Restaurant in Paris, France
Michelin star, creative Asian-French, book early.
Ze Kitchen Galerie is a Michelin-starred address in Saint-Germain-des-Prés where William Ledeuil applies French technique to Southeast Asian aromatics with a strong vegetable focus. Ranked in Opinionated About Dining's top European restaurants and holding its star since 2008, it earns its €€€€ price point for diners who want genuine creativity over grand-hotel ceremony. Book three to four weeks out; closed weekends.
Ze Kitchen Galerie is the right call for a date night or a business lunch in Paris's Saint-Germain-des-Prés where you want Michelin-starred ambition without the formal rigidity of the grandes maisons. William Ledeuil's kitchen has held a Michelin star since 2008 and earned an Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen-tier recognition from Opinionated About Dining (ranked #351 in Europe in 2024, climbing to #419 in 2025 as the ranking expanded). If Asian-inflected French cooking with serious vegetable focus appeals to you, this is one of the most coherent expressions of that approach in the city. If you want classical French cooking or a grand hotel experience, look elsewhere.
Ze Kitchen Galerie opened in 2001 on Rue des Grands Augustins, a street in the 6th arrondissement with genuine Left Bank credentials. Ledeuil launched it with his wife as his first restaurant; it is where his now-recognisable style of Franco-Asian technique crystallised. The Michelin star arrived in 2008, and in 2010 Gault & Millau named him Chef of the Year — a peer-industry signal that tends to mean more among culinary professionals than general audiences might appreciate. Since then he has expanded to two further addresses (KGB and Kitchen Ter(re)), but Ze Kitchen Galerie remains the flagship.
The cuisine sits at an intersection that could easily go wrong: French technique applied to Southeast Asian aromatics, with an emphasis on vegetables that predates the current industry obsession with plant-forward cooking. That it has maintained a Michelin star for seventeen years and remained on Opinionated About Dining's European top-tier list suggests the kitchen is executing a considered vision rather than chasing trends. For context on how this compares to other Paris addresses pushing creative boundaries, see our full Paris restaurants guide.
The service philosophy here matters for your decision. At €€€€ pricing, you are in territory where diners reasonably expect polished attention , the kind of service you get at Le Cinq at Four Seasons George V or L'Ambroisie. Ze Kitchen Galerie does not operate on that register. The room is gallery-like and relatively relaxed; the service is professional and attentive but does not deliver the ceremony of a three-star operation. Google reviewers (4.7 across 1,932 reviews) score this highly, which suggests the service lands well for most guests. The question is whether you are paying for a dining experience or a hospitality performance. If the latter, budget up to Le Cinq or Arpège. If the former, Ze Kitchen Galerie earns its price point.
For a special occasion specifically, the venue works leading at dinner , the room feels more considered in the evening, and the pace allows the kitchen's creative cooking to register properly. Lunch is a practical choice for business meals, with tighter seatings (12:15 and 19:15 slots indicate structured service windows) that suit a working agenda. The restaurant closes Saturday and Sunday, which is important to note if you are planning a weekend celebration: you will need to book a weeknight dinner or a weekday lunch instead. For weekend special-occasion dining in Paris at this price tier, consider Kei, which has broader opening hours.
Timing your visit matters beyond day of week. The restaurant's focus on vegetables and Asian aromatics means the kitchen's output is likely to follow seasonal produce, which tends to peak in spring and autumn in Paris. There is no verified seasonal menu data in our records, but the general principle holds: visiting between April and June or September and October gives the leading chance of produce-driven cooking at its most expressive. For comparable creative kitchens pushing seasonal produce in France, Mirazur in Menton and Bras in Laguiole operate on more explicit seasonal calendars if that factor is central to your decision.
The address on Rue des Grands Augustins is walkable from the Seine and from the main Saint-Germain thoroughfares. If you are combining dinner with Paris hotel stays, our full Paris hotels guide covers Left Bank options closest to the 6th. For post-dinner drinks, our Paris bars guide covers the neighbourhood.
Beyond Paris, Ledeuil's approach sits within a broader tradition of French chefs who have absorbed Asian culinary influence with technical rigour , an approach you can track in different forms at RavioXO in Madrid or in French fine dining's global reach at Le Bernardin in New York City. For French restaurants that represent different creative traditions within France itself, Flocons de Sel in Megève, Troisgros in Ouches, Paul Bocuse in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, and Auberge de l'Ill in Illhaeusern offer useful points of comparison across different style registers.
Reservations: Hard to book , plan at least three to four weeks in advance for dinner, slightly less for weekday lunch. Hours: Monday to Friday, lunch seatings at 12:15 (last order 13:45) and dinner at 19:15 (last order 21:00); closed Saturday and Sunday. Budget: €€€€ , expect spending at the higher end of Paris's one-star tier. Dress: No confirmed dress code in our data, but the price tier and setting suggest smart casual at minimum; avoid overly casual dress for evening visits. Address: 4 Rue des Grands Augustins, 75006 Paris.
See the full peer comparison below.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ze Kitchen Galerie | The Kitchen Galerie is the first restaurant of William Ledeuil. He opened it together with his wife in 2001. In 2008 they were awarded a star. A year later they opened KGB (Kitchen Gallery Bis). See above. In 2010 he won the title of Chef of the Year from Gault & Millau. In 2006 he opened his third restaurant, Kitchen Ter (re), entirely devoted to pasta dishes. With an international mix of flavours, creativity and quality, without forgetting vegetables, The Kitchen Galerie still scores.; Category: Remarkable; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Europe Ranked #419 (2025); Michelin 1 Star (2025); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Europe Ranked #351 (2024); Michelin 1 Star (2024); Opinionated About Dining Top New Restaurants in Europe Recommended (2023) | €€€€ | — |
| Plénitude | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Pierre Gagnaire | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Kei | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Le Cinq - Four Seasons Hôtel George V | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
How Ze Kitchen Galerie stacks up against the competition.
Three to four weeks ahead for dinner is the safe window; weekday lunch slots open up a little faster but still require advance planning. Ze Kitchen Galerie holds a Michelin star and draws a consistent crowd in one of Paris's most in-demand neighbourhoods, so last-minute attempts are a real risk. Book online as soon as your dates are fixed.
Ze Kitchen Galerie is a relatively intimate restaurant, so large groups should contact the team directly before assuming availability. For parties of six or more, a weekday lunch reservation is the most realistic option given the tighter dinner service windows (12:15–13:45 and 19:15–21:00, Monday to Friday only). Closed Saturday and Sunday, which further limits scheduling flexibility for groups.
At €€€€ pricing and with a Michelin star held since 2008, Ze Kitchen Galerie prices itself at the level where the tasting menu format needs to deliver clear creative ambition — and Ledeuil's Asian-French approach is genuinely distinctive enough to justify it for diners who want something beyond classic French technique. If you prefer à la carte flexibility or a lighter spend, his follow-up restaurant KGB (Kitchen Gallery Bis) covers adjacent territory at a lower price point.
Ze Kitchen Galerie is a Michelin-starred creative restaurant in the 6th arrondissement, so dressed-up casual to business-smart is the practical register — think what you'd wear to a confident Paris dinner without going black-tie. The venue's art-gallery aesthetic signals polish without formality; trainers and beachwear would feel out of place, but a jacket is not mandatory.
Lunch is the stronger value play: the kitchen is fully operational, the Michelin-starred menu is available, and the pace of a 12:15 sitting in Saint-Germain is hard to beat for a Paris afternoon. Dinner (19:15 start, last orders 21:00) suits a special occasion when you want the evening to feel ceremonial, but the window is tight. Either way, book in advance — the restaurant closes Saturday and Sunday.
For creative cooking at a similar price tier with a different cultural lens, Kei in the 1st arrondissement offers French-Japanese precision and also holds a Michelin star. If you want to stay in the Ledeuil universe at a lower spend, KGB (Kitchen Gallery Bis) is the natural next step down. For classic French haute cuisine rather than fusion, Le Cinq at the Four Seasons George V or Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen operate in a different register entirely but serve the same high-commitment diner.
Yes, with the caveat that the format suits people who are comfortable with creative, Asian-inflected French cooking rather than a more traditional celebratory meal. Ledeuil has held a Michelin star since 2008 and won Gault & Millau's Chef of the Year in 2010, so the occasion credentials are legitimate. The Rue des Grands Augustins address in Saint-Germain adds genuine atmosphere. For a more classic Parisian special-occasion setting, Pierre Gagnaire or Le Cinq may fit better.
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