Has anyone been to La Guirlande de Julie or La Varangue in Paris?
 

My family is considering the La Guirlande de Julie for lunch and La Varangue for dinner. Has anyone eaten at either of these restaurants? I am interested in the quality of the food and the prices we can expect.
Thank you for your help! Laurie

I love La Guirlande de Julie. It's a very pretty restaurant, and in warm weather when there are tables right on the Place des Vosges, it's a magical place to be in Paris. The menu is moderate for Paris (last time I ate there was about 3 years ago and it was about $50 a person - wih today's exchange rate, it's bound to be more), but the food was delicious and the service impeccable. It's not a fussy or super-elegant place, but it has a lovely décor and you feel as though you are having a memorable Paris dining experience.

Sorry, don't know the othe restaurant.

StCirq, Thank you for the information about La Guirlande de Julie. This is a little more expensive than I was hoping, but it will be our first day in Paris, so maybe we will splurge.

I found a website that said they have a menu for 21 Euro per person. I hope this is for lunch, also. Thanks again! Laurie

Dear Laurie,
I certainly respect StCirq's opinion but we had dinner there last March and I must say it was unremarkable. Little things-competing music in the main room and the kitchen, mistimed delivery of our courses and a very empty restaurant took the edge off. I love the Place des Voges however and if you have a chance to eat under the arcades, it would certainly help the ambiance. BTW the meal we had with pitcher of house red was only 55 euro, so it wasn't expensive. I rated the food as nice but not exceptional. Paul

Dear Paul: I'm sorry to hear about your experience. As I said, last time I was there was about 3 years ago. It was dinner. No music at all was played. Funny how people have totally different experiences at the same restaurant. Competing music would make me nuts. I think Laurie needs to hear from more peopel who've been there more recently.

Hi Laurie,
We also had a very relaxing and pleasant lunch at La Guirlande de Julie.
We hadn't originally planned to lunch there (Zagat doesn't rate the food that highly) but instead at Ma Bourgogne, but we hadn't reserved and Ma Bourgogne was packed. So we went across the gorgeous Place des Voges to La G de J (owned by Claude Terrail of La Tour d'Argent, I believe), where we received a gracious greeting and were seated in the back dining room. It was a cold and rainy March day so couldn't sit outside. My husband chose the signature dish, the pot-au-feu, served in a large Le Crueset casserole, while I chose that well priced menu (salmon en papillote). We agreed that the Zagat rating was too low for the quality of our meal, and planned to return some time, but again it was lunch, not dinner, and not this past March.

Thank you all for your reviews of Guirlande de Julie. I think we may skip it this time. It sounds a little pricier than I had hoped. We are a family of 4, traveling with 2 teenagers and we are looking for nice "budget" type restaurants. Thanks again for your advice! Laurie