2. Pike brioche, Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen
Alléno Paris: What looks like a lemon brioche loaf is an incredible pike dish.
Chris Dwyer/CNN
Few French restaurants can rival the history, location or clientele of Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen. Situated close to the French Prime Minister's residence of Le Matignon, it's where Napoleon Bonaparte first met Josephine, where artists and writers such as Degas, Monet and Zola would dine -- and even where duelists would reconcile, having failed to shoot each other in the Bois de Boulogne.
Superstar chef Yannick Alléno oversees the beautiful dining room and menu, one highlight of which is a surreal but brilliant take on brioche bread. It looks like bread, complete with golden-brown crust, but is made from... pike. The perfectly executed fish is almost like a mousse in texture, while a sauce made of celeriac is a sublime counterpoint.
Alleno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen, 8 Avenue Dutuit, 75008 Paris; +33 1 5305 1000