L'Ambroisie

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L'Ambroisie
Interactive map of L'Ambroisie
Restaurant information
Established1986 (1986)
Head chefShintaro Awa
Food typeFrench
Rating2 Michelin stars (Michelin Guide)
Location9 Place des Vosges, Paris, 75004, France
Coordinates48°51′19″N 2°21′51″E / 48.8554°N 2.3643°E / 48.8554; 2.3643
ReservationsRequired
Websitewww.ambroisie-paris.com

L'Ambroisie (French pronunciation: [lɑ̃bʁwazi]) is a traditional French restaurant in Paris, France. It was founded by Danièle and Bernard Pacaud, and is now owned by Walter Butler of Butler Industries Group. L'Ambroisie maintained three Michelin stars from 1988 until 2026, where it lost a star. The name "L'Ambroisie" ("Ambrosia" in English) comes from Greek mythology and means both "food for gods"[1] and "source of immortality."[2]

Location

The restaurant is in a period house on the southwestern corner of the Place des Vosges in Paris.

Founder

The restaurant's founder and head chef is Bernard Pacaud. He was abandoned by his parents at age 13 and raised in an orphanage in the mountains of Lyonnais.[2]

Pacaud started cooking at age 15, in 1962, as an apprentice at the famed Eugenie (Mére) Brazier's restaurant Col de la Luère, located 20 km from Lyon. Pacaud spent the next three years as a commis at the Tante Alice restaurant in Lyon before becoming chef de partie at La Méditerranée in Paris.[3] Pushed by Eugénie Brazier's encouragement, he applied to work in 1976 with Claude Peyrot, the chef and owner of the Vivarois (a Michelin three-star restaurant) on avenue Victor Hugo in Paris. In 1981, he opened his restaurant quai de la Tournelle (at the crossing with rue de Bièvres) in Paris.[4] In 1986, he opened L'Ambroisie at Place des Vosges, and obtained three Michelins stars in 1988, which he has kept.

Pacaud rarely comes into the public's sight because he devotes himself to cuisine in the kitchen.[5] He deeply values the quality of ingredients. When he first opened the restaurant, ingredient costs caused him to run a deficit. He has been described as following traditional processes of making food, taking the utmost care in dishes, and presenting every plate as an elegant art.[6]

Pacaud passed on the restaurant to his son Mathieu in 2012, but continues to pay close attention and makes sure the restaurant maintains its high-level service and quality.[6]

History

L'Ambroisie won its first Michelin star in 1982,[5] and won another the following year. Five years later in 1988, the restaurant won its third Michelin star.[7]

In 2023, Pacaud sold the majority stake of his restaurant to businessman Walter Butler.[8] In September of that year, L'Ambroisie hired chef Christophe Moret to take over as Pacaud's successor,[9] but Moret left after just two months.[10] He was quickly replaced by Japanese chef Shintaro Awa, who worked with Pacaud until L'Ambroisie officially announced Awa's succession as head chef in June 2025.[11][12]

In March 2026, the Michelin Guide demoted L'Ambroisie to two stars. While Butler was disappointed by the outcome, he reaffirmed: "The two stars underline the excellent work of the new chef Shintaro Awa [...] Gastronomy is a continual quest, a dialogue with time and taste."[13]

See also

References

  1. "L'Ambroisie - Paris - Refined Perfectionism ⋆ Review ⋆ Georgie". georgie.cc. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  2. Le Télegramme, "Bernard Pacaud. Un homard sur le pavé", Dec 20 2010, http://www.letelegramme.fr/ig/generales/regions/bretagne/bernard-pacaud-un-homard-sur-le-pave-26-12-2010-1159585.php)
  3. Jean-Francois Mesplède, Trois Etoiles au Michelin, Gründ, Paris 1988, 208 pp.
  4. "Bernard Pacaud. Un homard sur le pavé". Le Telegramme (in French). 2010-12-26. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  5. "l'Ambroisie, Paris". Food Snob. 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  6. "Ambroisie: A dish is a dish is a dish | Mad about Paris". madaboutparis.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-04. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  7. Wells, Patricia (1988-03-09). "Michelin Guide's '88 Ratings". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2015-05-25. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  8. "Butler Industries avale L'Ambroisie" [Butler Industries swallows L'Ambroisie]. Les Echos (in French). 2023-05-24. Archived from the original on 2023-05-28. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  9. Durand-Souffland, Stéphane (2023-07-18). "Un nouveau chef au restaurant trois-étoiles parisien l'Ambroisie" [A new chef at the three-star Parisian restaurant L'Ambrosie]. Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 2023-07-18. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  10. Bosio, Alice (2023-11-15). "Deux mois seulement après son arrivée, Christophe Moret quitte l'Ambroisie" [Just two months after his arrival, Christophe Moret quits L'Ambrosie]. Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  11. "Bernard Pacaud, le chef trois étoiles de L'Ambroisie, a trouvé son successeur" [Bernard Pacaud, the three-starred chef at L'Ambrosie, has found his successor]. L'Express (in French). Agence France-Presse. 2025-06-26. Archived from the original on 2026-03-24. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  12. Nakayama, Kyoko (2025-07-05). "Shintaro Awa appointed to head the kitchen of L'Ambroisie in Paris". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2026-03-25. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  13. Chazan, David (2026-03-11). "Paris's oldest three-Michelin star restaurant is downgraded". The Times. Archived from the original on 2026-03-24. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  14. Heil, Emily (2015-11-30). "When in Paris… President Obama has a 'working dinner' at three-star eatery". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  15. "One more time: James Spader's monologue from Season 1, Episode 9 -The Blacklist". 26 November 2013.
  16. "グランメゾン東京", Wikipedia (in Japanese), 2020-02-07, retrieved 2020-02-13
  17. "木村拓哉『グランメゾン』パリで撮入「絶対、面白いものにします！」 三つ星店で世界初のドラマ撮影". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  18. "木村拓哉的精緻料理！日劇3間米其林餐廳 衝擊五官的饗宴 | ETtoday旅遊雲". ETtoday 旅遊雲 (in Traditional Chinese). 22 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  19. "「L'AMBROISIE」オーナーシェフ ベルナール・パコー氏 インタビュー｜TBSテレビ 日曜劇場『グランメゾン東京』｜note". note（ノート） (in Japanese). 29 November 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-26.