L’Abeille

Beautiful restaurant in a beautiful hotel.
The service here is quite impeccable. The food… well I supposed it was good but wasn’t at all what I expected. For the price you pay you’d expect dishes that were out of this world (or maybe it really is). I really shouldn’t be one to judge such a fancy meal. I’m just not into foams and gelee. I like having one server. I like being able to make a mess without feeling terrible about it. I like to eat things that I can pronounce and easily understand how to eat. And the cost of a meal there equaling half my paycheck (although I did choose the full tasting menu) was a bit painful.
In summary, I’m just not fancy enough to go to this restaurant but please check it out because it really might be your cup of tea.
I think i’ll stick with bread and cheese while I’m in Paris and allocate my spending money towards cute shoes or something.

I’ve been meaning to come to this restaurant for some time.
It’s a little far from the center of Paris, located inside the beautiful Shangri La.
I had high hopes, but…
Let’s just get to it:
Ambiance: 4 stars
Food: 3 stars
Service: 2 stars
From the lobby to the restaurant you are surrounded by immaculate interior. Restaurant itself is beautiful, facing the gardens. The only thing I would mention is that tables in our section, were so close to each other that I could read other patrons’ text messages from where I was sitting. Thankfully everyone spoke quietly.
We each ordered the asparagus and Iberian pork tasting menus. Long story short, the asparagus menu was beautiful, creative, and delicious. However, most of my pork dishes were so salty I could not finish them. It’s such a shame because they were otherwise perfect.
Service was the most lacking here. There was just one waiter overseeing three tables as opposed to places like Le Meurice or Le Cinq where there are at least 2 waiters constantly near the tables to see to your needs.
40 minutes from moment we sat to ordering our food. And we already chose our order prior to arriving to the restaurant.
Additional 20 minutes of waving over a waiter to finally ask for the check.
Waiters were knowledgeable and friendly. But the whole affair, with 2 hours of actual dining time, lasted 4 hours when it really shouldn’t have.

L’ancien hôtel particulier du prince Roland Bonaparte, accueille le restaurant gastronomique L’Abeille. Nommé en l’honneur de l’un des emblèmes de Napoléon, voici le nouveau temple de la cuisine gastronomique française de la marque d’Hôtels Shangri-​La. Pour une opportunité, une exception ou tout simplement dans le cadre d’un bon repas gastronomique à Paris, vous pouvez faire confiance à l’équipe du chef Philippe Labbé (2 étoiles au Guide Michelin) et au directeur du restaurant Christophe Kelsch pour mettre une belle note culinaire à votre table. Chaque plat est conçu avec une attention méticuleuse et l’attention est portée à chaque détail avant d’être présenté à votre table. Ils ont aussi l’une des sélections les plus excitantes de grands vins du monde entier. La poularde de Bresse vient directement de la ferme et elle est inoubliable, tout comme le poisson pêché directement en Bretagne par des pêcheurs raisonnés.
Cela a un prix et ce n’est hélas pas pour tout le monde…