Ledoyen 3.94

The Ledoyen is one of the oldest restaurants in Paris, situated in the square gardens in the eastern part of the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement. Its long history places it on the Champs-Élysées before the street's beautification.Situated in a two-storey pavilion with gardens, Ledoyen is considered to be one of Paris' best gourmet restaurants, and boasts three Michelin stars. The building is owned by the City of Paris, but the current operator of the restaurant itself is the company "Carré des Champs Elysées", led by Alain Franchi (Chair), assisted by Serge Michel, and Mathilde Valentin (Operations Manager).HistoryInitially, it began in 1779 as a very small inn named Au Dauphin. It was located near the Place Louis XV (current Place de la Concorde), near the Café des Ambassadeurs (between Avenue des Champs-Élysées and the current Avenue Gabriel). At that time it was a country inn on the outskirts and cows grazed in the fields outside. On 4 August 1791, Pierre-Michel Ledoyen, a son of caterers, rented it and established it as a formal restaurant.Ledoyen, a plongeur (bottlewasher) in his early years, renamed the restaurant after himself in 1814, and it was owned by the Desmazures for many years. In 1842, architect Jacques Hittorff, responsible for the development of the gardens of the Champs-Élysées, transferred the restaurant to its present location. Six years later, it was repaired and renovated following a fire.