Le Clos Des Sens

It was genuinely astonishing to witness the culinary creations that emerged from the neighboring garden and region. While our personal taste leans towards food featuring more meat, fish, and seafood, the dining experience remained captivating and unquestionably deserves 3 Michelin stars. I'm deducting two stars due to inconsistencies in the service; for instance, a young lady served our salad without saying a single word. We don't require a detailed dish description—just a simple "bon appétit" would suffice :-). On the whole, the service often fell short of the standards expected in a three-Michelin-star restaurant.

This handsome abode in the upper reaches of Annecy is the haunt of chef Franck Derouet and his associate Thomas Lorival. Together they craft a culinary universe whose veggie and lake-focused slant is clearly motivated by a locavore philosophy and all the ingredients come from their own garden or within a 100km radius. Each dish is sprinkled with seasonal fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs, adding a poetic, even an artistic flourish, illustrated by their creamy polenta with pike roe, fera (fish) with garden green curry or a wafer-thin chicory tart. In tune with this seasonal ethos, the chef works with meat, but very sparingly, (for example, during the coarse fish close season), depicted by a game jus drizzled over cardoons (heirloom vegetable). Similarly, the wines all come from local wineries. The duo of chefs is committed to exploring new culinary universes, for example, they offer a “food and jus” pairing of vegetable stocks, broths and herbal teas with the different courses, in addition to wine-food pairings. Their complementary characters and complicity are as apparent in the kitchen as in the dining room, creating a banquet for the senses. 3 stars and gren star michelin "Our cuisine uses plants and produce from the lake and brings out the flavours of our 1 500m2 of vegetable, aromatic and fruit gardens, which are all managed in line with permaculture philosophy. The wealth of produce from local and committed farmers with whom we work also contributes its flavours. Whether by implementing intelligent waste recycling or collecting and reusing rainwater, we strive to bring common sense to the entire life of the restaurant." — Laurent Petit +++

The food is excellent as you would expect from 3 stars but the whole experience was a bit underwhelming. Some of the waiters were not unfriendly but lacked passion for the job, they were polite but you felt they didn't want to talk much when we asked questions. The other point is that it's all local lake fish and vegetables so it gets a bit repetitive because there aren't that many species. Everything was really good but I never had that "wow" moment you normally have at a 3 stars restaurant.

Outstanding restaurant! They are worth every single star they have. Such a delicate way of handling and loving herbs... You can clearly see the passion, drive and knowledge - the dishes speak for themselves. We had a wonderful vegetarian menu, and loved every single aspect of our visit. We wish all the 3 star michelin had the same quality and execution like Le Clos Des Sens (many of them do not). Such a pity that Michelin gives 3 stars to some unworthy institutions that don't even understand flavors, thus jeopardising the reputation of others who truly deserve it.

17th in my 3 stars challenge (all the Parisians are already published, the rest is coming shortly, follow me for the updates) In transition. What’s extraordinary here? It’s a 3 stars, you should expect something extraordinary. Each plate is. Each is really out of the ordinary. Even after having tried every three stars in France (minus one). Of course you should (and you may) know that they’re focusing on vegetables and fishes from the lake nearby. To be more precise, they focus on what’s available around them. This responsible, local and environmental friendly attitude earned them the green star, on top of the 3 stars. Impressive. But just like others, you could eat there and not realize that you had no meat. They make it seamless. Which is a feat in itself. I hope to go there before the previous chef left, but it was already too late. You could feel that they were in transition. The new chef is not that new since he was already working there for a long time. So each plate is extraordinary. In some you may have one voice or another. I guess that soon you’ll just have one voice. But still, there’s a specific tonality that unites them and can be heard in every plate. The crowd was family and couples, but we were there on a Saturday. It does suit both. Ask for the table near the kitchen or the windows depending of the scenery you want. The service was great, but you may want to precise your tempo if you have a constraint. It does deserve its 3 stars. Why does the review stay pending ?