Ultraviolet originally evolved from Pairet’s desire to reduce the technical constraints of the traditional restaurant, which is organized to provide “a la carte” service.

By monitoring the timing of the courses and offering a fixed menu, Ultraviolet attempts to optimize the control and quality of cooking in ways that the majority of traditional restaurants cannot – a model that has roots in the historical “table d’hôte” concept.

[9] Ultraviolet incorporates technology traditionally used in unrelated fields to drive and control Pairet's concept of 'psycho taste', which The New York Times writer Howie Kahn described as "a gateway to the mind," “[delving] into the notion that memories, associations, expectations, ideas, misunderstandings, joys and fears all play a role in the experience of a meal.”[10] The restaurant's cuisine draws on Pairet’s French background, his experience working in Paris, Hong Kong, Sydney, Jakarta and Istanbul, with emphasis on experimentation, comfort and simplicity.

The restaurant has described its cuisine as “avant-garde figurative.”[11] After developing this concept since 1996, Pairet publicly presented the final theory of Ultraviolet for the first time in 2010 at the OFF5 French Omnivore Food Festival in Deauville, France.

[12][13][14][15] Howie Kahn commented in The New York Times Style Magazine, "Ultraviolet, and its auteur, seem like the next steps in the chain of culinary evolution".

Both UV menus reflect Pairet’s personality directly, setting the table with humor and grace, mischief and whimsy, with puzzles to solve and dishes to think through.

He commented on the food, saying “all dishes, on top of being remarkable, are always served in a very fun and unassuming way… one of the most experimental and challenging, one of the most fun and accomplished of the recent past.”[19] Crystyl Mo wrote for Time Out Shanghai in Ultraviolet's opening month (May 2012), "Ultraviolet is radical, and it was very much worth the wait… The food is central to the night, never just a prop; each meticulously crafted bite is so delectable, we’re left craving more after nearly every course.

"[22] Kristie Lu Stout's article and video interview with Pairet on CNN first posted in 2016 described Ultraviolet, "Hidden away in an old Shanghai neighborhood is arguably one of the most innovative restaurants in the world.