Alain Ducasse and Albert Adria Open a Pop-up Restaurant in Paris

By Richard Nahem Dec 28, 2021 8:27am

On November 9, 2021, Alain Ducasse and Albert Adria along with Vincent Chaperon, Romain Meder and Jessica Préalpato, launched ADMO, a temporary restaurant open for 100 days near the Eiffel Tower.

French-born-and-trained chef Ducasse has over 30 restaurants worldwide, in such locations as Paris, New York, Tokyo, London, Doha, Monaco and Las Vegas. They have garnered a multitude of Michelin stars since the 1990s, also winning countless other top international food awards. In recent years, Ducasse has also added a bean-to-bar line of chocolates and artisanal coffee to his culinary empire.

In the early 2000s, a culinary revolution exploded on the international food scene at El Bulli, a restaurant in a small town in the Costa Brava region of Spain, about 100 miles from Barcelona. El Bulli was the brainchild of brothers Adrian and Albert Adria, who experimented with a type of gastronomy using molecular chemistry and the result was a new way of cooking never seen before. Serving a multi-course, small plate menu, they practically invented the genre which is so popular today. El Bulli won every major food award internationally and was named the number-one restaurant in the world on every top 10 list. Opened only seasonally, it could only serve 8,000 diners a year, and at the height of their popularity in 2010, they were swamped with over two million reservation requests. The restaurant closed its doors in 2012 due to mounting costs and because the chefs wanted to move on to something new.

We had the pleasure of having lunch last week at Ducasse and Adria's new venture, ADMO, and here’s our report on the special experience.

ADMO has replaced Les Ombres, the rooftop restaurant on the fifth floor at the Quai Branly, the museum of African and Asian art, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel and opened in 2005. The startling view of the Eiffel Tower from the floor-to-ceiling windows is the first thing your eye goes to when entering the space. Once your eyes adjust, the restaurant is an open space with ample distance between tables and designed in a spare but luxurious, contemporary style. The carpet and chairs are in a soothing taupe color and the table linens are crisp white, so as not to detract from the star attraction, the food.

We had the five-course tasting menu at €200 per person, not including wine. For the next two hours, we were dazzled and delighted by a succession of amuse-bouches and small plates, each more surprising than the next.

The most unusual amuse bouche, both in flavor and presentation, is an elongated tin spoon in a stand with a yin and yang design of a swirl of black and white on each side containing a mixture of pressed caviar and almond celeriac cream milk. What was even more unusual was the way we were instructed by the wait staff person on how to consume it. She told us to tilt the spoon and aim it towards our mouth so that the mixture glides down the tongue. The sweetness of the milk and the tangy taste of the salt from the caviar left a big smile on our faces.

Another eyebrow raiser was vesce, a green plant, served with shallot and vinegar powder, lemon and Espelette pepper, and Japanese citrus, served in a silver finger bowl. The consistency was like a savory pudding with hints of sweetness from the citrus.

We gave two thumbs for the roasted cauliflower with black garlic and hazelnut butter, with monkfish liver confit.

A main course of blue lobster with fermented turnip looked gorgeous on a glazed, aqua blue platter and mustard leaves flavored with hazelnut oil vinaigrette and was the most satisfying of all of the courses.

The only dish that was a letdown from the high of the rest of the meal was a dessert of roasted persimmons with a bland and slightly bitter persimmon paste, by pastry chef Jessica Préalpato. However, chocolate bark studded with pistachios served afterward satisfied our sweet tooth.

The meticulous and artful presentation of hand-crafted ceramic plates and bowls in eye-catching colors and finishes was just as much a part of the experience as the cuisine.

Dom Perignon has partnered with ADMO, and Chef de Cave Vincent Chaperon has chosen his most recently released vintage, Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2008, as the signature Champagne.

In his quest to constantly evolve and expand his cuisine Ducasse says, “The idea is to show that cuisine transcends borders and creates a European cuisine. We’re looking to combine our talents to go beyond things that have been done before. The challenge is to really turn the tables, and this unique line-up will take this project to the highest level.”

As we departed, we received a gift of an exclusive, muslin tote bag with ADMO printed on it, and a tablet of Alain Ducasse chocolate of 75 percent cacao.

ADMO serves lunch and dinner and offers a variety of options, including five and seven course tasting menus with and without paired wines, ranging in price from €200 to €650 per person.

There are limited reservations available until March 3, 2022.

ADMO is located at Musée Quai Branly, 37 Quai Jacques Chirac, 75007. For more information, visit https://reservation-admo.lesombres-restaurant.com/en/ADMO

Alain Ducasse and Albert Adria Open a Pop-up Restaurant in Paris

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