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-   -   Eiffel Tower new restaurant (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/eiffel-tower-new-restaurant-299892/)

Suedee Feb 7th, 2008 04:00 AM

Eiffel Tower new restaurant
 
Has anyone eaten at the new Jules Verne restaurant run by Alain Ducasse which opened late 2007. Would appreciate comments on food,value, atmosphere, set menu vs a la carte. Thinking of booking for July 2008.

amyb Feb 7th, 2008 05:08 AM

Don't think too long...every date I have tried for my trip in April, there are no times available.

janisj Feb 7th, 2008 05:27 AM

Hint for using the forum -- When you don't get any/many answers, it is better to top your original thread instead of starting a new one.

(to find all your posts, click on your name)

djkbooks Feb 7th, 2008 07:00 AM

You can book online. My recommendation would be to book, then think about it and watch for reviews. Book the earliest time so you can enjoy the daylight, sunset, twilight...

And, also wander by the day before and take a look at the posted menu, just to make sure there are appealing (to you) offerings.

brioche Feb 7th, 2008 09:38 AM

We just returned from Paris a few days ago. We felt very fortunate that our hotel was able to make a reservation for us at Jules Verne.

While actually having dinner in the one-and-only Eiffel Tower is a special experience, without a doubt, our evening there was not as fabulous as we had anticipated. The meal, while very good, wasn't stunning or memorable. The service was pleasant but perfunctory at first, then became almost non-existent as the evening progressed. The view was wonderful, but the overall atmosphere of the restaurant seemed as cold as the battery-powered, blob-shaped "candle" on our table.

The bottle of wine we ordered was brought to our table already opened, which was surprising. The sommelier served us some wine and then took the bottle with him, returning infrequently to serve more. We finished our main courses before we could get his attention and request that the remaining wine be served. We asked for water refills repeatedly with no results until my husband made his irritation known to the waiter. Our daughter and son-in-law were with us - they don't drink wine and they sat with empty water glasses for much of the evening.

My husband's irritation with the waiter apparently didn't sit well with him because the atmosphere chilled even more. He asked where we were from, we told him Texas and he said, "Oh, George Bush..." - the way he said it was not friendly and made us feel uncomfortable. Also, we were not served the plate of small sweets after we had dessert and coffee that we observed being given to other tables around us. Our punishment for speaking up about the water and wine shortage, I guess. When you are spending a small fortune on a meal, you would not expect to have to such poor service.

By the way, the restroom at Jules Verne is very small and was a mess, with crumpled paper towels spilling out of the trash can and water puddles on the floor.

We asked the waiter to call a taxi for us. I don't know what taxi company Jules Verne uses, but we had the most frightening taxi ride of our lives on our way back to our hotel. At the first traffic light, the driver appeared to be falling asleep - his head nodded forward and he just sat there even when the light had changed. He then perked up and as we entered a busy intersection with multiple lanes of traffic in each direction, proceeded to drive directly into lanes of oncoming traffic. He swerved just in time, made a sharp u-turn and drove more normally for a while. We were shocked by what had just happened. We have had some exciting taxi rides in Paris, but have never felt our lives were at risk before. As our heart rates returned to normal, a Ferrari roared up the street in the next lane, and our taxi driver seemed to be drag-racing with it, speeding up between lights trying to keep pace with it. This was the scariest taxi ride any of us had ever experienced and we were very grateful to make it back to the hotel intact.

Sorry for this very long answer to your question. Others may have had a more positive experience at Jules Verne, but ours was less than stellar.


RonZ Feb 7th, 2008 05:58 PM

On the bright side, your post has all the makings of a Fodors classic.

NeoPatrick Feb 7th, 2008 06:49 PM

RonZ, ????????

Thanks for your post, brioche. It sounds totally believable and detailed, and is just the sort of post I like to see rather than a vague "we went and it was awful" or "the waiter was rude". Your specifics make the post much more meaningful in my opinion.

djkbooks Feb 7th, 2008 09:16 PM

Yes, thank you for posting, Brioche...

Too distressing to have less than a fabulous experience, in every way, at an allegedly "worth every penny for the experience" dining destination.

Before the "changeover", we visited Le Jules Verne three times over the years and were thrilled. But, the last time we had a reservation, we wandered by to peruse the current menu (which we always do now) and it just did not appeal. So, we cancelled our reservation (much to the delight of the couple standing next to us).

anna_roz Feb 7th, 2008 10:06 PM

We had lunch at Jules Verne in June 2006, before the changing of the chefs.

The food was good, but certainly not incredible, and service was somewhere between reserved and snooty, but the atmosphere was incomparable. To me it was an absolute thrill to dine inside the Eiffel Tower. And lunch was only half of a small fortune.

Anna Roz

stormbird Feb 7th, 2008 11:25 PM

I've never dined at Jules Verne but we did dine at Altitude 95, down below. Had an absolute fantastic meal, great service, fabulous staff, lots of fun and a humdinger of a view to boot. I was not anticipating this to be very good and thought the food would be mediocre at best. But as it turns out our evening there was an absolute highlight for us all. It might just an option for you (certainly a cheaper one). :)

hopscotch Feb 7th, 2008 11:37 PM


brioche,

Thanks for the post. It sure cooled my curiosity. It also reminded me of a couple of overpriced places in the 8th. Those stand-around do-nothing penguins are nauseating.


Vanessa1981 Feb 8th, 2008 04:16 AM

This is very helpful to my recent search and investigation into a good valentines dinner.

lakebluffer Feb 8th, 2008 08:32 PM

Hi Stormbird: I didn't understand the reference to "down below" about Altitude 95. I thought JVerne was at street level; am I wrong in this? I was considering JVerne for lunch BEFORE reading these posts, but will now drop that plan. So could you please expound on Alt. 95?
Thanks!

stormbird Feb 8th, 2008 09:09 PM

Hi LB,
Well, the Altitude 95 restaurant is on the 1st floor at an altitude of 95 metres above sea level. The Le Jules Verne restaurant is located on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower.

Altitude 95 is a cheaper alternative to the Jules Verne. Like I said we had dinner there and just had a wonderful time. Jules Verne was always out of our budget.

daph Feb 8th, 2008 09:10 PM

A very interesting review. We have never been to the Jules Verne but I understand that the reason for not having real candles on the tables is the potential fire hazard - the Eiffel Tower would not be a great place to be in a fire - no elevators going, with crowds decending those outside stairs in the dark.

ira Feb 9th, 2008 01:10 PM

Hi B,

Thanks for your post.

>The bottle of wine we ordered was brought to our table already opened, which was surprising. The sommelier served us some wine and then took the bottle with him,...

What? What? What?

I think that I will stick with Taillevent and Les Ombres for a while.

((I))






Suedee Feb 15th, 2008 02:47 AM

Thank you so much everyone, this has certainly given me something to think about and weigh up...really disappointed ... also believe from another article that the restaurant closes by 9.30 pm.. we wouldnt want to be there before 8pm, so that in addition to the other negative comments, seems to settle it. Would appreciate suggestions of where in Paris to celebrate my daughter's 21st for a memorable meal/view/experience instead.. we would like to dress up and celebrate in style! Is Les Ombres suitable, or would Le Train Bleu be better or ??? where else? Enjoy

caroline_edinburgh Feb 22nd, 2008 04:03 AM

Here'a an article about it, although not actually a review - http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/...cle3370246.ece

Judyrem Feb 22nd, 2008 05:39 AM

Brioche, that was very enlightening review. I would have been hoppin mad too! That taxi ride was the ultimate topper to bad experience!!!

ira Feb 22nd, 2008 09:10 AM

Hi S,

>to celebrate my daughter's 21st for a memorable meal/view/experience instead.. we would like to dress up and celebrate in style! Is Les Ombres suitable, or would Le Train Bleu be better or ??? where else? Enjoy

I would pick Les Ombres for the view of the Eiffel Tower.

I would choose Taillevent for the dining experience.

I think that Train Bleu, although a very interesting room, would be less suitable.

((I))
For our upcoming visit we have res at Les Ombres for a dinner and Taillevent for a lunch.



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