When it comes to value, everything is relative. What some people shell out big bucks for, others consider a waste of money. Some people desire certain things simply because they are inexpensive, while others want things because they cost more.
I mention all of this because I recently had two perfectly good meals at wildly different price points. The first was at Frédéric Simonin, a new luxe spot in the 17th. Simonin is a Joël Robuchon alum, which would be evident even if the “purée de façon Joël Robuchon” wasn’t on the menu. The room is plushly carpeted (in my write up over at Girls’ Guide to Paris I described as akin to a luxury sedan), the service is discrete and attentive, there is lots of elbow room at the tables.
The 38€ lunch menu notwithstanding, it is very expensive. Off the menu, the average price of a main course is 42€.
Now, I understand why these kinds of places charge what they charge. 
Top notch ingredients, a highly skilled group in the kitchen, a high staff-to-diner ratio, table linens, special china, glassware, and silver…none of this is free. And if you enjoy all of those things (and I do, at least once in a while), the question isn’t one of worth, but of budget.
You want to know: Was it good? Well, yes. It’s not for nothing that everyone is talking about “Les Legumes,” a gorgeous array of vegetables, raw or cooked, integrity intact and dressed flatteringly. I loved my main course, “Calamars aux Saveurs de la Riviere,” tasting of sun-warmed tomatoes and smelling of basil. I was less pleased by my starter, green asparagus with morels and parmesan. These are three of my favorite foods on earth, but this was a pristine preparation that didn’t bring out the best of any of the ingredients. Barring that dish, though, the meal was lovely.
Fast forward one week to the newly opened, second location of La Régalade on rue St. Honoré. The original in the 14th is a classic of “bistronomie”, first owned by Yves Cambdeborde and then (and now) by Bruno Doucet, who continues to please from moment the house made terrine is plunked down on your table for the taking, as much or as little as you want. The new location is smack dab in the middle of Paris, on rue St. Honoré where the rents are much higher, but (for now, anyway) Doucet hasn’t jacked up the prices: Except for a few dishes that have small supplements, you can have entrée-plat-déssert for 33€.
That is one euro more than the price of my plate of asparagus and morels at Simonin.
We had asparagus and morels at La Régalade, by the way, the former in a piquant bath of herbs and accompanied by crevettes, the latter served heaped in a deep bowl with plenty of sauce. (Thank you, Meg, for sharing!)
And what else? Braised veal in a reduced glaze, brightened with tomato; bleeding steaks; a risotto of spring peas with chicken wings; and a dish that I remembered from my dinner in the 14th, crisp-skinned pork belly with lentils. Somehow we had room for strawberries, with a pain perdue and atop a buttery sablé.
The room at the new place feels (and smells) unfinished, and I ultimately prefer the space in the 14th, oddly-shaped and crowded as it is. But I don’t think it will take long for La Régalade to grow into its fancier surroundings. I just hope the prices remain humble.
As for Frédéric Simonin, I will go again for the 38€ lunch, but only for that, at least on my own dime.
And only if I haven’t been invited to La Régalade the same day.
Frédéric Simonin 25 rue Bayen, Paris 75017, +33 (0)1 45 74 74 74 website
La Régalade – St. Honoré 123 rue St. Honoré, Paris 75001 +33 (0)1 42 21 92 40, and the original, at 49 ave Jean-Moulin, in the 14th, +33 (0)1 45 45 68 58
Meg Zimbeck was there, read her review here.
Read my review of Frédéric Simonin at Girls’ Guide to Paris.