Gordon Ramsay au Trianon – one star inside a palace that signed history

Inside the Waldorf Astoria Versailles – Trianon Palace, a short walk from the gates of the Château, Gordon Ramsay au Trianon occupies one of the more historically loaded dining rooms in the Ile-de-France. The hotel was built in 1910 to designs by architect René Sergent, on a plot chosen for its proximity to the Petit and Grand Trianon; within its first years the house had welcomed Sarah Bernhardt and Marcel Proust, and in May 1919 Georges Clemenceau dictated the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in a room that still carries his name. Gordon Ramsay installed his restaurant here at the end of March 2008, taking over a dining room that for half a century had carried the reputation built by chef Gérard Vié. The kitchen today holds One MICHELIN Star, earned through a tightly built register of French technique, seasonal produce and a five- or seven-course architecture that changes with the calendar.

01The room and the setting

The restaurant sits inside the five-star Trianon Palace building, its tables turned toward the private gardens of the hotel and, beyond them, the wooded park of the Château de Versailles. In the warmer months service moves onto the terrace, where guests dine within sight of the same greenery that has framed the hotel since 1910.

The house keeps its own codes: smart dress is required, with shorts for men and sportswear turned away at the door, and pets are not admitted into the dining room. It is a formal room built for an occasion, not a passing supper.

02The chef

Gabriele Ravasio heads the kitchen as chef étoilé, drawing his inspiration from French culinary tradition while working with fresh, local produce and graphic, considered plating. He works alongside Frédéric Larquemin, the hotel's executive chef since November 2016 and a graduate of the Ferrandi culinary school in Paris, whose own reputation rests on a sincere passion for well-made dishes.

Insider tip

Dinner Tuesday to Saturday, 19h30–21h00; closed Sunday and Monday; smart dress required.

Pastry has a single signature: Eddie Benghanem has composed the sweet repertoire of the house since 2008, from plated desserts to the hotel's well-known Tea Time, and is credited alongside Ravasio for the tasting menu itself.

03The cooking

Two formats structure an evening here: the Menu Découverte in five courses, and the Menu Dégustation in seven. On Friday and Saturday evenings only the seven-course menu is served, a sign of how the kitchen wants its fullest statement heard on the busiest nights.

The current tasting menu opens with pollock dressed in miso, puffed quinoa and a root-vegetable jus, moves through green asparagus from grower Jérôme Galis with lemon, goat's cheese and almond, morels cooked with vin jaune, Scots pine and comté, and wild turbot with mushrooms, cockles and a marinière sauce, before yellow chicken from producer Arnaud Tauzin and a plate of Comté aged 54 months ahead of dessert.

04What to order

Beyond the set menu, a handful of signature plates carry the house's name. Breton lobster arrives with cherry tomatoes, basil and a balsamic vinegar aged a hundred years by the Giusti house; Daurade Royale is dressed with a combava-spiked ratatouille, green pepper and Oscietre caviar from Maison Prunier; wild turbot is built on Paris mushrooms, crisp buckwheat, cockles and a marinière sauce finished with cèpes.

Dessert closes on the Berlingot Signature and a millefeuille of two toasted vanillas served with salted butter caramel ice cream — the kind of plate that has kept regulars returning across the restaurant's near two decades.

05Wine, soft pairing and the Table du Chef

Chef sommelier Anthony Haffner oversees a cellar of some 900 references, pairing each course across grand French terroirs, Burgundy in particular, and a broader selection of wines from around the world. For guests who prefer not to drink alcohol, Haffner has also built a Soft Pairing, a sequence of non-alcoholic creations designed with the same attention to aroma and balance as the wine list.

For up to six guests, La Table du Chef sits beside the pass itself, with a direct view of Ravasio and his brigade at work and the chance to taste creations made exclusively for that table — the most immersive seat in the house, bookable by calling the restaurant directly.

06When to go and booking

Gordon Ramsay au Trianon serves dinner Tuesday to Saturday, from 19h30 to 21h00, and is closed on Sunday and Monday. Reservations can be made by phone or online, and the hotel also packages an overnight stay with a seven-course dinner as its own gastronomic escape.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.