Restaurant in Paris, France
Paris's hardest booking. Usually worth it.
Le Cinq holds three Michelin stars, 97.5 La Liste points, and a 50,000-bottle wine list under Eric Beaumard — making it one of the strongest cases for a special-occasion dinner in Paris. Booking difficulty is near impossible: plan eight to twelve weeks out. The dining room is quiet enough for conversation and the wine program alone justifies the return visit.
If you are planning one serious dinner in Paris, Le Cinq at the Four Seasons Hôtel George V is among the strongest cases you can make for spending at the leading of the market. This is a three-Michelin-star restaurant that has held its stars consistently, earned 97.5 points on La Liste 2025, and ranked 25th in Opinionated About Dining's Classical Europe list for 2025. The combination of Christian Le Squer's cooking, Eric Beaumard's wine program, and the George V setting makes this a defensible splurge for a special-occasion dinner — provided you can get a table. Booking difficulty is near impossible on short notice. Read the logistics section carefully before you commit.
Le Cinq opens Tuesday through Saturday, evenings only (19:00–22:00), and is closed Monday and Sunday. That restricted schedule matters: five service windows per week across a dining room of this calibre means demand is permanently ahead of supply. If you have been before and are thinking about a return visit, the wine list is a compelling reason to push further into the cellar. Wine Director Eric Beaumard oversees a program with 2,800 selections and an inventory of 50,000 bottles, with particular depth in Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Loire, Alsace, and reaching into Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Germany. Wine pricing sits at the $$$ tier — expect many bottles above €100 , and corkage is €300 if you choose to bring your own.
The atmosphere in the dining room reads formal without being stiff. The setting inside the George V is one of the most recognisable in Paris: high ceilings, period details, and the kind of ambient warmth that keeps conversation at a civilised register. It is not a loud room. If you are coming for a celebration dinner where you want to actually hear each other, this format works significantly better than some of the louder new-wave Paris addresses. Sound levels stay controlled through service, which is part of why the room suits a relationship milestone, a serious business dinner, or the kind of meal where the occasion itself is the point.
For a returning guest, the advice is to resist the impulse to play it safe with your wine order. The Burgundy and Champagne sections of the list are where Beaumard's curation is most distinctive. If you worked through the more accessible price points on your first visit, this is the room to go deeper. The sommelier team, led by Thierry Hamon, is equipped to move through the list with you rather than simply hand you a book and walk away.
Christian Le Squer has been the chef here long enough to have shaped the restaurant's identity rather than inherited it. The cooking is modern French without the gratuitous complexity that sometimes plagues that category , precision-led, classical in structure, and consistent at a level that justifies the star count. Le Squer's earlier work at Ledoyen before joining the George V formed him in the classical tradition, and that discipline shows in what arrives at the table. For context, France's three-star tier includes addresses like Flocons de Sel in Megève, Mirazur in Menton, Troisgros in Ouches, Auberge de l'Ill in Illhaeusern, and Bras in Laguiole. Le Cinq holds its own in that company and benefits from a Paris location that none of those can match for accessibility.
The restaurant's Google rating sits at 4.7 across 1,595 reviews , a high floor for a room operating at this price point, where a single disappointing service can move the needle on a small sample. It suggests consistent execution rather than polarising brilliance, which is exactly what you want when spending at this level.
For broader context on the Paris three-star field , including Guy Savoy, Tour d'Argent, and La Scène , see our full Paris restaurants guide. If you are staying in the 8th and want to plan the rest of the trip, our Paris hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the surrounding options. For wine-focused travellers, our Paris wineries guide is worth reading alongside the Le Cinq wine list.
Other Paris addresses worth knowing in the neighbourhood include L'Orangerie and Nomicos for slightly more accessible price points, and La Scène for a different interpretive style of modern French. For three-star comparison outside France, Hélène Darroze at The Connaught in London offers a useful calibration point, and La Fourchette des Ducs in Obernai is worth noting for Alsatian context. Regional French three-star cooking at Paul Bocuse in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or rounds out the comparative picture if you are building a broader France itinerary.
Booking difficulty is rated near impossible. With only five service windows per week and a dining room that draws from both hotel guests and outside reservations, availability disappears fast. The George V's in-house guests have access to the concierge channel, which can help move things along if you are staying at the property. For outside diners, book as far in advance as the reservation system allows , eight to twelve weeks out is a reasonable planning horizon for a specific date. Flexibility on the day of the week gives you a better chance: mid-week Tuesday and Wednesday evenings tend to be slightly less pressured than Friday and Saturday.
At the €€€€ price point with three Michelin stars, 97.5 La Liste points, and a wine list of this depth, Le Cinq represents a defensible spend for a tasting menu experience if classical French cooking is your category. The consistent 4.7 Google rating across 1,595 reviews suggests the kitchen delivers reliably rather than occasionally. Where it becomes harder to justify is if you are comparing it purely on food against more experimentally-driven addresses like Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen or Pierre Gagnaire , Le Cinq's value is in the totality: the room, the wine program, and the consistency of the cooking together.
Eight to twelve weeks is the practical minimum for a specific date. Booking difficulty is rated near impossible, meaning availability at shorter notice requires either staying at the George V and using the hotel concierge, or being flexible on which Tuesday through Saturday evening you can take. Do not plan a Paris trip around a Le Cinq booking you haven't confirmed yet , secure the reservation first, then build around it.
Specific current menu items are not confirmed in our data, and this kitchen changes its offering with the seasons. What the record supports: the tasting menu format is the right way to experience Le Squer's cooking at the level this kitchen operates. For wine, engage the sommelier team directly , with 2,800 selections and Eric Beaumard's program behind the list, asking for a pairing recommendation by style and budget will get you further than choosing blind. The Burgundy and Champagne sections are where the list has particular depth.
Le Cinq serves dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday (19:00–22:00). There is no lunch service to compare against. If daytime dining at the George V matters to you, the hotel's other food and beverage options are available, but Le Cinq itself operates exclusively in the evening.
A dress code is not formally confirmed in our data, but the setting , three Michelin stars inside the Four Seasons George V , signals formal or smart formal attire without ambiguity. For men, a jacket is the sensible minimum; a tie is unlikely to be required but will not look out of place. For women, evening dress or smart cocktail attire fits the room. Arriving underdressed at this price point and setting will be noticed.
Specific dietary policy is not confirmed in our data. At a three-star kitchen cooking at this level, accommodating dietary requirements in advance is standard practice across the category , contact the restaurant directly when making your reservation and confirm any restrictions at that point rather than on arrival. Given booking lead times of eight-plus weeks, you have ample opportunity to communicate requirements ahead of service.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Le Cinq - Four Seasons Hôtel George V | €€€€ | — |
| Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen | €€€€ | — |
| Kei | €€€€ | — |
| L'Ambroisie | €€€€ | — |
| Pierre Gagnaire | €€€€ | — |
| Plénitude | €€€€ | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Le Cinq - Four Seasons Hôtel George V and alternatives.
For a three-Michelin-star dinner in Paris, Le Cinq makes a strong case: 97 points on La Liste (2026), a 50,000-bottle cellar overseen by Wine Director Eric Beaumard, and consistent recognition on the Opinionated About Dining Classical Europe list. At €€€€ pricing, the tasting menu is best justified if you want classical French technique with serious wine pairings. If you are looking for more avant-garde cooking at a similar price point, Pierre Gagnaire is the alternative worth considering.
Book at least six to eight weeks out, and further for weekend dates. Le Cinq operates only five service windows per week (Tuesday through Saturday, evenings only), which compresses availability significantly. Hotel guests at the Four Seasons George V are likely prioritised, so outside reservations fill faster than the schedule suggests. Do not treat this as a same-week booking.
Specific menu items are not confirmed in our data and change with Christian Le Squer's seasonal direction, so we will not guess at dishes. What is confirmed: the wine list spans 2,800 selections across Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Loire, Alsace, and strong Italian and Spanish representation, with a corkage fee of $300 if you bring your own. Ask the sommelier team — led by Thierry Hamon — for a pairing; at this level, that is the right call.
Le Cinq serves dinner only (19:00–22:00, Tuesday through Saturday), so there is no lunch service to compare. If a Parisian grand dining room at lunch is what you want, L'Ambroisie on Place des Vosges is worth investigating, though availability there is equally restricted.
A three-Michelin-star dining room inside the Four Seasons George V calls for formal or near-formal dress. A jacket for men is the safe standard; suits are common among the clientele. The venue holds a Les Grandes Tables du Monde designation (2025), which signals a house that takes the full dining experience seriously — dress accordingly.
Specific dietary accommodation policies are not documented in our data for Le Cinq, and we will not speculate on what the kitchen will or will not adjust. At the three-Michelin-star level, kitchens of this calibre generally communicate directly with guests ahead of service — check the venue's official channels when booking to confirm what is possible for your party.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
