If you’ve ever wondered how Alice felt when she found herself among the Tall Flowers in Wonderland, you can find out at Atelier Crenn.
You can’t help but feel like everything is unreal. Every dish inspires a “Did someone seriously just make this?” reaction.
Every dream-like fantasy meal begins with this cryptic little poem:
Autumn whispers the untold memories
Mellow serenades of colors of red and green
The glowing ocean and light écume de mer
Wherein a moon burns orangey bright
Nature rejoice, chasing childhood memories.
As the breeze caresses
A gentle smell, oceanic, of yummy feeling
A subtle smokiness has arrived and a new start.
Birth which gives its morning mystery.
Fallen leaf of crispy autumn scene
And birds flying free.
Autumn is here.
Deep.
As with my first visit to Atelier Crenn, the entire tasting menu from start to finish was over the top. The first thing that may strike you when you dine there is the use of fantastic serveware; seashells, pieces of wood, tubes and slates and slabs galore and nary a plain white dinner plate in sight.
Dominique clearly enjoys playing with proportions and textures. Small bites in big dishes, creamy/foamy/crunchy all at once, and sweet/umami/tart all together.
I won’t say much more about the dishes — this visit was last November, so I don’t remember all of the details — and I’ll let you just ogle the impeccably plating and laughably over-the-top presentation.
The below stalk with teeny-tiny cubed gelée and edible flowers is a palate-cleanser.
A sliver of raw scallop.
The thinnest sliver of mushroom I have ever seen. This is also the closest to a “normal” dish among the tasting menu.
I will give snaps to Dominique for being such a personable chef. She makes the rounds each night to every table to say hello and chit-chat. I loved listening in as she and Le BF chatted up in French!
The amount of thought that goes into each dish — the flavors, the format — is inspiring!
I highly recommend putting nori powder on EVERYTHING.
Is this not the most over-the-top presentation you have ever seen? So much for just three bites!
This impressive aprés-dessert set-up seems to be the standard at Atélier Crenn. Why they feel the need to fill overfill everyone’s stomachs is beyond me (but I’m not complaining!)
But WAIT! There’s MORE!
Do these pictures (as well as those from my first tasting dinner) tempt you to make a reservation at Atelier Crenn? Tell me in the comments!
Words by Jenna 