Oultma

As expected, our meal at Alluma last night was excellent. My much better half and I each had a starter, main, and split a dessert along with a fantastic bottle of Chablis. Our experience was a meal of layered complexity, balance, and wonderful proportion, at an excellent value, served in a beautiful space. Since we both chose seafood for the main, Chablis seemed a good choice since I was not familiar with the other offerings from Greece and Turkey. While my experience with Burgundian wines is limited to a few producers as well, the Daniel-Etienne Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons seemed a good option. The vintage was 2012, which was a good vintage for Chablis, and the wine was excellent! This was a richer (described by some as more generous) expression than what I expected, but with excellent acid to balance and wonderful minerality. It was a great pairing for the meal. For starters, I chose the fried zucchini blossoms, served on a bed of tzatziki and topped with shaved, pickled zucchini and cilantro. These were the lightest examples of fried zucchini blossoms I have ever had, and they were truly enjoyable. The tzatziki and shaved, picked zucchini and cilantro were an excellent combination of flavors with the blossoms, and added another welcome dimension to the dish. My wife started with the marinated sardines, with beefsteak tomatoes and salad. The sardines were so fresh, briny and played well with the other items on the plate, just wonderful. L loves sardines and was pleased with how pure these were with no hint of fishiness at all. For the main, my wife chose the grilled fish and I the grilled octopus, both of which were delightful. Both dishes were cooked to perfection, with an excellent balance of char throughout, but not overpowering the dish. The fish had a wonderfully crispy skin and was just lucious, sitting on a bed of tomato and chickpea pureé and topped with a salad similar to the sardines, but with a different profile. I was enamored with the combination of the octopus with the smoked eggplant puree and caponata, just marvelous! For dessert, we split the rice cooked in milk, with orange flower water and ice cream. We were surprised and delighted by the use of black rice, which still retained a wonderful crunch despite the liquid elements. We were also impressed with the delicate touch displayed with orange flower water, which added another layer of complexity but was not overdone at all. The plums added another dimension, and the ice cream was also light and did not overpower the dish at all. In closing, we are so glad we are spending a few months in Paris, as we plan to return more than a few times to this excellent place.

Wow. Wow. Wow. My partner and I have been meaning to try this place for many years and we are sad we waited so long. One of the best meals in Paris with incredible service. Excited to come back soon to try more!

Dinner at Alluma was a highlight of our visit to Paris so far (we’re a month in). We were a table of 4; we all speak French but were speaking English together. Our lovely server spoke English to us which made the experience uniquely seamless. I’ll add that she was kind and professional. The food was outstanding! We had a tuna crudo and a brochette of mussels appetizer; as main courses we had a shrimp on a paella-inspired bed and the catch of the day (some sort of cod-like white fish) served with a delicious slightly peppery sauce and topped with fennel. The photos I’ve included here don’t do justice to the food! The restaurant is bright and spacious. I appreciate the choice Alluma’s owners have made to keep the tables a reasonable distance apart. The spacious arrangement enhances the dining experience. A lovely woman (an owner I think) explained to me that they’ve recently shifted from a tasting menu format to 100% a la carte. (So some older reviews may be addressing the prior format.) We all four concluded that Alluma offered a delightful dining experience!

The food is good - interesting taste combinations and well presented. The service though is shocking and comical. It may have been a bad evening for the restaurant - despite their friendliness, it is not an excuse to miss order, and mistakes. The table next to us has their entire main missed because they have forgotten to put in their order and the kitchen has closed! Our order was late and came in the wrong sequence. What a shame - the food needs to pair with equivalent service to make it a great place but unfortunately the service lets it down greatly. Hopefully improvement can be made swiftly as it is such a shame not to.

I had been wanting to try this place for over 2 years and I am happy to say that it lived up to the high expectations! The service was kind and welcoming, the dishes were delicious, creative and well presented and the wine was great. I particularly enjoyed the pomelo salad (so fresh and tasty!), the fish gyoza (tastiest gyozas I’ve ever had) and the first dessert which I have forgotten the name/description of. My partner really enjoyed the sashimi, which had an impeccable sauce, and said that the meat was cooked to perfection. The choice of cheeses was also a great surprise, served with really nice herbs. All in all, I think this is a great and quite affordable fine dining experience (64€ for 6 dishes), which I would definitely recommend trying!! I look forward to coming back when in Paris!!