black calavados

Photo by Corey Rossman

Here's what some fans had to say after they dined at Chris Cornell's Paris restaurant...

review and pictures by John Suarez

review by wildrise

picture gallery by Corey Rossman

travel blog by Chris & Anya

Here's the restaurant's official site......and here's what the press have had to say about BC:

Le Figaro: "BLACK CALAVADOS, NOIR DESIR.....Un jour, la mode reviendra au souper. Question de décennie, de minutes, cela ne devrait pas tarder, l’affaire est dans le sac. Sans doute parce qu’il y aura une sorte de rébellion à s’aventurer dans ces landes, alors que tout le monde pionce, reconstitue sa force de travail. Vous n’êtes pas sans avoir remarqué que l’époque aime bien se fustiger, s’inventer des maîtresses d’école, se faire taper sur les doigts et marcher dans le rang. C’est ainsi que se créent des marges dans lesquelles il fait si bon vivre et observer. Ce soir à 20 h 30, cet établissement d’un VIIIe civilisé est vide. Les premiers clients vont lentement arriver, c’est un vrai bonheur de voir s’éclore ces roses de nuit.

Le service. Les gens de la nuit sont des personnes sensibles. Ils vivent sous cette adrénaline qu’un rien échauffe : l’exaspération. Une amie trop peu bavarde, une Ferrari qui démarre mal, une musique trop distraite... La vie, sachez-le, devient alors impérieuse, elle doit s’engouffrer, empoigner, éventrer. Les yeux portent des regards, on y lit à livre ouvert. Aussi, le personnel essentiellement féminin partage cette même acuité : jeunes femmes posées, sur le qui-vive, ne distrayant pas exagérément le regard (elles sont sagement habillées de noir maton). Service impeccable, attentif, fluide.

Les nourritures. Elles aussi ont cette nature qui inquiète, qui les pousse à se cacher dans toutes les pliures de la mode. Ces dernières se voudraient « asiatisantes », allégées, épicées et paradoxales. Soit, elles le seront comme des lieutenants (lâches et courtois). Devraient-elles ramper sous la moquette qu’elles le feraient (chips, émincés, feuilles de salade). Cela dit, elles ne sont pas quand même pas prêtes à jouer les cruches. Ni les potiches. Quoique. Produits posés comme sur des tabourets de bar et croisant les jambes : soupe de potiron honnête, tempuras de homard un peu grassouillets et trop replets, black code caramélisé avec des bijoux trop voyants (citron vert en breloque, gingembre en pendentif). Dessert gentiment scélérat avec la paille sur un milk-shake (jolis mouvements de nuques à la table voisine, se penchant sur le petit verre comme s’il s’agissait de poudre).

MAIS ENCORE Le décor. Somptueux noirs rehaussés par un plafond à l’antique. On se croirait versé dans les années gainsbourgiennes (Jules Verne de Slavik, Montparnasse 25). Cette glorieuse occultation du jour de façon délurée, c’est très euphorisant. Il y a comme une incitation à souligner le trait (eye-liner), traverser le papier.

Faut-il y aller ? Je ne dis pas non.

Est-ce cher ? 126 €, on peut estimer que l’addition est forte (elle l’est pour la qualité hésitante des plats), mais sincèrement, vous êtes ici dans un entre-soi glamour un brin snob, wachi-wacha de nightclubbers en préchauffage."

Secrets Of Paris Guide: "Immortalized in a Gainsbourg song, this legendary 70s restaurant and bar has been reincarnated as “BC” by its new owner, grunge pioneer Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, with a sexy décor of black velvet and stainless steel. As the host of Galliano’s after-show party during Fashion Week, it immediately established itself as the HQ of entertainment industry types, with vodka cocktails, foie gras with popcorn, and Mac and cheese with truffles served until 4am....The decor is like the bar, all black laquered walls with silver/grey booths that make it intimate without being claustrophobic. The style is contemporary but formal, with white tablecloths and upscale china. The low-lit ambience makes it popular with couples (press photo shows the bar on top, the restaurant below).

It was hard to choose from the menu. My friends tried the huge Argentinean T-bone steaks and fries (there was nothing left, so they must have been good), and I had the Caramel Quail, which, aside from the little drumsticks, had all of the bones surgically removed without ripping it apart (see my photo). It is covered in a caramelised sauce with little puffs of mashed potatoes on the side. It was absolutely perfect, I thought I was going to die. I had waited so long because of some critical reviews and didn't want to be disappointed. Maybe the French critics just don't want to admit that (well-done) American cuisine is superb.

For dessert I had something that's not listed on the website, a dish with fried Nutella balls and banana sorbet (a chic alternative to my fave dessert of all time, a banana/Nutelle crêpe). I was nice and shared my balls. The only complaint? There should be more! A whole bucket of fried Nutella balls, please! ;) They have a fine selection of wines and Champagne cocktails, but we ended up going down to the bar for drinks afterwards. The restaurant has cigars, although I don't know how they will be able to serve those once the smoking ban takes effect in January 2008. Maybe they'll build the required "smoking section", buy considering the small size, I doubt it. Who would want to ruin the fine food with the smell of smoke anyway? ;) "

France Today: "Calavados was an institution in the city in the ’60s, one of the few places open around the clock. It was cool in an uncool way. You’d find jet-setters side by side with provincial businessmen having a good time. Now Calavados is back with a new, cool name—Black Calavados—and it’s hotter than hot. Opened in March just before Fashion Week, it’s run by Chris Cornell, former leader of the Seattle grunge band Soundgarden. Inside, the small bar—perhaps big enough for 20 anorexic models—is all in brushed aluminum. The only color is in the cocktails."

Stella Madison: "Un - brillant - exercice de style signé Alexandre de Bétak (DA des défilés DIOR, Viktor & Rolf, Victoria's Secret...) qui réinvente l'esprit du lieu et signe une ambiance chic, cosy et rock n'roll...En cuisine, le jeune chef Jérôme Lorvellec (Pershing Hall, Nobu) s'amuse avec les basics américains de la West Coast et compose à la sauce frenchie une carte pour le moins ludique et décomplexée : foie gras au pop corn et sa gelée de vodka, macaronis au fromage et à la truffe, filet de boeuf sur homard rôti... Côté bar, les milkshakes alcoolisés font déjà beaucoup parler d'eux...tout comme les happy few toujours adeptes de nouveauté qui se presse dans ce nouveau spot tendance."

Easyjet Inflight: "Grunge rocker Chris Cornell is one of the owners of this unique Parisian restaurant just off the posh Avenue George V. The all black and chrome interior is a fitting setting for the daring “neo-American” cuisine: boneless quail, T-bone steaks, fried Nutella balls, and truffle mac’n’cheese figure on the menu. The bar downstairs stays open until dawn."

BMIBaby: "Opened earlier in the year by newly Parisian rocker Chris Cornell (from Audioslave and Soundgarden) and partners, the BC is surely one of the hottest nightspots in the city. Located in a 17th-century building, it has a restaurant on the upper level offering the requisite pricey French food dreamed up by a former Nobu Paris chef – think mini wagyu cheeseburgers, foie gras with popcorn and vodka gelée, and rock lobster tempura. The basement level club is where the young, wild and trendy congregate to drink, dance and pose until dawn. BC is flavour of the month for cutting-edge clubbers."

Blender: "I wander over to Cornell’s Black Calavados restaurant, which is one of the many Euro, nightclubby places that clot his neighborhood. It’s slightly off the main drag, marked only by a discreet bc and a phalanx of valets dressed in tailored black. Step downstairs and you’re in the bar, a narrow, mirrored space fitted with vaguely phallic leather benches that jut into the room — the effect is a little like what it might be to sip Bellinis inside a Xerox machine. (Excellent Bellinis, by the way, made with freshly puréed organic white peaches.) Up a grand staircase and past hostesses who pose like the three Graces, is the nearly pitch-black dining room. Chris and Vicky Cornell magisterially occupy a corner booth beneath a power fixture that resembles an octopus....Cornell imagines Black Calavados as a haven for bohemians, a place where a kid in a ripped T-shirt might show up for a supper of Kobe-beef miniburgers and truffled mac and cheese without being hassled by the clipboard holders at the door. At the moment, the bohos have been crowded out by 40-year-old guys with really hot girlfriends, kids with money and the occasional gourmand with a secret yen for the chef’s signature dish: popcorn balls with nuggets of goose liver at their core. The popcorn balls are served with the haute-cuisine equivalent of a Jell-O shot — gelée of vodka, they call it." - from food writer Jonathan Gold's interview with Chris in October 2006.

Jetsetreport.com: (also includes customer reviews)

"A popular mainstay for French glitterati of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Black Calavados (BC) is located in a 17th Century building with absolutely no signage except a Terminator-style doorman placed in front of a large black door. An entryway and separate set of stairs lead to a main floor restaurant where less-savvy tourists score 7pm reservations for the sushi-fusion menu inspired by a former-Nobu chef including sashimi specialties, wagyu cheeseburgers and inventive foie gras dishes. The harder entrance is one that leads to the main nightclub, currently the hottest dance scene in Paris and hotbed of celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio. Andy Roddick and Chris Cornell- the Soundgarden front man who is also an owner. The nightclub is assembled with banquette seating with small champagne tables for pricey bottle service while enjoying house DJs spinning electric rock and French lounge anthems. JetSet Tips: A reservation in the restaurant won’t do much to improve your chances getting into the actual nightclub on weekend nights. Save your money (and waistline) by greasing the bouncer at least 100-Euro if you’re unwilling or unable to secure bottle service in advance. Last Word: Infamous Parisian nightclub space finds new life as celebrity supper club and disco for French movie idols and Hollywood heartthrobs."

.....and here's an interview with Alex de Betak, interior designer for the restaurant and bar.

© Clare O'Brien 2007