This two-Michelin-starred restaurant, located just steps from the Champs-Élysées, is entering a new era on its tenth anniversary. And with good reason: young Andrea Capasso, who started as a commis chef, is now taking the helm in the kitchen. A new era, then, but also a completely new approach to gastronomy. Acumen tells you.

Upon entering the walls of this building at 31 Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt, one is immediately struck by the classic atmosphere of the place. It must be said that this is a 19th-century private mansion.^e A century revisited and revised by the owner, Prince Robert of Luxembourg. We are told that each piece exhibited at the Clarence has been carefully selected by His Royal Highness. Here, there are numerous crystal chandeliers, period paintings, and tableware from the Nymphenburg factory. 

What about its contents? Between the opulent woodwork and the refined finger bowl, a nod to the rituals of haute cuisine, we are told of a concept based on surprise, where each course offers several pairings following an irregular tempo. There's no question of being early or late in the service, but simply the vision of the new chef, Andrea Capasso, who wants to set his own pace. A vision that is also intended to be more in tune with our times, as the maestro explains: "Today, customers sometimes have less time for lunch, And their desires change more and more. So I wanted to evolve the Clarence's offering by creating a lunch menu in addition to the tasting menus. This menu allows us to adapt to all paces and tastes, while remaining true to the Clarence's identity and high standards. This option allows for a one-hour or one-and-a-half-hour lunch with a starter, main course, and dessert.. »  

A lighter offering, then, blending Italian and French influences. To start, there's Italian bread with Colonnata lard, a lightly garlicky cream, and a Comté cheese gougère. Asia is also represented with smoked mackerel, grilled over binchotan—a Japanese charcoal—with kiwi and nori seaweed. A triumph. This is accompanied by a surprising apple juice with a lightly poached clam, to be enjoyed after our amuse-bouche. This preparation will also pair nicely with the red mullet, cooked barbecue-style (grilled on the skin, pink in the center) and served with a beetroot medley, enhanced with hibiscus flower powder and sea urchin from Brittany. By combining two dishes from two different stages or times, the chef aims to... "To bring rhythm and energy to the experience, while remaining demanding in terms of content." As he points out: “We operate in a very traditional, almost formal setting, and this service was designed to resemble that of a lunch at a friend's house. It's a way to relax the atmosphere, create movement, and evoke emotion.” An emotion that continues with this quail Rossini style, highlighted by a pressed celery with nori seaweed with parsnip chips and reduced quail jus. 

But the chef does not intend to be disruptive: « My cuisine may appear modern in its expression, but it always rests on very classic foundations, echoing the spirit of the Clarence. For me, everything begins with the gesture. Repeated, refined, perfected, it becomes a silent signature. It is this gesture that inspires confidence and freedom, and that allows flavor to reach its purest expression.. »

the Clarence 
31, avenue Franklin-D.-Roosevelt, Paris 8^e

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