Anniversary Dinner in Paris
 

My wife and I will be in Paris between 21 and 26 October. Our 40th wedding anniversary is during this period and we are hoping to have a nice dinner in celebration. We are restricted in the amount of clothing we will have with us and so cannot dress too formally.
Any ideas where we should go and should we book now?

wld

I would kill to get a table at Le Timbre.

We tried to get in last Novemeber (we didn't make reservations), but they were packed.

Thin

What, exactly, are your clothing constrictions?

Le Train Bleu is pretty safe, but it's not totally high-end and you do have to be presentable.

What kind of food and atmosphere are you looking for?

Thankyou for your replies so far.

We will not have suits or anything like that but will have smart casual - eg., trousers or slacks and collared shirt (maybe should put a tie in just in case?)

Forgot to say - as for food - when in Rome ...

So French but really open as to both type of food and atmosphere.

Hey SW,

What's your budget?

Why can't DH bring a jacket? He can put a tie in the pocket.

((I))

suewarren - Smart casual is pretty good for most eateries like Le Train Bleu. It's so magnificent inside and I saw a post from Kerouac that said the food had greatly improved?!
We ate there on an 'all girls night' - the waiters were buzzing around us and even stopping to have their photos taken with us. Then, after desert one of them came over and gave each girl a large blue Menu for a momento!
You definitely will not need a formal jacket - My husband prefers to wear a smart cardigan - no tie, but it can't hurt the image so take one! And yes....book now!

Here are some other options that have splendid interiors:

Vagenende - 142 Blvd Saint-Germain, 6th Arr. Tel:0143266818
La Fermette Marbeuf - 5 rue Marbeuf, 8th Arr. Tel:0153230800
Mollard - 115 rue Saint-Lazare,8th Arr. Tel:0143875022
Le Grand Cafe` -4 Blvd des Capucines,9th Arr. Tel:0143121900
Julien - 16 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis, 10th Arr. Tel: 0147701206

Maybe view them on the internet?

Another vote for www.le-train-bleu.com

We will not have suits or anything like that but will have smart casual - eg., trousers or slacks and collared shirt (maybe should put a tie in just in case?)

A tie with a shirt with no jacket looks naff.

Do you want to look like you are the manager of a convenience store?

Thin

Why WOULDN'T your husband have a jacket along in October?

~Liz

The best meal that I had in Paris was at Le Cigale Recamier (Metro stop: Severes-Babylone). Try for an outside table that faces the street. Whatever you do, please avoid Bouillon Racine because it's a lousy tourist trap.

I have been to Michelin starred restaurants in Paris for special occasions. I chose lunches. They were relatively cheaper, relatively easier to get a reservation, and we didn't have to dress up as much.

Only about a half of the men wore jackets or suits. The suits crowds looked like business people.

When making a reservation, mention anniversary and the restaurant might do something special for you. At Le Grand Vefour, the maitre d' brought a small flower arrangement at the dessert time and took a picture and gave us a copy.

Lunches at these type of places were still way beyond what the best restaurants in my city can offer for dinner.

Also check out Le Violon d'Ingres.

Lunch outside at Le Pre Catelan in the Bois de Boulogne would be a wonderful celebration.

I had lunch at La Grand Cascade and Le Cinq this past spring, both excellent. You would probably feel more comfortable in a jacket at Le Cinq. There was a couple celebrating, I assume a major anniversary, while I was there. The table had white (rose?) petals all over it. Dinner at one of these restaurants would be wonderful but you don't say what your budget is.

Happy anniversary and enjoy your trip!

We had a lovely anniversary dinner at Pierre Gagniere a year and a half ago. It was a tasting menu, at least five courses, very long, with amazing foodie food. However, I think you would want to have at least a jacket. We tried to get a reservation for Jules Verne, but could not. If you want to go there, book now.

Violon d'Ingres!!!

Oh, that used to be my favourite restaurant in all of Europe, but I have not been there in 8 years.

Do you remember Elaine of TTG who used to post here?? She and I were the cheerleaders of Violon d'Ingres back in the day. :)

Let me email my old friend, the Countess de Billy, who lives in Paris, and see if she has any suggestions. She is usually on the radar of things since her daughter works at French Vogue.

Thin

I do remember Elaine. And I went to the Violon d'Ingres after reading her and your posts about it. I haven't been for a couple of years, but I just love that place!

If you haven't been in 8 years, you might want to read about its "transformation" here:

http://www.leviolondingres.com/eng_ambiance.htm

Thanks for all of that and - ok - I will have a jacket! I will have a look on the net at the websites of all of the suggestions (where they have websites) in the next couple of days and make the reservation.

The reason we are keeping our clothing to a minimum is that we discovered, after booking our onward and return flights to Marseille with Air France (spending the last week of our holiday there), that the baggage allowance is only 20kg. We will be having some nights in Hong Kong, Singapore and London as part of the same trip.

My wife will kill me for having this attitude but, in answer to some of the questions, I am not too concerned about the price of our anniversary dinner. (40 years after all, Sue!)

We celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary in Paris and ate at Brassiere Bofinger. It has the most beautiful art nouveau (my passion) ceiling, food was great -we had sea food served on a table stand, good service , just smart casual dress and a glass of champagne on the house as we told the maitre de we wanted a table under the special ceiling because it was our anniversary. Address rue de la Bastille phone (0) 1 42 72 87 82.