Bonardi, Tarayre & Zen at Alcazar in the 6th: A Great Concept by the Concept Guy.....but.....

3.0 Alcazar, 62, rue Mazarine in the 6th, 01.53.10.19.99, (Metro: Odeon), seems to be open 7/7 and is in a stunning setting designed by Terence Conran, he of the concept stores (Habitat and Conran's), restaurants (Bibendum and Buebird are the ones I loved best) and arch/design bldgs.

Backstories:  I ate here sometime after Conran opened it in 1998 and was overwhelmed by the design and underwhelmed by the food and have never been back.  In 2012, M6, as opposed to MI6, proposed a link to their tele-culi-reality show TopChef and periodically I've seen notes in the papers that so and so, Top Chef in 20xx, was cooking here - I yawned and moved on.  But today I had a lunch date with another websiter across the street at the bio cave a manger Epure and for whatever reason he didn't show up.  But, I had this in my back pocket, having parked across the street only last week and viewing the menu thought  "I should go some day,"  Well, today was the day and in the kitchen or at least designing the menu were three Top Chefs - Tabata Bonardi, Norbert Tarayre & Cyrille Zen and the menus at 35 or 36 E for three plates, looked doable.

Madame ordered the foie gras with pain d'epices, pineapple chutney with ginger and a coulis of Banyuls (couldn't prove any of it to me except for the foie gras, but she liked it); and I had the bass ceviche with avocado and mango bits and sliced green apple and unannounced but saving-the-day sun-dried tomatoes which gave life to an otherwise "huh?" dish.

Then she had the quasi de veau with cebette (yah I had to look it up too), parsley roots and celery and potatoes - busy, busy, busy - but whoops, served well-done not rose as asked for.  Now neither was inedible but neither of us finished our portions either.

Finally we shared a classic chocolate "sphere" surrounding ice cream which supoposedly came with caramel and praline rose bursts - nice enough but if the latter two ingredients were there, they were very very subtle.
With a Languedoc (this was Bordeaux month, but they were out of 80% of them) that she wrinkled her nose at, but I thought was OK, no bottled water, good bread and butter and two coffees our bill was 110 E.

Go?  You jest.  This is what I used to call Las Vegas-Los Angeles-Aspen food where they throw 6-7 ingredients per dish at you hoping you'll be impressed and not see if it tastes good, but miss the mark every time.  Pair that with a surly waiter who clearly wanted to go back skiing in the Alps and you had an unforgetable meal - unfortunately.