Lucas Carton – Gastronomic Restaurant - Rated 4,5

Lucas Carton, a gourmet restaurant in a sumptuous setting, opposite the Eglise de la Madeleine. This restaurant also has a little brother, "Le Petit Lucas", upstairs at the same address.

A restaurant approaching its 3rd century

The official inauguration of the restaurant dates back to the construction of the building by the architect Charpentier in 1839. In 1860 its new owner, Monsieur Augis, christened it "La Taverne de France", and it became a favorite haunt of Napoleon III's Paris. His successor Scaliet gave the restaurant its decisive name, "Lucas", in 1880,

Lucas Restaurant : un musée Art Nouveau

The owner of "Lucas" restaurant commissioned Majorelle, the French cabinetmaker and decorator of the École de Nancy Art Nouveau movement. He creates the carved woodwork that adorned the restaurant, making it one of the masterpieces of Art Nouveau, attracting art lovers from all over the world. It took four years to complete. They were carved from maple, sycamore and Ceylon lemon in the spirit of the period. They have since been listed as historic monuments, adding to the prestige of the establishment as major elements of Art Nouveau.

The Lucas becomes the Lucas Carton gastronomic restaurant

Between the 1st and 2nd wars, Monsieur Carton acquired the restaurant and added his name to that of the establishment. Since 1924, Lucas Carton has faced the Madeleine.

In the 60s, a whole generation of young chefs came to apprentice here, including Alain Senderens, who took over from 1985 to 2013. The 21st century is the third century of Lucas Carton's existence. Even closer to nature and the product, the chef Hugo Bourny begins in 2021 a new and beautiful page in the history of Lucas Carton.

Hugo Bourny, le Chef 

What a challenge to take over from Alain Senderens, who has been with the company for almost 40 years. But his last 3 experiences in Michelin-starred restaurant, have forged the elegant, modest personality of Hugo Bourny : Arnaud Donckele at the Vague d'Or, Anne-Sophie Pic in Valence and Hélène Darroze.

At his table, the tastes are straightforward, powerful and of the highest art. A flamboyance, playing with vegetables with brio, carnivorous with singularity, the sea with subtlety.

The service is rather childlike, more like a brasserie than a gourmet table, and the atmosphere is certainly less heavy and more cheerful.

And what about Little Lucas?

Le Petit Lucas is the antechamber to La Table du Chef, located on the 2nd floor of the building, with more affordable prices. But it's the same cuisine. Simple, elegant, a joyful, gourmet signature.  This once mythical spot, on the second floor of the building, brings together the most mischievous and festive aspects of French cuisine. Dishes emblematic of the French art of living, a slightly mischievous atmosphere, without ever denying the place's Parisian delicacy and coquetry.

The Madeleine church and its square are revealed in a new light. In a wood-panelled decor designed by Tony Selmersheim at the turn of the century, lunch or dinner will be a moment between parentheses, where you'll be surprised to find the most delicious flavors, tastes and aromas chosen by the chef and his team.