dutyfree

My son and I have a reservation for spots at Jim Haynes place for "the dinner" and was wondering if anyone had more current/up to date things to say about it. It is going to cost about 20 euros a piece so am wondering if the experience was well worth it(would son in his middles 20's enjoy it?).

I never seem to be in Paris on a Sunday night so was excited about getting an opportunity to go. Thoughts?

dutyfree

Anyone?

LoveItaly

Hi dutyfree, other Fodorites have attended Jim Haynes for dinner. I do not know if you can pull up their reports through the Search engine her but try for the Fordorite name SeaUrchin.

Treesa

Dutyfree, we had dinner at Jim's last September. It now costs 25 euros per person. I must tell you I enjoyed the experience but would not repeat it. Jim is a very gracious host and introduced people as they arrived. The food was home cooked and rather plain and there was boxed wine of dubious quality. The people were very interesting especially the women - there were some young chicks as well as seasoned veterans who have seen it all. The place is quite small, not enough room to sit down. On top of that it started raining so the people who spilled into the patio area had to return to an already overcrowded space. Overall I found the whole experience amusing and I'm glad I did it.

dutyfree

Thanks Treesa for the update. I have actually had "a drink" with Jim through a girl that I was flying with to Paris one day. Very unusual,eclectic,etc.I had never heard of him before that.

I am taking my 25 year old son on a two day layover(which we NEVER have) this weekend to Paris and thought that this might interest him. Quite a few of my favorite restaurants are closed on Sunday too.However,when you start getting up to 25 euros a person(and the kid is a vegan) I am wondering if I should think of something else that might be a better use of 50 euros for a meal.

Pinchme_iam_dreaming

We went to a sunday sept 23 2007 dinner at Jim Haynes. the experience was OK at best. Mr Hatnes is a very gracious host and introduced guests as get there but, Moost of the guests were kinda of strange! We apid 60 Euro for our visit but it was a donation instead of a price. the food was very basis fare. Kinda of like a stew with rice and potatoes and no flavor. The wine was a cheap box wine but all you want. The people were of the gay, set but still very interesting and well read. Would we do it again? NO WAY but for a one tiee experiance it was a weird and one of a kind thing.

dutyfree

It definitely sounds like we should go to a great restaurant to spend that 50-60 euros then? Boxed wine in Paris...say it ain't so. I can get great wine at Monoprix for even 4 euros a bottle. Anyone else with an experience?

tod

I for one am grateful to read some really honest opinions here.
Sounds like Jim Haynes' tourist trap has almost run its course.
Many folks, rich, famous, well-connected, & some a bit eccentric, like to do what is reffered to as 'slumming it' - that's here down south in Africa.
To pay big bucks to eat crappy food & drink "Chateau Le Cardboard" just to bump into strangers seems a bit desperate for something to do - Crikey! You're in Paris for goodness sake!

LoveItaly

Well let me put it this way dutyfree, I have never been to Paris but from what I have heard it would not be type of evening. I am not a snob but I want to sit down on a chair at a table when I eat and I don't care for cheap boxed wine. And from everything I have read and heard about Paris I would think you and your son could have a more pleasant evening elsewhere.

janisj

Here's a video of one of his evenings

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv4efivC8MY

janisj

This one is longer and shows the prep work (!) and food (!!) and a mob w/ over 100 people attending (!!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-zCP...eature=related

cafegoddess

Just curious, who is this guy and what is so special about going to his house for dinner? Never heard of him until now.

SeaUrchin

Jim Haynes is an author and an interesting man. He opens up his home on Sundays for what is an informal get together, sort of like a Fodorite GTG. We met world travelers and professional locals who were very interesting to talk to. Later on some Fodorites came and we all met and had a nice evening. The food was fine, it is buffet but tasty and, yes, you balance your food and drink like a cocktail party. The wine was not great but I would assume you could bring your own.

Dutyfree, it is probably not what you and your son are looking for as far as an entertaining evening. I have been to Paris numerous times and that evening was something different for me. It was so nice to meet up with Amy and Melissa, Barb and I went together by cab.
Here are the pictures from Melissa, hope she doesn't mind:
http://tinyurl.com/k2vdt

walkinaround

sounds annoying.

cafegoddess

SeaUrchin,

Thank you for the explanation and the pictures.

SeaUrchin

You're welcome, cafegoddess!

Walkinaround, oh, we are not that annoying! You may have even liked us if you were there the night we were.

Of course it is not for everyone. I would most likely not return unless I were traveling with someone who wanted to go.

plafield

Another perspective: I took my two daughters (then 18 and 21)to Jim Haynes' dinner a couple of years ago and they had a fantastic time. They both remember it as one of the highlights of our week.

It was our first night of 7 nights and the place was packed with all different kinds of people. The food was OK but not great. The wine was indeed, cheap boxed wine, but plenty of it and almost everyone drank plenty of it (including my girls.)

We met many really fascinating people from all over the world and it was a really fun adventure but both of my girls had been to Paris before (my oldest lived in France for a semester) and we had a whole week to explore. If you're only there for 2 days/evenings, you may not want to spend the time doing this but it is a lot of fun.

It's a social thing, not a dining thing. IF you and your son want the opportunity to meet a bunch of fascinating people from all over the world in a very unusual setting then go. If you want a great meal and primarily the company of each other, skip it. There are plenty of great bistros in Paris that are open on Sunday evenings where you can dine on wonderful food for around the same money as Jim Haynes' dinner (but probably not including wine!)

Christina

I went to his place on one of those in summer of 2006, I think. I did it just for something to do on a Sunday, which is a slow day, and I was traveling alone.

It was okay, but I'm not sure I'd repeat it, even for myself. I thought the food was fine for 20 euro (except the wine, ugh) but it wasn't really an enjoyable dinner because there was no place to sit. YOu had to stand up, and it was very very crowded. Sure, a few people managed to find places to sit, but most did not. He allows way too many people in there for the space, as far as I'm concerned. I do not enjoy eating food while standing up and trying to juggle thigns with my hand.

I paid 20 euro and it was not a "donation". Maybe one could call it that, and of course he cannot legally make you pay, but it was quite clear when you made the reservation that this was the fee and you were supposed to pay it. He keeps lists, and tells you exactly how much to pay.

I didn't notice any younger folks there on the day I went and would not think it very interesting at all for them, in that case. I met a few interesting people, but some of them had kind of their own clique and were not really interested in meeting anyone (these were regulars, some expats, short or longterm who live in Paris). I thought Jim Haynes was an interesting man from his website, and the idea is fun -- but I barely spoke to him, as there were so many people there, you really do not converse with him.

I would never go to that if the weather were not good or it even suggested rain, as the place is much too small without the outside area.

mcnyc

Looks interesting enough to go once, just for the experience. But not something on my to-do list unless someone I was traveling with wanted to go.

So, what is this about his "famous cheesecake?"

CopperandJade

Dutyfree,

I think that a visit to Jim's very much depends on the night, some may be "better" than others. It is most valuable if you are alone, in the mood for speaking english (although there are many people of other nationalities) and open to possibility...I had been in Paris for the month and had only one friend. I had met him there and our walks and dinners enhanced my trip and are unforgettable. I thought that I could possibly meet others. The night that I went there was only one person under the age of 30. (of 60 people).

If you are only thinking of a lovely French meal, you can do FAR better in Paris for 25E/person. We had:
---Tuna (canned) pasta
---Salad..greens and walnuts
---Dessert...slices of melon
---boxed wine and beer.

The beauty of my visit is that it was an exquisite June evening and most of us ate, drank and mingled in the "garden"....ummm, the "garden is actually a private (coded gate) alleyway with potted plants...but provided a beautiful view of the row of glassed studios which had been built, I believe, in the mid-nineteenth century. I would love to live in one of them! The mixture of people was very eclectic. That evening I met two intriguing people. The first was Luke, a 16 year old whose father was a close friend of Jim's. God help the women of his age...he was 35 years younger and charmed me utterly, we talked for an hour. The other fascinatng person that I met was a pianist who had lived in Paris for 22 years. She was 45, looked 35 and could have been the twin sister of Juliette Binoche...(yes, it could have sent me into a catatonic depression, but she was such a lovely person!!!!)...a few days later we met for coffee and talked for hours...a beautiful memory.

Jim is intriguing and we did talk at length. I love the spirit of what he has been dong for 30 years...Sundays can be a touch lonely in Paris, if you are alone. If you are in Paris for more than a week, I think that it would be a special experience. Yes, I would go again, not for the food or wine, but for the feelng of the evening.