What the World’s No. 1 Restaurant Taught Me About Client Experience
What makes a client experience truly memorable? We often assume it is the quality of the product, the depth of the expertise or perhaps the exclusivity of what is being offered, yet some of the most exceptional experiences remind us that excellence is often defined by something far less tangible: how thoughtfully someone has considered the experience from the perspective of the person receiving it.
This summer, I had the opportunity to dine at Mirazur in Menton, France, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant that was named No. 1 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2019. I expected extraordinary food, of course, but as someone who teaches etiquette, executive presence and client experience, I found myself equally fascinated by everything happening around the food. From the moment we arrived, it became clear that we were not simply being invited to dinner; we were being invited into a carefully considered journey, a friggin epic journey, in which anticipation, storytelling, personalization and human connection were every bit as important as what eventually appeared on the plate.
Our evening did not begin in the dining room. This was the first surprise. Instead, we were introduced to the philosophy and creative thinking behind Mirazur by being led into what I could only describe and their museum dash science lab dash library before being led to a remarkable wall of flowers and invited to choose a rose. That rose became the vessel from which we enjoyed our first Champagne, a beautifully unexpected gesture that immediately changed our role in the experience. C’mon!!! We were no longer simply guests waiting to be served; we had participated in the opening moment of our own evening. It was a small detail in the context of a multi-course dining experience, yet it is one of the details I remember most clearly.
The rose also introduced us to the particular Mirazur “Universe” we would experience that day. Chef Mauro Colagreco’s approach is influenced by the biodynamic calendar and its relationship with lunar and planetary rhythms, with the restaurant moving among four culinary Universes: Roots, Leaves, Flowers and Fruits. The ingredients, creative direction and menu evolve accordingly, which means the Mirazur experience is not designed to remain static. We happened to visit during the Flowers Universe, and that theme became a thread running through the evening, connecting the philosophy of the restaurant with the food, the environment and the way the experience was presented to us. I was even fortunate enough to bring home the most amazing ‘floral-inspired’ EVOO that I have ever tasted…
From the laboratory, we were invited onto Mirazur’s private terrace overlooking the Côte d’Azur, where cocktails and amuse-bouches allowed us to settle into the extraordinary surroundings before continuing our journey through the gardens, where much of the produce that inspires the kitchen is grown. What struck me was the deliberate pacing of it all; there was never a sense that we were waiting for dinner to begin, because every transition was already part of the experience. Walking through the gardens gave context to ingredients that would later appear on our plates, connecting the food to the land, the season and the philosophy behind it. Just before entering the dining room, there was one final moment of theatre: flowers were flash-frozen with dry ice before us and presented on a bed of fresh blooms as a delicate palate cleanser, bringing the Flowers Universe quite literally to life. By the time we finally took our seats, Mirazur had already engaged nearly every sense and created anticipation, curiosity and an emotional connection to what was still to come, a wonderful reminder that exceptional client experience is shaped not only by the main event, but by how thoughtfully we design every moment leading up to it.
The Client Experience Begins Before the Client Meeting
This is a principle I return to frequently in my own etiquette and client experience training because organizations often concentrate enormous attention on the moment in which their expertise is delivered while overlooking everything surrounding it. A financial advisor may focus on the portfolio presentation, a lawyer on the advice being provided, a salesperson on the proposal and a leader on the meeting agenda, yet the client has been forming an impression long before any of those things begin.
The experience starts with how easy it was to communicate with you, how they were welcomed, whether someone appeared prepared for their arrival and whether they felt expected rather than merely accommodated. It continues through the seemingly insignificant details: where they are invited to sit, whether you remember how they take their coffee, whether you recall the vacation they mentioned at your last meeting or the name of their daughter, and whether your attention remains with them rather than drifting toward a screen. None of these actions demonstrates technical expertise, yet collectively they communicate something every client wants to feel: you were paying attention.
That is precisely what struck me about Mirazur. The Champagne would undoubtedly have been excellent had it simply been poured into a beautiful glass at the table, but inviting us to choose a rose transformed the moment because it created participation, individuality and memory. The lesson for business is not that we need elaborate gestures or theatrical experiences for our clients; rather, it is that we should think more carefully about how people enter, move through and ultimately remember the experiences we create for them.
Personalization Is Not the Same as Personal Attention
Personalization has become one of the most frequently used words in client service, particularly as technology allows organizations to know more about their customers than ever before. We can personalize emails, segment communications, track preferences and anticipate purchasing behaviour with remarkable sophistication, but there remains an important difference between personalization and personal attention.
Personal attention requires observation. It is noticing when someone becomes hesitant and allowing them time to process rather than continuing with the presentation. It is recognizing that one client appreciates detailed explanations while another prefers a concise overview, or that one person welcomes conversation while another values efficiency and discretion. It is remembering something personal not because a CRM system prompted you to mention it, but because you listened when it was shared. The most sophisticated client experience is therefore not necessarily the one that does more; often, it is the one that understands what is appropriate for the individual in front of you.
Throughout our evening at Mirazur, the service demonstrated this beautifully. There was attentiveness without hovering, expertise without pretension and an intuitive understanding of when explanation would enrich the experience and when the moment should simply be allowed to unfold. Even something as familiar as bread became an opportunity to create meaning. Mirazur’s Pain du Partage, or “sharing bread,” is rooted in Chef Mauro Colagreco’s childhood memories of the bread his grandmother would make and is presented alongside Pablo Neruda’s Ode to Bread, transforming one of the simplest elements of a meal into a story about memory, generosity and the universal ritual of gathering around a table. What could easily have been another bread course instead became another point of connection, and perhaps that is what Mirazur did so exceptionally well: it gave meaning to the details without allowing the explanation to overshadow the experience itself.
Etiquette Is Ultimately About Awareness
Experiences such as this also reinforce why I believe etiquette is frequently underestimated in business. It is easy to reduce etiquette to rules about introductions, dining or professional protocol, but those are simply visible expressions of something much broader. At its highest level, etiquette is the ability to remain aware of other people and to adjust our behaviour in ways that create comfort, confidence and connection.
This means reading the room before speaking, recognizing when someone needs more explanation and when they need less, understanding the importance of timing, noticing body language and allowing another person's needs to influence the pace of an interaction. These skills may appear instinctive when performed well, but they can be observed, understood and developed, which is why they form such an important part of the client experience and executive presence training I deliver.
Some of the most valuable lessons I bring into a classroom therefore do not come exclusively from an etiquette manual. They come from experiencing exceptional hospitality, observing human behaviour and examining why certain interactions feel so different from others. Whether I am sitting in a boardroom, attending an event, having a business lunch or dining at one of the world's great restaurants, I am inevitably asking the same questions: What did they notice? What did they anticipate? Where did they create ease? Why did this particular moment stay with me, and what can another client-facing professional learn from it?
The Small Details Are Often the Experience
Businesses understandably invest heavily in expertise, technology, products and environments, yet client loyalty is frequently influenced by details that cost very little. Remembering someone's name is inexpensive. Giving another person your complete attention costs nothing. Allowing someone to finish speaking before responding requires no technology, nor does noticing that they seem overwhelmed and adjusting the pace of a conversation. And let’s not forget about tone!!! These gestures can appear insignificant when considered individually, but together they create the emotional architecture of an experience.
This is particularly important as more of our professional interactions become automated and increasingly efficient. Technology can help us remember preferences, prepare more quickly, communicate more effectively and personalize information at extraordinary scale, but efficiency alone does not create connection. The organizations and professionals who distinguish themselves will increasingly be those who understand how to combine technical excellence with human attentiveness.
Mirazur possesses extraordinary culinary expertise, creativity, science and discipline, yet when I think back on our evening, one of the clearest memories is still standing before that wall of flowers and choosing a rose. There was nothing accidental about that moment. It introduced the philosophy, involved us in the experience, created anticipation and gave us something uniquely tangible to remember.
Perhaps that is the most important lesson I brought home from dining at the world's No. 1 restaurant. Exceptional client experience is not simply about perfecting what we deliver; it is about considering, with equal care, how another person will experience receiving it. When we begin to look at our businesses through that lens, etiquette stops being a collection of rules and becomes something much more valuable: a strategy for creating experiences that people remember long after the meeting, meal or transaction has ended.
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