mother/daughter Paris trip

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I had the pleasure of taking my 28 yr. old daughter for her first trip to Paris in January. It was a short 5 day trip but we enjoyed several dinners together.

We stopped at the famous Angelinas for lunch soon after we arrived in Paris and had a very good lunch. The green bean and shrimp salad was a great light lunch. My daughter ordered a ham and cheese sandwich which arrived with a fried egg on top. She was very surprised! She enjoyed the new things she learned on this trip.

Willies Wine Bar was our first dinner . The food was excellent and reservations were essential. They have only a few tables and they were filled with French couples. We enjoyed duck pate and risotto for our entrees, lamb and tuna, a cheese plate, and chocolate dessert. I had a cote de roti wine.

We stayed at a hotel in the Marais and stopped at Boulangerie Malineau at 18 rue Vielle du Temple every morning for chocolate/raspberry bread. I hadn't had the combination before and was thrilled with it!

Saturday evening we had reservations at Le Dome du Marais, 53 rue des Francs Bourgeois. At 7:50 pm there was still only l table seated besides ours. We had reservations and the other table was a walk in. The menu was very limited and my daughter wasn't happy with it. Since this was her special trip, we decided to leave. I have never done this at a restaurant in Paris before and the waiter was none to pleased with us. We hadn't received any food yet, had not ordered, but got a very rude comment from him.

We walked to Bofinger since I had been there twice before and thought my daughter would enjoy it. We were lucky to get a table since they were filled 5 minutes after we arrived. She enjoyed the crab platter entree and her salmon. I thought the food was typical but not the special meal I usually enjoy in Paris.

Sunday evening we went to Bistro Hubert at 41 Blvd Pasteur. I was thrilled to find an excellent bistro open on Sunday evening.They do take reservations via e-mail. The fixed price menu is 41 Euros and they have 2 columns available, 1 is traditional food and the other discovery food. I mixed and matched my choices. We both had a delicious crab cake for our entree (nothing like ours in the US) then swordfish for my daughter and I had red peppers filled with cod and goat cheese. The plate came out with the food shaped like a large red tulip. It was wonderful! I had a sheep cheese plate with jam and my daughter again had a chocolate dessert.

We highly recommend this bistro.

Monday evening we went to Le Grand Colbert. I had made reservations here before we knew it was part of the movie Somethings Gotta Give. I was looking for restaurants with pretty settings for my daughters enjoyment, and trying those I had found good reviews for. It is a beautiful room, but unfortunatly the food was not even close to my expectations. They had a fixed price menu in addition to la carte, but those items were not available. It was 8 p.m. The lamb I ordered was tough and overcooked. Neither of us liked our food so we didn't order dessert. They were very proud of the fact that the movie had filmed a scene there and passed a book they had made filled with pictures to all the customers. Then the American music started playing loudly. This was not what I came to Paris for. Unfortunatly neither of us can recommend Le Grand Colbert.

I am returning to Paris in two days with my husband and we will be dining at Les Magnolias on Friday, La Table d'Anvers Saturday night for their special Valentines dinner and Bistro Flaubert Sunday evening. I will report back when we return!

[Betts]

I am planning to take my daughter to Paris if she ever finishes college. It sounds as though your daughter is a picky eater - what a shame in Paris. My husband had to spend 2 weeks in Paris with a vegetarian and he truly mourned the missed opportunities. Apparently Parisians are not very accomodating of the non meat eating diners - at least when neither spoke French.

[Images]

No, my daughter is not a picky eater. She ate everything she ordered and even though some of the dishes were new to her, she enjoyed the experience! We both know enough French words to understand the menus. She had taken 6 years of French in school and enjoyed trying it out in Paris.

The problem at Le Dome de Marais was the very, very limited menu, no fixed price menu and an empty restaurant. I wouldn't hesitate trying it again in the future.

[Bux]

I don't know le Dome du Marais. Michelin lists it as offering a good meal for a low price. One of the ways a restaurant can offer value is by economizing on the number of offerings. There's less waste, it takes fewer cooks, etc. and the savings get passed on to the diner. I suppose the lesson for all of us here, is to find out as much as possible about a restaurant before we reserve. There are some restaurants in Paris, the highly regarded C'Amelot comes to mind, that may offer no choice, except perhaps for dessert. The food is good, but the diner needs to be as flexible as if he's eating at someone's home.

No one likes to walk out of a restaurant after one is seated and hasn't eaten, but no on should be expected to spend an unhappy time in a restaurant either. In additions to being prepared for a restaurant, the one other advice I can offer is that all restaurants in Paris, and the rest of France, are required by law to post their menu where it is visible from the street. If in doubt, it's possible to check the menu before entering the restaurant. I would also hope that anyone who chose not to dine at the restaurant at the last minute, for any reason, would call and cancel the reservation, even if it was already past the scheduled time. No shows are uncommon in France. That American diners have no compunction about not showing up for their reservations, can have a negative effect on our ability to make them. I've heard stories (here by the way) from people who have had their reputations ruined because they did a favor for someone by making a reservation and then learning that the party never showed up or called. Even concierges have lost credibility in a similar manner.

[menton1]

We, too, dislike eating in a restaurant that's not at least half-full; there is something missing in a restaurant experience when the place is almost empty-- it's really intangible, but the liveliness is part of dining out.

Strange about the Dome du Marais, especially on a Saturday Night. This past September, we tried for a reservation there for a Sat night on Thursday, and they were already "complet". The place got lots of kudos and won a "Coup de Coeur" award for the best new restaurant in the 4th Arr. I think the chef hails from Bretagne.

Actually, I remember quite a favorable review of this restaurant on Egullet recently; but I am sympathetic to not wanting to dine in an almost-empty place....

[menton1]

Here's the excerpt from an Egullet "Thanksgiving in Paris" thread, from rpkrpd:

Le Dome due Marais, 4e, 53 rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 01-42-74-54-17. Located in the Marais at the corner of the rue de Francs-Bourgeois and the rue des Archives. Wednesday evening dinner at 9:15. The main dining room (be sure to reserve) is under a cupola in what used to be church. A mix of Breton and other dishes. For example, an entrée of coquilles St. Jacques done in the style of tripe à la mode de Caen. A wonderfully diverse French crowd, ranging from an office party dinner of 14 to a couple of tables of young lovers enjoying romantic dinners together. Old standards played at discrete volume on a piano at the edge of the circular dining room added to the atmosphere. 112 Euros for two, including aperitifs and half a bottle of Santenay

[marlena spieler]

We, too, dislike eating in a restaurant that's not at least half-full; there is something missing in a restaurant experience when the place is almost empty-- it's really intangible, but the liveliness is part of dining out.

on the other hand:

one of my best dining out alone memories was of a cold cold night in the 9th, a restaurant usually busy during the day, but empty at night, about 3 tables filled with one diner each, and another two with two at each table: a couple of lovers, and two businessmen.

the meal was so rewardingly warming and satisfying: saussicon, cassoulet, fromage, far more red wine than i usually drink alone, too much food, too heavy, and too wonderful in a funny way. because our waiter was a sort of liason, and with his encouragement, each table eventually started conversations with each other. it was not intrusive (as it sounds) but so inclusive, and for we three solo diners, delightful, and for the businessmen, too. the lovers joined in, but understandably, not a lot. they had other things to concentrate on.

the room developed such a warm feel-good atmosphere. and the cassoulet was good too.

[Louisa Chu]

The reason why the restaurant was empty was because it was too early - dinner service usually starts in Paris restaurants at 20:00 - I'm sure the place was packed by 20:30. And they do have a set price dinner menu - only about 30 Euros. And Bux is right - they offer limited choices to reduce overhead and possible losses - keeping the menu price low.

[Gifted Gourmet]

I am planning to take my daughter to Paris  if she ever finishes college.  It sounds as though your daughter is a picky eater - what a shame in Paris.  My husband had to spend 2 weeks in Paris with a vegetarian and he truly mourned the missed opportunities.  Apparently Parisians are not very accomodating of the non meat eating diners - at least when neither spoke French.

Five years ago, I took my daughter to Paris for her 25th birthday and, while we had a marvelously exciting week, I, too had the pleasure of trying to find suitable vegetarian meals for her.

We ate at an Italian restaurant (pasta, of course) on the Champs d"Elysees a few times ... and then at a variety of other places where she found it difficult to eat around the jambon and ecrivisses, which seemed everpresent on top of dishes. Even the Chinese places were not easy for her! But, because we both spoke the language, it seemed much simpler to ask about the ingredients in the dishes we ordered.

Fortunately, there is so much to see and do there that we packed a million different things into our week! and watching her face light up in the Louvre, made it all worthwhile!

Next time, I'll go for the food, by myself ... and go back to Fauchon!! There, the air is perfumed with pure butter!

Edited February 12, 2004 by Gifted Gourmet (log)

[John Talbott]

You missed a good food opportunity in a great setting. And 7:50 is way too early for a full house.

[Bux]

At 7:50 pm there was still only l table seated besides ours. We had reservations and the other table was a walk in.

I guess I missed the "still" in that sentence and its emphasis. I've known of a few good restaurants that have made the most of multiple seatings as a way of keeping prices low at the loss of a more traditional liesurely dining and even locals have accepted 7:30 reservations as a fact of life, but generally speaking, restaurants that are doing a good business before 8:00 are best avoided. They are likely to be catering to tourists in my opinion. I'd also hazard a guess that most walk-ins are tourists. The French make more of a point of reserving a table, even if it's only a half hour in advance. I've been told by residents that it's considered more respectful to call ahead.

[menton1]

Oops! I did miss the mention of the time, 7:50; Of course, they were just getting going! In Paris, the restos fill up between 8:30 & 9, particularly on a Saturday! I think, based on the reviews of this place, you missed a very good dining experience!

P.S. All restaurants in France have their menus prominently posted in the window or on the street before you go in (by law), so that you may peruse the menu carefully before deciding to dine there!