Fine Dinning in Paris - A love Affair with Food

My very first trip to Paris happened in September 2011. Before then I had only ever been driven around the City ring road on route to other French holiday destinations. My 2nd trip to Paris was in June 2014 but on both occassions I travelled there by train and got to dine at some of the very best restaurants that the captial of France has to offer.

My first trip in 2011 was on the Eurostar from St Pancras - my 2nd trip to Paris was on the Orient Express - I have decided to devote a whole blog to that experience - and in this entry, I will consentrate on the gastronomic delights that Paris has to offer, rather than how I actually got there!

In 2011 we arrived comfortably in Paris at around 8pm and were taken by taxi to the The Terrass Hotel in Monmartre - our stylish base for the next four days.

This fabulous boutique hotel was opened over 100 years ago in 1911 and is ideally placed in Monmartre so you can explore the whole City. The Hotel has recently undergone a massive restoration project and is due to re-open in the spring of 2015. When I stayed here back in 2011 I had a fantastic suite with superb views of the Eiffel Tower. All 92 rooms have now been completely renovated and have been decorated to resemble performer’s dressing rooms: think contemporary comfort mixed with studio lamps, film-director chairs, wood flooring, tiles from the Parisian metro and stacked leather suitcases. One of the eagerly awaited highlights of this newly restored building will be the Terrass en Haut, a roof top restaurant with a panoramic bar of 140 sqm, Through the large windows of the inner area and from the balcony of the outdoor areas, Terrass’ en Haut will offer exceptional views over Paris while you eat.

On my second visit to Paris I stayed at The Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel - which has a fantastic little bar serving cocktails, and large comfortable rooms.

On my first visit to any big City, I usually take an open-top bus tour so I can familiarise myself with where all the main tourist landmarks are. Normally you can extend the ticket for 48 hours ( sometimes at little or no extra cost), so on the 2nd day you can get off the bus and explore a little more. These are also good if you have a rainy day and don't want to get wet on route to any of the landmarks. Most hotels have leaflets offering a range of these Bus tours so just pick one that suits you. On my second trip I braved the Metro Underground and found it relativley easy to use.

The highlights for me were Notre Dame, The Arc de Triumph and The Louvre. I still haven't been on a boat ride on the Sienne - meaning I'll just have to go back for a third visit.

The area around the Terrass Hotel is a great place to start exploring on foot - especially if you like fresh food. There are a large number of artisan butchers, bakers, cafe's, delicatessens and wine shops right on your very doorstep here. Just come out othe hotel and turn left to find the little the juncion pictured below. Keep walking down this street for about 10 more minutes and then you'll come to the heart of the Red Light district, where the Erotic Museum is housed and, of course the famous Moulin Rouge, which we'll mention more about later in the blog.

One of the quaintest and smallest restaurants I have ever visited is less than 5 Minutes walk from the Terrass Hotel. Compared to the other very ostentatious places in Paris that I have since eaten at, Gang Seng the tiny Tibetan Restaurant I discovered by accident, was a real little hidden gem of a place - and one that I just had to re-visit on my 2nd trip too.

Normally when I am travelling, I try to stick to local dishes and avoid anything which isn't generic to the country I am currently in. To me there is nothing worse than being overseas and ordering something with chips or going for a Chinese or a Curry when there is much more interesting food to sample from the region or area you are in. However, never having sampled Tibetan food before, I decided to give it a try whilst in Paris. On both occassions the owners offered excellent friendly service and very tasty, fresh, home-cooked food. The restaurant area is up a steep narrow flight of stairs ( which could be a problem if you are not so mobile) but its just like eating in someone's cosy dinning room at home. On both occassions I noticed plenty of Parisan locals popping in for dinner, so I am not the only one who enjoyed the very different types of food that Tibetan cusine has to offer.

One of the highlights of my Parisienne dinning experience back in 2011 was to eat at the world famous Restaurant Le Jules Verne situated inside the Eiffel Tower. From start to end the service was immpeccable and the attention to detail was paramount. From the moment you ascend in the lift and arrive at the restaurant, you feel like a VIP guest.

Over pre-dinner drinks you can experience amazing views of Paris at sunset, and ponder the wonderful menu choices. Our wine waiter suggested the perfect bottle of red to go with my venison, and the desserts and Chef's appetisers between courses were just as good as anything else we ate here. On leaving, I was given a little bag containing Madelines and we were escorted down in the lift - and back to reality - albeit over 700 Euro's poorer, but richer for the experience of having dined here in true style. If you only ever do it once - its recomended as it such an iconic and romantic place to eat and to enjoy top class Parisienne cuisine and wine.

On my 2nd Trip to Paris in 2014 I got to eat at two more iconic places. On my first trip, I had wanted to experience the magic of The Moulin Rouge, but had to wait a few more years before that wish would finally come true. Remembering that I had seen a very long queue to get into the venue on my first trip, I made sure I was at the venue at least an hour before my dinner reservation time.

Once the doors opened, I entered the famous building and was ushered quickly to my seat by the waiters. Getting there early, and being at the front of the queue meant that I was lucky enough to have one of the best tables in the house - right next to the stage. The building itself is magnificent, and is just as you'd imagine it be - as if you have stepped into a Lautrec painting or are on the set of the Baz Luhrman film. The downside of The Moulin Rouge is that they do like to "pack the place to the rafters" - so there is not much room between tables if you want to nip out to the toilet, and you may also have to share your table with other diners, if you are not part of a group. That's OK if you are the chatty type of person who likes to make new friends over dinner - however if you get fellow dinners who don't speak good English - or worse still those who either talk too loudly or not at all - you could end up feeling ignored, annoyed - or both. We had an American couple, an Australian couple and a Japanese couple sitting with us - which made for some interesting conversation - and plenty of blank looks and polite nods from the japanese couple who didn't speak much English but who the American's and Australians insisted on trying to talk to anyway. there was a choice of 2 dishes for each of the 3 courses. The food here is good, well cooked and nicely presented, but as they like to serve all the 3 courses before the main floor show, it can feel as if you are being rushed at times. It can also be a bit hit and miss if you want to order extra wine or champagne. With so many tables to see to, the waiters can sometiems overlook you if you dont gesture firmly to them to come over. On the whole the service is carried out with military presision and directed almost as well as the floorshow. The highlight of my meal was the dessert - with a replica of the actual red windmill in chocolate.

One the meal is over, the floor show begins and this is what you really pay the money for. This is a once in a lifetime spectacular that fizzes and sparkles from finish to end. In between the many amazing set dance routines, while the performers change out of their elaborate costumes, there are daredevil acrobats, clever ventriloquists, and comedians to entertain you. The show lasts for over 2 hours and is worth every penny.

Maxim's was founded as a bistro in 1893 by Maxime Gaillard, a former waiter. It became one of the most popular and fashionable restaurants in Paris under its next owner, Eugene Cornuché, who gave the dining room its Art Nouveau decor and made sure that it was always filled with beautiful women. Cornuché was accustomed to say: "An empty room... Never! I always have a beauty sitting by the window, in view from the sidewalk."

In 1913, Jean Cocteau said of Maxim's: "It was an accumulation of velvet, lace, ribbons, diamonds and what all else I couldn't describe. To undress one of these women is like an outing that calls for three weeks' advance notice, it's like moving house."

In 1932, Octave Vaudable bought Maxim's. He started selecting his clients, favouring the rich and famous regulars beginning a new era of prestigious catering which lasted more than half a century. Famous guests of the 1930s included Edward VIII, Marcel Proust and Jean Cocteau.

Maxim's was also immensely popular with the international celebrities of the 1950s, with guests such as Aristotle Onassis, Maria Callas, and the Duke of Windsor as regular diners. When the restaurant was renovated at the end of the decade, workmen discovered a treasure trove of lost coins and jewelry that had slipped out of the pockets of the wealthy and had been trapped between the cushions of the banquettes for many years.

In the 1970s, Brigitte Bardot caused a scandal when she entered the restaurant barefoot. Other guests of this time period were John Travolta, Jeanne Moreau, Barbra Streisand, and Kiri Te Kanawa. It was during the fifties, sixties and seventies that Maxim's, under the management of Octave Vaudable's son, Louis Vaudable, became the most famous restaurant in the world but also one of the most expensive ones as well.

In 1981 the Vaudables offered to sell Maxim's to fashion designer Pierre Cardin. Cardin eventually accepted the offer. Under his management, an Art Nouveau museum was later created on three floors of the building and a cabaret was established each night with songs from the beginning of the 20th century.

When I ate at Maxim's I had wonderful food and really enjoyed the caberet too. The place is full of history but the best bit was getting a special Birthday Cake.