One French institution embraces another

Paris

FOR 28 years, one of this city's most famous restaurants operated out of a dark, starkly modern site on rue Troyon, a banal street in the 17th Arrondissement close to the Arc de Triomphe. Now diners at Restaurant Guy Savoy will enter a grand 4,300 square foot top-floor space on the site of both the oldest institution in France and the oldest factory in Paris: the Monnaie de Paris - the French mint.

Chef Savoy officially moves his signature restaurant next Tuesday, but the celebration has already begun. Hundreds of friends and associates turned up recently for a tour and a taste of some of the classics that have earned the chef three Michelin stars: artichoke with black truffle soup served with toasted mushroom brioche and truffle butter; a "club sandwich" amuse-bouche of foie gras and crisp toast served on a silver pin; a perfect vanilla bean mille-feuille.