For years Alain Passard has been recognized for his vision and culinary wizardry, especially with vegetables. Our last visit revealed a chef at the top of his game reveling in his ability to surprise and delight diners with amazing dishes that emphasize the essential flavors of the ingredients.
This is one of our favorite top tier gourmet restaurants anywhere, offering an excellent balance of charming historic ambiance, warm and attentive service, broad wine list options and delectable French world class food.
We thoroughly enjoyed our most recent meal at Le Cinq in December 2007. Every one of the chef’s creations that day was outstanding and the service was efficient, warm, and accommodating, the way we remembered it from our first visit to the famous Parisian restaurant.
Just steps from the Petit Palais and the Champs Elysees Ledoyen was a world away from the everyday. After we surrendered our winter coats with the reception staff we were escorted up one flight of stairs to the restaurant’s spacious dining room. A few moments later we were comfortably seated at a corner table and gazing at the Champs through one of the many windows of the handsome salon.
Selati Camp, one of four Sabi Sabi Reserve properties, was decorated with a nostalgic railroad theme. The Sabi Sabi Reserve was situated within the larger Sabi Sand Reserve, an unfenced Big Five private game reserve neighbouring the world famous Kruger National Park. The Sabi Sabi Reserve is home to open areas, woodlands, sloping hills, rivers and pans resulting in an environment with abundant game and excellent game viewing opportunities. In addition to the comfortable accommodations and quality game viewing we enjoyed during our visit, what made Selati stand out for me were two special in camp game viewing moments.
We returned to the Steenberg Hotel after a two year absence to find the property much enhanced and the setting more beautiful than we remembered. Smiling staff members greeted us at the security gate and again at reception making us feel especially welcome. The grounds and manicured gardens were green and thriving and soon the cloudy skies turned to stunning blue. The mountain and vineyard setting once again took our breath away. This time we stayed at one of the property’s three new Heritage Suites set on a vineyard facing corner of the property, each with distinct décor.