We've been waiting for it for over a year.
It is ultimately a Japanese restaurant which replaces Limbar on the ground floor of the Cheval Blanc Paris hotel.
From March 5, Hakuba (which means “white horse” in Japanese) will join the three other popular restaurants of the palace opened in September 2021 in the historic Samaritaine building: the triple-starred Plénitude which focuses on sauces, juices and broths;
the high-end brasserie Le Tout-Paris and the Italian iodine specialist Langosteria.
To discover
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Already summoned for snacks at the ephemeral cocktail bar Céleste, on the roof of the establishment, Japanese chef Takuya Watanabe has imagined, under the leadership of two-time three-star Arnaud Donckele, and with the complicity of pastry chef Maxime Frédéric, omakase
menus
-
term meaning “leave it to the chef” in Japanese.
Originally from the island of Hokkaido, Takuya Watanabe was introduced by his market gardener grandfather to a culture respectful of nature, seasonality and the product.
He opened his first restaurants at the age of 27 in Sapporo.
Arriving in Paris more than ten years ago, he launched the Michelin-starred restaurant Jin (2012) before Mayfair Taku in London (2022) and the handroll counter Kaïto, rue de Seine in Paris (2023).
He has been working on Hakuba for a year.
An immersion in Japanese rituals
On the menu in particular, broths, sushi, raw or caramelized fish, soba or lemon caviar.
“We want this table to be a total immersion in Japanese art and know-how.
On the sushi, temaki, gunkan part… Takuya Watanabe is rigorous and authentic.
He has all the freedom to create remarkable creations with products such as fish, rice, vinegar from the Iio Jozo brewery, seaweed…”
declares Arnaud Donckele.
“Emotion is a universal language. I immediately knew that this meeting with Arnaud would be like a creative focus that would give birth to the most beautiful Japanese culinary postcard whose reliefs he would color. Maxime Frédéric delved into my culture with his analytical finesse and sensitivity. Each piece is a little gem. Nothing superfluous. Everything is worked on in search of the perfect balance of tastes.”
commented the man who calls himself “Taku”, and who plays the role of guarantor of Japanese traditions and taste at Hakuba.
On the sweet side, Maxime Frédéric had carte blanche:
“We were keen to transcribe Japanese culture, to create a meeting between the know-how of French pastry and Japanese traditions.
We learned a lot about textures, crisps which are finer and about working with rice dough.”
The menu offers a white rice and black rice dessert and frozen, roasted or fruity mochis, prepared fresh.
Food, sake and wine pairings were also imagined by Emmanuel Cadieu, director of sommellerie at Cheval Blanc Paris and passionate about Japanese culture.
The restaurant room offers three counters - two accommodating 8-9 people, and a private one, out of sight, for 6 guests - between which the chefs can move to interact with customers.
The decor was designed as
"a contemporary vision of Japanese tradition"
, indicates the hotel in a press release: stone and bamboo fountain at the entrance, dark woods, play of light... Tableware is at the forefront. tuning fork - plates made by artisans from Kyoto and Fukuoka, fine glassware, unique sake pots, linen outfits... Enough to offer a high-end exotic "experience", worthy of a palace.
Hakuba. White Horse Paris.
8, quai du Louvre (Paris 1st).
Such.
: 01 79 35 51 20. From Tuesday to Saturday evening (menu at €420) and from Thursday to Saturday lunchtime (menu at €180).
Opening March 5.