Caprice at The Four Seasons has been one of the most beautiful French restaurants in Hong Kong since it opened in 2005, and the past seven years has barely left a scratch on its shiny surfaces. Modern with art deco influences, as seen in the chandeliers and stained glass paintings hanging on either end of the restaurant, the décor is tasteful rather than ostentatious. At night, the lighting is muted and emits a warm glow, echoed by the gold-rimmed plates and the light emanating from the glass cabinets. A large open kitchen located in the middle of the restaurant provides a pleasing background soundtrack and enlivens the atmosphere, but does not dominate the restaurant. For private dining, we heartily recommend the cheese room, which seats about eight guests and is located between the main kitchen and the cheese cave.

Chef Vincent Thierry, who came from Le Cinq at the Four Seasons George V in Paris to head the team here at Caprice, has maintained excellent relationships with producers in France, which is why premium ingredients such as Challans duck and Bresse chicken routinely feature on Caprice’s menu. For starters, we opt for two seafood dishes: the signature langoustine ravioli and an oyster dish from the summer menu. The langoustine ravioli are excellent as always: the crustacean has great texture and is lent an extra depth with the accompanying sweetbreads and chanterelle mushrooms. It would be nice if there were just a tad more of the delicious shellfish bisque. Our other starter were royale cabanon oysters, wrapped in sheets of light pink, marinated beetroot. The oysters are just barely poached and are very sweet, especially juxtaposed with the earthiness of the beets. The beet could be sliced just a hair thinner, and we also found the accompanying quenelles of beetroot puree to be a bit heavy on the hazelnut. For mains, the Normandy sole meuniere was one of our favourites of the night: the fish is firmer than its Dover cousin and cooked just right, but the highlight is the bed of lemon, oyster and spinach risotto it rests on. We move away from the sea with our other main course of Japanese wagyu striploin. Initially, we were wowed by the intense smoky flavour of the beef but found it to be too dominant after a few bites. Thankfully, the sides of bone marrow espuma and a simple beef carpaccio wrapped around zestily dressed rocket leaves more than revived our palate. For dessert, the ginger nyangbo chocolate is an impressively constructed plate, featuring a very three-dimensional structure of shiso and apple foam, and cress and sake chocolate sorbet. No matter how impressive a dessert is, however, nothing can compare to the Caprice cheese selection. Restaurant manager and passionate cheese lover Jeremy Evrard is constantly on the hunt for rare, artisanal and farmhouse cheeses and his new finds never disappoint. On this visit, we were blown away by creamy and runny rouelle Cendre from Loire Valley, as well as a delicious unpasteurised Fourme d’Ambert.

Nearly 70 pages long, the wine list at Caprice is not for the faint-hearted. Make sure to seek advice from sommelier Sebastien Allano or any other member of staff as most will be more than able to help you navigate and selection a wine to suit your meal. Wines by the bottom are categorised into specific regions. For example, wines are not just listed as being from Loire Valley, but further subcategorised into Anjou, Touraine and Centre Nevernais. For such an impressive list, however, prices are not unreasonable. Wines by the bottle range from an affordable HK$400-HK$500, and can go up to tens of thousands of dollars.

The service at Caprice is one of the most flawless in the city. Friendly and informative without the slightest hint of being overbearing, the staff’s attention to every detail is so acute it is almost spooky.

A three-course meal for two with wine will come to about HK$3,500, which is a reasonable amount considering the surroundings, quality ingredients and superlative service. Lunch sets are considerably cheaper, ranging from HK$460 to HK$520 per person.