L'Arome (Suzhou Center)

The best french fine dining

I posted my first review of this restaurant back in 2018, a few months after it opened, and was very impressed by the way it cooked classic French dishes to a high standard. Unfortunately, since then L'Arôme has 'lost the plot' - almost all of the French classics have gone and what's on offer is often rather weird. To start at the beginning, booking a table at L'Arôme is not trivial. The person who answers the phone doesn't speak any English and so they have to phone you back later once they have found someone who does. This is absolutely fine - after all the restaurant is in Suzhou. What's definitely not fine, however, is the fact that they haven't fixed their phone line after almost three years - there is still so much interference it sounds as if they are in the middle of a war zone, which makes it rather difficult to make a booking and verify they have understood the details. Unfortunately, matters don't improve at the restaurant. The pop musak is only mildly annoying but they still haven't got WiFi. If this was a start-up it would be understandable but L'Arôme is now a well-established restaurant. The real weirdness starts when one looks at the oddly-balanced menu. Apart from the inevitable steak options, there are only five mains (e.g. spaghetti with prawns, lamb chops, roast cod) and none was particularly French (indeed, Beef Wellington could be viewed as anti-French). In contrast, there are about three times as many starters. The amuse gueule that was offered at the beginning of the meal was a grey sludge mousse and a madeleine. It's clear that whoever decided to offer a sickly sweet appetiser prior to a savory meal has no concept of French cuisine. Similarly, the baguette bread that was served had already been buttered - weird! Although the restaurant was not particularly busy, there was a twenty minute wait before the starter, a scallop carpaccio, arrived. It was fine but not worth 158 RMB, even with a sprinkling of caviar on top. The main course was a lamb chop (198 RMB). Unfortunately, it came plastered in herbs even though this wasn't mentioned on the menu. It really looked as if someone had dropped the chop into grass clippings from a lawn mower. The taste, however, was fine. Unlike much of the lamb in China it wasn't in the least muttony. More positively, the service was charming. Chatting to the deputy manager afterwards, it seems that L'Arôme has adapted its menu to suit Chinese tastes. If this is a successful strategy then I wish them the best of luck. Regrettably, however, it's no longer a serious restaurant offering French cuisine.

Nice experience in a relaxed elegant atmosphere. Staff attentive and partly English-speaking. Main dishes of lamb and Australian beef as well as the desserts choc fondant and creme brule were excellent. Wine list not too big, but some great value for money like our red Haut-Medoc from 2011 and decent wine glasses when we asked for it. Our 4 course a la carte plus the free appetizer took 3 hours. Slow is good, but this was a bit too slow. Some deficiencies must probably be blamed on the need to adjust to the 99% Chinese clientel: Classic starters like clamshells, foie gras, and escargot were only half-hearted (or not succesful) attempts of authentic French taste. Probably a compromise between the original and what the Asian/Chinese finds eatable. The Japanese style raw fish was good and interesting, but there you go... They had only one white and one red wine by the glass, so for the fish starters it had to be sauvignon blanc, which was otherwise good. For the desserts the only dessert wine was limoncello - ok - and for the coffee there was a good selection of rhums and tequilas (served with salt edge and lemon) and brandys, or a bottle of Martell for 2500 RMB. And there were no longer an offer of cheese platter. So the French restaurant is struggling to keep a selection of the things that the Chinese never eat or drink. OK - it will be the same with Chinese restaurants in Europe. Finally, I am allergic to sitting at the wrong height at the table. This restaurant has sofas and chairs. The sofas were at the right height, the chairs were much too low, so you sit and eat like a child - how is it possible? And I am a tall European - the Chinese were sitting even lower. OK - asked for a thick pillow and got one.