Dining at the Eiffel Tower: 58 Tour Eiffel Restaurant Review
 

Yes, we ate at the Eiffel Tower and lived to tell about it. The food was overpriced, overcooked and just plain blech. The service, once it settled, wasn't terrible. Thing is, we expected that going into the evening in which my husband, my 3-year old daughter and I had dinner. I think that's key when going to places like this: know what you're getting into. Fine French cuisine? No (especially when it's been sitting under a warmer for 45 minutes). A memorable experience? Yes.

Read the full review (with iPhone food photos here): http://www.theginamiller.com/2014/12...el-review.html

Thanks for sharing! You have a great blog.

It's too bad you had such a poor meal at 58. We were there about 3 weeks ago and went fully expecting a touristy place with passable food, but our experience far outweighed our expectations.
Both our dinners--roasted guinea fowl and beef cheeks--were flavorful, well sauced and perfect temperature. Dessert was lovely and creative. Our servers were kind and efficient. I would say that the cost of the experience was well worth it.
The only drawback I would report are the ever-present photographers who give the place a circus-like atmosphere at times.

We were probably there at the same time! :) The shrimp appetizer was really the disappointing part. The entrees weren't that bad.

At the end of the day, it was fun because the server was so personable and the view was magical. The photogs were a beating.

While it is expensive, skip 58 and go to Le Jules Verne at the tower. it deserves the Michelin star.

Ooh yes Le Jules Verne - fabulous experience... That said I went years ago when trying to get a table meant you had to book months and months in advance... Is that still the case?

Only Jules Verne--as we did another time and had a fabulous meal with that incredible view of Paris.
Also, we loved lunch when you can actually SEE Paris rather than dinner. And the tariff isn't so much.

We were fortunate enough to be invited to dinner at Jules Verne in 2012. We had a wonderful table overlooking Trocadero and the service was impeccable. The views of the city darkening, the lights coming on and seeing the twinkle from the inside out was quit stunning.

We were less than impressed with the food. We did the Prix Fixe menu and the dishes looked better for the most part than they tasted. We think the bill ran around $1500 for 4 with 2 "modest" bottles of wine. {Happily, there were no photographers}

Fast forward to last week. On our last day in Paris, we opted for lunch instead dinner and Le Ciel de Paris atop the Tour Montparnasse instead of Tour Eiffel. We went with the Gourmand Menu with 3 courses for 39 Euros.

We had a lovely window table that looked out to The Tour Eiffel and the new Louis Vitton building further out.

The meal was excellent, service was very nice and we had a wonderful time being able to see all of the city in front of us, with the TE in our view, rather than being in it and looking at TM.

I highly recommend Le Ciel de Paris for a wonderful meal.

Also loved Jules Verne. We booked a late lunch and stayed in the bar for a while afterwards to enjoy the view for a little longer. Fabulous view and service.

Fabulous FOOD and service!

As always, YMMV. One persons' idea of fabulous food and anothers' is a personal preference. One cannot argue [but that will probably be argued] that the price difference and having the Tour Eiffel in your view makes Le Ciel a worthy challenger.

Chacun à son goût.

I will opt for Le Ciel next time. But again, I think lunch is the winner meal for these--cost and view-wise. ;o)

I guess I am not alone -

http://www.eater.com/2014/10/10/6959...nt-jules-verne


And it should be pointed out that the chefs and menus change at all restaurants, and Jules Verne is no exception. Therefore what someone may have experienced years ago, even my 2012 visit, is subject to consideration.

oh my, I thought we were disappointed --

http://www.ruthreichl.com/2014/10/pa...sad-night.html

I much prefer Ciel de Paris over Jules Verne. The view is better, the food IME is better, the service is wonderful, and it costs less. I've eaten once @ Jules Verne and 2 recent @ Ciel de Paris (not counting one visit to the Montparnasse tower years ago -- when it was a different format/much cheaper)

" One persons' idea of fabulous food and anothers' is a personal preference"

No doubt about it.

"But again, I think lunch is the winner meal for these--cost and view-wise"

Totally agree.

AND on any given day in any given restaurant, you can be totally disappointed on one or more levels.

The wine we did order was going through a second fermentation, and when we mentioned that the sommelier frowned and said repressively, "This wine was chosen by M. Ducasse himself.">>

to which the answer is surely `'then M. Ducasse can drink it"!

after all that, I'm definitely sold on Le Ciel.