Le Gavroche is named for ‘the urchin’ in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables and lives in a basement on Upper Brook Street, Mayfair. It is the most famous French restaurant in London, and the first to win three Michelin stars. It was opened by Albert and Michel Roux in 1967 in Lower Sloane Street, moved in 1981, and was taken over by Michel Roux Jr., Albert’s son, in 1991. It has nurtured — or the opposite — Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsay in its kitchens.
The website is a garland of awards, self-worship and the minutiae of the dress code. The involvement of lawyers, at some time, is hinted at. No reservation may be given as a prize in a competition and you may be refused entry, even if you comply with the dress code.
It appears in the Guinness Book of World Records as serving the most expensive meal per head in history in 1997 ($20,945 including wine, but that record has been broken, most likely in Las Vegas or Dubai.
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