I’d like to enjoy a wonderful meal in Paris, but circumstances require that it be a dinner, sadly. Given that we’re not interested in paying 300 euros per person for food, what are our best options? Jean-Francois Piege seems like a good value at 234 euros including wine, but that’s a tough reservation.
Thanks in advance.
Hi Walter,
Value and luxe dinner in Paris can be oxymoronic. I am a huge fan of Passage 53, which is Michelin ** and Relais & Chateaux. Elegant and creative. Discovery menu only. 130 Euros/person (as I recall from our last visit in October). Wine pairings are available, but we have a glass each of champagne, share a bottle of white burg, and a glass each of red burg with the red wine friendly course. Very small and requires booking well in advance.
La Tour D’Argent might be a good fit. Michelin **, amazing room, amazing and really well priced wine list. It wouldn’t be difficult to have a great meal there with a really nice bottle of wine for less than 500 Euros for two people.
Believe me, I am really discovering that. Normally I prefer lunch, but having a kid requires us to make other arrangements.
I am a huge fan of Passage 53, which is Michelin ** and Relais & Chateaux. Elegant and creative. Discovery menu only. 130 Euros/person (as I recall from our last visit in October).
That sounds great. I will give them a call, if they can tolerate my pathetic attempt at French.
Yours is not the first comment I’ve heard about the wine list there. I’m reluctant given that Michelin, never known for being the first to mark a decline, has been steadily removing stars (they went down to * in 2006). I worry it’s like Taillevent (a good value for dinner), where we had a couple of wonderful meals but the most recent (in 2007) was not that great in terms of food, even though the room and service were flawless.
If you haven’t been, I would strongly recommend you give it a go. The view alone is special as is the wine list, which is quite well priced and has many treasures. The service is as good as it gets and while the food may not be at the very cutting edge, it is still worthy of a Michelin star imo.
Goust just picked up a star and is terrific.
Atlier du Joel Robuchon?
Always one of my favorite meals in Paris, good wine list, and I always feel the bill (while not cheap) is fair given the quality.
Agreed, I had a great meal there. Also open on Sundays and Mondays, which is helpful in Paris.
The only downside is that all the Ateliers around the world have basically the same menu, I think, so it’s not especially unique or distinctive, although IIRC the general consensus is that the quality/execution at the Parisian outpost is a bit higher than most of the others. Having eaten at both the London and Paris locations, I’d agree that Paris was noticeably better.
OK! That looks very interesting on the food end of things, sufficiently luxe surroundings, and I got a reservation online confirmed within minutes. Thanks!
Yes, that would be another good option to consider. My personal feelings about the interior place it out of the running for me, but that’s another one that is highly recommended.
Thanks to everyone who contributed, but especially to you. We had a superb dinner. I loved the concept of serving the wines blind and then revealing them! Nothing was cheap, but in context it’s an excellent value. I would love to go back.