Of Queens & Caviar: A Royal Fantasy At Paris’ Hôtel de Crillon

Paris is calling – and it sounds suspiciously like clinking vodka shot glasses and mother of pearl spoons. From Marie Antoinette’s former playground to a temporary takeover by Caviar Kaspia, Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel offers the chance to dine, dream and drift through history with a decidedly aristocratic appetite.

Review: Caviar Kaspia At Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel

For those for whom the best Christmas present plays to their inner Marie Antoinette, long considered the most fashionable – though sadly ill-fated – Queen in history, tickets to the ongoing exhibition at the V&A might be a good stocking present. Something more significant though would be a jaunt to Paris and a stay at the magnificent Hôtel de Crillon, where a young Marie Antoinette allegedly took piano lessons in one of the salons.

Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel. (©Adrian Houston)

If you time it right and get there before 30 January, you can dine like a Queen too: on caviar, of course – an ingredient long associated with the aristocracy. Caviar Kaspia has taken over Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel’s elegant Jardin d’Hiver restaurant and gilded and frescoed Bar Les Ambassadeurs to invite their guests to indulge in what some call the Elixir of Life.

A Paris institution which in two years will celebrate its centenary, Caviar Kaspia has over the decades won the hearts and minds of many fashionistas and creatives, many of whom have lent their vision to the brand resulting in remarkable collaborations. Just so at the Hôtel de Crillon, where the enticing menu begins with a shot of vodka, upon which balances an olive plump with caviar.

‘The enticing menu begins with a shot of vodka.’ (© Nolwenn Pernin)

From there, flushed equally with excitement and vodka, we had to choose between the original creations of the Maison (such as sea bream ceviche in a citrus broth with Kaspia bottarga, King Crab agnolotti and champagne sauce with Imperial Baeri caviar) or signature dishes like grilled cheese and caviar, wild gamberoni carpaccio with caviar or baked potatoes topped with caviar. Then which caviar: the Imperial Baeri or Kaspia Gold? Beluga or Caviar Bouquet? And how much: 30g, 50g, 125g? Is there ever too much? I wondered. So many choices.

The order was placed. The table was laid, white linen place mats unfurled on marble. A matryoshka doll arrived, inside a layer of ice cradling a tin of Oscietre Réserve. Golden tints on the shiny black eggs, nutty to the taste – always my favourite. Warm blinis came next and mother of pearl spoons to ensure the perfection of the caviar, whose taste can be corrupted with metals like silver. A gilt-rimmed bowl of Crème Fraiche. And so we began. The tinkling of the piano floated into the dining room from the neighbouring Bar Les Ambassadeurs, where tout Paris gathers under original 18th century frescoes. But around us only murmuring voices and sighs of contentment.

The gilded and frescoed Bar Les Ambassadeurs (© Reto Guntli)

Above and beyond that lay a shimmering swimming pool and floors and walls of 40 different types of marble; mirrors, minerals, feather, glass and gilding which came together over four years. Res worked on by Richard Martine, founder of Affine Design, artistic director Aline Asmar d’ Amman, Tristan Auer, Chahan Minassian and Karl Lagerfeld all ensuring the hotel was at its gleaming best when it was re-opened by Rosewood Hotels & Resorts in 2017. 

And it deserved it, having been the very epitome of style since 1759 when, commissioned by Louis XV, it was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel as one of the two French Neoclassical palaces flanking the capital’s largest square, Place de la Concorde. Its listed façade includes sculptures by Coustou and an impressive Corinthian colonnade, creating an entrance that even the grandest of Paris’ other hotels cannot compete with.

In 1909 the building was transformed into a ‘hotel for travellers’ by architect Walter-Andre Destailleu, and the great and good followed from royalty to statesmen, from Diaghilev to Charlie Chaplin to Leonard Bernstein, continuing today with celebrities and actors for whom it still holds an unmistakably French allure.

Is there ever too much caviar? (© Nolwenn Pernin)

Back in the Jardin d’Hiver, our baked potatoes had arrived. A signature style for Caviar Kaspia, the top had been sliced to form a crisp crust, then covered with a generous dollop of Imperial Baeri Caviar. To the side lay a dish of sour cream; a sprinkling of dill added colour. Predictably, it was memorable.

And so to bed in one of the 124 rooms, to the softest of linens and Nespresso machines clad in leather. And onwards to a morning dip in the pool that shimmers with gold. While you are swimming, look up at the Paris above you and you may be reminded of Jules Renard’s words: Ajoutez deux lettres à Paris, et vous avez Paradis. Add two letters to Paris, and you have Paradise.

BOOK IT

Caviar Kaspia is transforming Hôtel de Crillon’s Jardin d’Hiver and Bar Les Ambassadeurs until 30 January 2026. Double rooms at Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel start from €2,950 per night. rosewoodhotels.com