Paris lovers are invited to the Batignolles district (17th arrondissement) to experience a most unusual address: the J’adore restaurant.
Tucked away in the lobby of the five-star Paris J’adore hotel, this table, backed by a cocktail bar, is a delightful experience, both in terms of conversation and taste.
A very private visit with its director, Christophe Mendjel.
We have an appointment with a hotel enthusiast who loves unusual experiences in the capital.
Christophe Mendjel is the proud owner of the Hôtel Secret de Paris (9th arrondissement), another four-star establishment whose rooms are an ode to the capital’s most emblematic monuments.
At the Hotel Paris J’adore, which he has been running since its opening 2 years ago, the theme is quite different: love in all its forms.
As our host explains, the aim of this hotel, located at the foot of the Butte Montmartre, is to “magnify the couple’s relationship“. And to achieve this, he has a few secret tricks up his sleeve, starting with the layout of the tables.
A configuration designed with couples in mind
A real curiosity, the Paris J’adore restaurant offers a unique positioning, a sensory experience entirely dedicated to couples.
“Have you ever been in love?” says the owner. “Remember how complicated it is to find the right restaurant, if only to be able to talk without difficulty, not hear the indiscretions of the person next to you, or benefit from beautiful subdued lighting.
As our host assures us, there’s nothing here like the trendy restaurants in Paris with their thunderous music and bright lights.
To avoid such inconveniences, customers might be tempted to turn to a Michelin-starred restaurant. But here again, the man warns that the setting can be intimidating and the bill not conducive to making the place a favourite meeting place.
It was with this in mind – the lack of alternative venues that are more intimate without being too stuffy – that he came up with the idea of configuring the space of his hotel restaurant.
In fact, as our host explains, unlike the aforementioned types of establishment, “the J’adore restaurant lends itself perfectly to celebrating the exceptional in everyday life, such as a birthday or a marriage proposal”.
To achieve this, the owner came up with the idea of ‘preserving the bubble‘ in which the couples seated at his hotel restaurant find themselves.
To achieve this, the tables have been spaced out so as to guarantee free speech, while the music has been regulated so as never to encroach on conservation.
The hotel has also introduced bell service. This is as much a tribute to the French art of living as it is a clever way of discreetly calling on the wait staff without “ever having to leave your bubble by hailing them on the fly”.
The restaurant is also able to guarantee maximum peace and quiet for visiting couples because no children are allowed within its walls.
Finally, the restaurant relies on regular entertainment to diversify and retain its clientele, which includes both French and international tourists.
This includes a live singer on Friday and Saturday evenings and a DJ set on Thursday nights. The entertainment has been made possible by a partnership with the Signature Music label (a subsidiary of Universal Music France).
The pleasure is also in the palate
The layout of the tables and the sound system are not the only attractions of this restaurant, far from it.
The restaurant also has a few wonders in store for the taste buds, while offering an affordable menu.
Chef Nader Hassan‘s menu features the finest, freshest seasonal produce. In addition, ingredients are sourced locally and sustainably.
Customers can count on the chef’s solid experience acquired in prestigious Parisian establishments such as the Peninsula, the Meurice and the Hôtel de Crillon.
Passionate and creative, his sole aim is to awaken the senses with dishes that showcase generous, refined French and European cuisine.
A hotel of luxury and charm
Finally, what would this culinary experience be without its exceptional setting, a five-star hotel with 28 rooms and suites, inaugurated on 16 June 2021 and requiring no less than six years of work?
A barely perceptible detail, the lobby has no visible reception area, as if to give the impression of a conversation room extending into the hotel’s hidden interior garden, with its wall of vegetation, a reference to the hanging gardens of Babylon.
The J’adore restaurant thus boasts a modernised art deco scenary that has nothing to envy of the renovation of the Plaza Athénée.
Architect and decorator Sandrine Alouf has managed to make the most of this former Jesuit convent by opening up the views and doing away with the central staircase. The result is a hotel on a human scale that celebrates both Parisian romance and French craftsmanship.
All the furniture and ornamental objects are a showcase of luxury savoir-faire, which the director defines first and foremost as “civilisational genius”: a masterly chandelier made up of 70 suspended lights, a crystal ceiling lamp produced by Castro Lightning, furniture by Henryot, ostrich feather trees, 18-metre panoramic wallpaper created especially for the restaurant in collaboration with Ananbô, and armchairs sculpted in France.
Access to the rooms also plunges guests into a world of luxury, with an alabaster chandelier designed by Anthony Motard-Carminati for the Spanish firm Carpyen in the staircase.
This leads to the rooms, each with its own name and atmosphere, inviting guests to take a “still journey” under Paris sky.
Each room features spectacular headboards, an open-plan bathroom with a Jacuzzi, a sensory shower and a swing.
As well as providing extra seating, the swing is an eye-catcher and a fitting tribute to the French “fêtes galantes” painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard and his iconic 18th-century masterpiece Les Hasards Heureux de l’Escarpolette.
The hotel’s home automation system is ubiquitous without being intrusive, allowing guests to fill their jacuzzi or open their curtains using an iPad or controls accessible from the bed.
A soft, rounded bed conceals a high-definition sound system at its base. The room also boasts a state-of-the-art subdued lighting system (with up to 8 lighting scenarios), creating a hidden and revealed ambience that is sure to excite guests during their overnight stay.
Finally, the sensory experience offered by the hotel is completed by access to the Spa J’adore. The facilities include a heated swimming pool, a Himalayan pink salt grotto, a red cedar sauna and a steam room.
With its renovated restaurant area, the Paris J’Adore proves that luxury hotel restaurants have a card to play for “an exclusivity combining culinary experience and tailor-made hospitality service while guaranteeing a memorable and unforgettable souvenir.”
As the hotel manager concedes, “everything here is luxury and elegance. The atmosphere blends pleasure and desire: two words that go very well together.”
Hôtel Paris J’Adore
7 rue Beudant – Paris XVIIème
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Featured photo : © Paris J’Adore
