat avec son gruau maison.
Un délice, un tourbillon d’amoureux de saveurs et d’équilibre maîtrisé: bravo David!
Une simplicité décomplexée et aventurière.
Rapport qualité-​prix
Va falloir casser la tirelire mais vous né le regretterez pas, 72 OU 107 € selon la formule et 165 € avec le vin.
comptez 5 € la bouteille d’eau, 19 € la coupe de champagne et 6 € le jus de fruits.
PS: réservez!
PS2: il y a une salle à l’étage, mais chut!

The lunch here was something special. Top notch ingredients coupled with flawless execution. Serious technique and complexity on display. Modern French cuisine at its finest. I was literally blown away. Amazing!!!

Whee! We planned our trip around restaurants but we were more prepared for some than others (we knew what we were getting with Frenchie, for example). Lunch at David Toutain was just ridiculously good. I just love the idea that the chef serves up what he feels like cooking, without any of this ordering from the menu nonsense. Wine pairings were outstanding.
The key to this type of cuisine is to keep the diner guessing, and to keep upping the stakes (no pun intended) with every taste. David Toutain has this down to an art form. Along with Passage 53 and (duh) Astrance, this was one of our favorite meals. What did we have? Who cares, it will be different by the time you go.
We booked several weeks in advance, which I think is necessary even if you have a great concierge — the room isn’t large. He’s got his first star, hard to believe the second is far away. Go before it becomes a truly impossible table.

Cadre assez simple, beaucoup de matériaux bois.
Tous les plats sont faits selon l’inspiration du chef.
Formule déjeuner 45 € et 2 formules dégustation: 72 € les 5 plats, 105 € les 7 plats (Accord met vin 165 €)
Plat supplémentaire de morilles, produits adaptés en fonction des saisons (20 €)
Très belle recherché esthétique sur les plats, et super bon + une grande variété de petits plats :
— Carpaccio de boeuf et crumble de noisette
— Huîtres sucrées, kiwi, yuzu
— Aileron de poulet à la plancha avec crème de réglisse
— œuf légèrement poché, crème d’ail et émulsion de verveine + éponge verveine
— Tourteau petit poids pamplemousse
— gambas façon tarama
— asperge cuite au barbecue, tuile de parmesan, crème d’œuf fumé, crème de citron
— barbue cuite basse température, fève déglacées à la menthe (seul plat un peu moins bien pour la texture du poisson)
— anguille fumée, sésame noir et pommes
— pigeon, émulsion ail des ours, poireaux
— chocolat banc, noix de coco, choix fleur
— crème de lait et glacé au miel
— fraises, crème vanille
— financier fleur d’oranger
— truffe au chocolat
Vraiment top sur la nourriture, petit bémol sur les conseils en vins pas ouf que ce soit pour le blanc ou pour le rouge :
— Blanc, Brezeme vieille roussette, domaine de pergaux, pas terrible
— verre de rouge à 12 € par puf non plus
Pas mal d erreurs sur l’addition

I’m writing this review late because I didn’t have the time when I visited David Toutain. However, I must say that the dinner with the wine pairing was the best meal that I have ever had, and I’ve had some exquisite meals in New York and LA. However, everything pales in comparison to David Toutain.

David Toutain is one of the great young chefs in Paris whose restaurant is worth a visit. He is highly inventive, making artful, absolutely delicious courses whose appearance often defies your ability to determine the dishes ingredients.
A night of dining on his 105Euro meals consists of as many as 13 different small courses that are quite diverse, uniquely presented and wonderful to taste. Forms, textures, shapes – all are well thought out and quite diverse. Think Passage 53 meets Noma.
The staff is very English friendly with Canadians and French people who have visited the U.S. working at all levels. This is a very serious and delicious 3 hour experience.

We were told that this was one of the places to go during our trip to Paris — I am currently 6 months pregnant and we had let the restaurant know ahead of time through our concierge. They said no problem. They served me a piece of salmon which was completely raw in the middle — I asked them to cook it through and they brought back a shrimp instead. They also served me a soup in an eggshell that had a raw and uncooked egg in the bottom. Then finally the lamb we had was really not tasty. I really did not enjoy the experience and did not find the waiter to be helpful or pleasant. With all of the other wonderful restaurants we went to on our trip I would tell you to skip this one!

Great restaurant! Top quality food and new creative ideas out of the usual michelin expected dishes.
Presentation is unique and all dishes made perfect sense with the combination on each dish.
A definite super star chef in the make.
With the way the restaurant set up, I don’t think it can get a second star which keeps the focus always on food.

This was one of my favorite meals in paris. My husband and I went for lunch on our last day of our travels. I am so happy to have saved the best for last. The restaurant itself is beautifully designed. We did the full tasting menu and pretty much enjoyed every dish. Presentation and taste worked together to construct such a perfect meal. Stand outs were the salsify with a white chocolate purée, the black cod, and the lamb. Desserts were inventive and refreshing even after multiple courses. David Toutain was there for the lunch service and as we were leaving he was getting ready for dinner. He took the time to speak to us and show us the small kitchen. It is amazing how much great food him and his staff are making in there. It was also reasonably priced. Highly recommend!

Très beau repas, très équilibré entre technologie et base classique bien maîtrisée. Service décontracté mais professionnel et excellent conseil. Menu à 105 € pour une dizaine de service en carte blanche. A faire

David Toutain c’est une cuisine très créative sans omettre le goût, Les plats sont imposés mais on vous demande vos intolérances, pour moi un chef qui marquera sûrement le futur de la gastronomie française.
Prix à la hauteur de la prestation réalisée, réservation conseillée.

Le nouveau resto de David Toutain dans le 7e arrondissement est une petite perle.
Le décor est charmant, l’ambiance très rustique en mode «chalet des montagnes» et chaleureuse. Une deuxième salle a ouvert début décembre compte tenu du succès du restaurant.
Ici, pas besoin de réfléchir, le chef nous propose un menu dégustation aux petits oignons. Il existe plusieurs formules (déjeuner /​dîner avec ou sans vin)
Nous avons choisi l’option «Reine des Prés» (dîner): succession d’une dizaine de plats aux saveurs inattendues.
En vrac (et parce que je né me souviens pas de tout):
salsifis avec une mousse de chocolat blanc et panais, betteraves, terrine de queue de boeuf avec un chutney de gingembre, coquillage saint jacques au citron, oeuf minute au cumin et mouillette de maïs, risotto de céléri et potiron avec de la truffe blanche, émulsion de sésame avec des anguilles fumées, cabillaud, tourte de viande et foie gras…
En dessert: glacé de noix de coco avec une mousse de vanille, choufleur et chocolat blanc puis une pomme de terre cuite avec de mousses au café et chocolat blanc.
et pour s’achever: financier au citron (le meilleur que j’ai jamais mangé) et truffes au chocolat /​noisettes
Un vrai délice, des associations surprenantes mais qui fonctionnent très bien…
(un peu moins fan pour les associations sucré/​salé au dessert toutefois).
Pour les gastronomes, c’est une adresse à essayer absolument si on a une occasion à fêter.
Le petit plus: le chef vient en personne servir quelques plats au cours du repas

This is an elite chef at the top of his game! I cannot say enough great things about David Toutain and I have no doubt Michelin will come calling soon with a well deserved star or two very soon!
He had me eagerly awaiting each course and delighting in the creativity and flavors of it all!
And while not cheap, 72 euro for the tasting menu felt worth every penny and delivered more than enough food.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Cuisine d’une belle inventivite, des saveurs qui surprennent mais toujours agreablement (1ere fois que j’aime le gout des salsifies /​crème de betteraves exquise…), des compositions visuelles qui sont autant de petits tableaux… Evidemment, les prix aussi sont exceptionnels — comptez 150 euros /​personne avec le vin.

Compared with other Paris restaurants, maybe 1.5 michelin stars. Compared to US restaurants, 2+.
Every dish was delicious. Technique was impeccable. Service was solid and value was excellent. I had the 42 euro tasting lunch – which was quite enough for my appetite. However, I could see how it would be worth it to indulge for more courses as each dish was so thoughtful on so many dimensions. If you’re going to splurge, yes, this would be one of those meals to do so. For foodies on a budget, the tap water is bottled by David Toutin, and is complimentary. None of that tomfoolery that gives other Parisian restaurants a bad name.
Often times when I’m having a «great» meal, I start to feel euphoric. Maybe a bit giddy – maybe impulsively ordering some wine as the meal goes along. I didn’t quite end up going over that hump – but I was sort of expecting to as each course was so interesting and delicious. I ate everything with gusto, from the lightest brioche rolls you can imagine to chicken of such a soft but also crisped texture. You had to marvel at the choices the chef made and how the kitchen achieved it.
If I had one disappointment – I was expecting to be more stunned at the challenging or strange combinations that worked. This really showed up most saliently to me with the dessert: a trio of whites pureed items: extremely cold coconut, white chocolate, and cauliflower. Yes. I was expecting more of that throughout the meal. Also, the courses started with a nature theme (branches, nests) – and that theme disappears after awhile. None of that detracts from enjoyment. It was quite obvious that the chef, kitchen, staff, and setting work in harmony with each other. They have high expectations for what they deliver to you, and they achieve it.

Tiens, peu d’avis sur le new resto en vogue de David Toutain, et une majorité en anglais? Cela reflète mon expérience du jour: ça parle anglais à 50% des tables :)
Bön, n’y allons pas par quatre chemin, c’est énorme et les critiques né s’y sont pas trompées: du blogger foody hipster au vieux grigou escoffisant, tout le monde loue le talent de ce jeune chef, ancien second d’Alain Passard (dont l’on retrouve les influences, à commencer par cet oeuf maïs cumin qui n’est pas sans rappeler celui du maître légumier).
Sans passer en revue tous les plats, je dois dire que je me suis beaucoup amusé et je crois que c’est l’effet recherché: plats très graphiques, beaucoup de jeux de textures, de couleurs, d’associations audacieuses tout cela exécuté avec une finesse et une élégance incroyables (A la différence d’un Saturne, qui surfe de la même façon, salle tendance scandinave et assiette à l’avant-garde, mais avec beaucoup moins de style)
Si l’on m’avait dit un jour que parmis 9 plat, celui que j’allais préférer serait celui dont l“ingrédient principal est du maquereau, je né l’aurait pas cru (le côté trop «fishy» de ce poisson est un peu difficile parfois)… hé bien ce fut le cas, incroyable, mais comment fait-​il?
L’association mets-​vin fut sans fautes, quelque belles découvertes. Le service et les explications parfois un peu trop expédiées.
A noter un café d’exception, entre autres, grâce à une machine d’exception (La Marzocco)
Bref, courrez-​y, c’est extra. J’y retourne dès que possible.

KenScale: 9.0÷10
Chef David Toutain’s eponymous restaurant has been one of the hottest openings in Paris since its beginning in late 2013. The chef, who gained fame first at Agapé Substance before starting on his own, has been known for his creative take on French cuisine with technical sophistication. After touring the Louvre in the morning (I thought the Met in NYC was enormous, but Louvre was a whole different level), I went over to the Invalides neighborhood to visit this restaurant. A minimalist yet welcoming décor of the restaurant already gave me positive impression.
While the restaurant’s main tasting menus are on the pricier side (with an option for 98 euros and 158 euros respectively), the lunch offers more affordable courses like a 42-​euro three-​course option and a 68-​euro lunch tasting menu option. I went with the 68-​euro option that still featured 11 courses including amuse bouche. Throughout the meal, I was deeply impressed with the technical sophistication of the kitchen. Each dish was so meticulously executed with careful thoughts to harmony of ingredients’ flavor and texture. I was particularly a huge fan of all the seafood dishes that came out. Three pieces of mackerel that came with coffee and eggplant was a triumph of inventiveness. The flavor of mackerel was soothed by coffee and eggplant to create a unique flavor and texture. While cod was perfectly cooked, I was even more in love with the roasted carrot that just had absolutely fantastic texture in harmony with the cod. Smoked eel dipped in black sesame and green apple (a signature dish according to one of the servers) had that rich flavor of French cuisine but I sensed a bit of Asian touch as well. On the other hand, goose that came with foie gras and mushroom was well cooked but could’ve used less seasoning to enhance the texture of the meat. Even the desserts were outstanding and had a touch of refined brilliance. I had never seen ice cream made of thyme, but its vegetable flavor somehow worked very well with the chocolate. The dessert that I couldn’t stop thinking about, however, was the white chocolate, cauliflower and coconut ice cream. I’m not even a huge fan of coconut flavor in general and never expected to see cauliflower in dessert, but the dish was just so delicious with a complexity of different flavor.
The modestly sized dining room is served by young and good-​looking staffs with level of attentiveness and professionalism you would look for at a hotel fine-​dining restaurant. The restaurant doesn’t have a list of wines by the glass, but I had some solid sancerre glasses to go along with the tasting menu. David Toutain is truly a place worth visiting in Paris. It will show a more modernized version of French cuisine with the type of technical sophistication and inventiveness of an up and coming chef that avid foodies would certainly love to experience.

Ended up at David Toutain after reading about it on the Eater Heat Map for Paris and it did not disappoint. We went there our first night in Paris after a long flight from San Francisco. Initially thinking we would do the shorter tasting menu, we soon changed our selection to the longer menu after trying the first snack provided, a beef carpaccio. Everything that followed over the next three hours was perfect as we had no guess what would come after each dish. I recommend getting a reservation well in advance and note the restaurant is closed in August and closed during the weekend. The restaurant is considered casual, but most of the people there would be considered dressed up for Bay Area standards. This was the best meal we had in Paris during a trip largely planned around food.

Its said to be the next Michelin Star candidate — yes I can see that is probably coming ;)
French– modern European — mixing with Scandinavian influenced style– (he worked at Geranium (as they said) so that explains a lot — the presentation definitely came from there — and I am fond of Geranium /​cuisine in Copenhagen !)
I had a full tasting menu for lunch (the same courses as the dinner) and actually enjoyed them very much.
The tender pork was the best I had this time of my visit and I liked the desserts — they were very fresh– «strawberries with palely ice-​cream» was my fave.
Relaxed and clean ambiance, there was full of stylish locals mostly.
There are always new trends opening up in Paris though… this is also a great one. Reasonably priced for that composition I think ;)
it would be interesting to try the new creation again. But now is the time to go perhaps before it gets too popular :)

Tous les jeunes chefs cool doivent-​ils s’exiler dans le XIe arrondissement? La réponse est non! David Toutain (ex Agapé Substance), 32 ans, fait de la résistance, et vient d’ouvrir son (excellent) restaurant dans le très chic VIIe arrondissement.
Pour autant, l’ambiance n’est pas guindée. La salle est très conviviale, lumineuse, spacieuse, organisée autour de la cuisine d’où le chef sort régulièrement pour apporter et présenter ses plats.
Et quels plats! En entrée, un extraordinaire œuf-​cumin-​maïs qui ressemble à une île flottante salée; des chips de peau de cochon qui exhalent une odeur de bacon; le carrelet (poisson blanc très savoureux) en plat est accompagnée de brocolis caramélisés (oui, le brocolis peut ressembler à une friandise!). Et les inoubliables desserts: crème chocolat blanc et chou fleur (si si!), topinambour et praliné. Non ce n’est pas une blague, oui c’est délicieux car parfaitement équilibré. On devine le légume, sans que son goût empiète sur le sucre.
J’ai hâte d’y revenir pour tester de nouvelles alliances: improbables mais irrésistibles.