le Jules Verne
Apr 17th, 2006, 06:51 PM
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Lunch or dinner? Figure on $100 p/p and you won't be unpleasantly surprised. Worth it? You can get the same food at ground level for half the price. But you're in <u>PARIS!</u> Dining on the <u>EIFFEL TOWER!</u> Live it up, and don't count every sous!
(But you <u>do</u> get to use the private elevator to the 2e étage.)
(But you <u>do</u> get to use the private elevator to the 2e étage.)
Apr 17th, 2006, 07:00 PM
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Just minutes ago, ice leopard posted this on another thread:
"I just got back from Paris and was disappointed with the food in Jules Verne."
But I'd still agree with Robespierre. You may hope for good food, but you go BECAUSE it's the Eiffel Tower.
"I just got back from Paris and was disappointed with the food in Jules Verne."
But I'd still agree with Robespierre. You may hope for good food, but you go BECAUSE it's the Eiffel Tower.
Apr 17th, 2006, 07:58 PM
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See www.reservethebest.com for lunch and dinner prices.
Despite what others may tell you, along with all you may hear or read, the cuisine is positvely extraordinary. This is one of only two dining destinations on the entire planet we've found truly "worth every penny for the 'experience'" (the other being Chillingsworth), and worth re-visiting...
We reserved/dined at Le Jules Vernes on our first trip to Paris, fully expecting to be disappointed with the cuisine. Instead, we were overwhelmed... I can still remember the extraordinary tenderlion with caramelized shallots and each and every course of the rest of the meal.
Since then, we've reserved for every trip.
We always go for dinner, reserving at opening time (I would guess your best bet for snaring a window table, as we've always been given one that way - booking far in advance the earliest time...).
It could not be more magical than to arrive in the daylight, enjoy dusk, twilight, sunset... Actually, we've learned to head outdoors after dinner, and before dessert, coffee, after dinner drinks, so as to enjoy the views (and photo ops), then return to the cocktail lounge, which has the best views of all - Place de la Concorde, Notre Dame...along with a fantastic piano player.
On one visit, we declined appetizers so as to experience the cheese course, the selections looking so incredibly appealing (and we still cannot quite figure), which was positively amazing.
Last May, we opted for the "Menu of Discovery" - eight sensational courses, one after another. The chef wandered through the lounge, signed our menu, and posed for a photo with us!
When in Paris (and elsewhere), I book mostly "value" for the cuisine and atmosphere places (and there are hundreds), with the occasional splurge.
For us, this is one of those places where you'll not even remember the cost, rather the experience.
Robespierre: Do tell...WHERE, oh please, WHERE, can you get "the same food at ground level for half the price"???
Despite what others may tell you, along with all you may hear or read, the cuisine is positvely extraordinary. This is one of only two dining destinations on the entire planet we've found truly "worth every penny for the 'experience'" (the other being Chillingsworth), and worth re-visiting...
We reserved/dined at Le Jules Vernes on our first trip to Paris, fully expecting to be disappointed with the cuisine. Instead, we were overwhelmed... I can still remember the extraordinary tenderlion with caramelized shallots and each and every course of the rest of the meal.
Since then, we've reserved for every trip.
We always go for dinner, reserving at opening time (I would guess your best bet for snaring a window table, as we've always been given one that way - booking far in advance the earliest time...).
It could not be more magical than to arrive in the daylight, enjoy dusk, twilight, sunset... Actually, we've learned to head outdoors after dinner, and before dessert, coffee, after dinner drinks, so as to enjoy the views (and photo ops), then return to the cocktail lounge, which has the best views of all - Place de la Concorde, Notre Dame...along with a fantastic piano player.
On one visit, we declined appetizers so as to experience the cheese course, the selections looking so incredibly appealing (and we still cannot quite figure), which was positively amazing.
Last May, we opted for the "Menu of Discovery" - eight sensational courses, one after another. The chef wandered through the lounge, signed our menu, and posed for a photo with us!
When in Paris (and elsewhere), I book mostly "value" for the cuisine and atmosphere places (and there are hundreds), with the occasional splurge.
For us, this is one of those places where you'll not even remember the cost, rather the experience.
Robespierre: Do tell...WHERE, oh please, WHERE, can you get "the same food at ground level for half the price"???
Apr 17th, 2006, 09:17 PM
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<<Figure on $100 p/p and you won't be unpleasantly surprised.>>
I am afraid you WILL be surprised - when you get the bill.
Robespierre - have you eaten at JV? I cannot speak for lunch, but if you are going for dinner, plan for at least E200 per person, IF you want wine then the sky is the limit. I would suggest you budget E300 pp.
Is it worth it? No one can answer that for you. For me it certainly was (see my Paris food reports).
I am afraid you WILL be surprised - when you get the bill.
Robespierre - have you eaten at JV? I cannot speak for lunch, but if you are going for dinner, plan for at least E200 per person, IF you want wine then the sky is the limit. I would suggest you budget E300 pp.
Is it worth it? No one can answer that for you. For me it certainly was (see my Paris food reports).
Apr 18th, 2006, 05:42 AM
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I must be the only on who thought JV was a complete waste of time. HAted it.
Hated it. I'd rather eat in most cafes than here. Take that money and go buy yourself a wonderful gift - a a night at a fabulous hotel, and stay away rom JV. The service was pathetic, the food was nondescript, the ambiance was none.
MY daughter agreed. Highly overrated IMHO.
You'll have a lot more fun at a lively restaurant in the 6th, eat some oysters au gratin, or have pate fois gras d'oie somewhere with a glass of wine. THAT you'll remember.
Hated it. I'd rather eat in most cafes than here. Take that money and go buy yourself a wonderful gift - a a night at a fabulous hotel, and stay away rom JV. The service was pathetic, the food was nondescript, the ambiance was none.
MY daughter agreed. Highly overrated IMHO.
You'll have a lot more fun at a lively restaurant in the 6th, eat some oysters au gratin, or have pate fois gras d'oie somewhere with a glass of wine. THAT you'll remember.
Apr 18th, 2006, 06:23 AM
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For lunch it is about 150€ for two with a bottle of wine for the prix fixe. It is TOTALLY worth it. The food is quite good and the service elegant. The view is of course a part of the extraordinary experience.
Apr 18th, 2006, 09:21 AM
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We had lucnch there, asbolutely worth it. Not the best meal I've had in my life or anything, but a very memorable lunch and a pleasant all-around experience. It's worth it just for the no-wait ride to the 2nd floor!
Jul 15th, 2006, 12:59 PM
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Went for lunch in May. We absolutely loved it. Spent about 350 euros for lunch (with wine). We thought the presentation was excellent, the views beyond comparison and the food was terrific. Plus the private elevator alone is worth the trip. Got to do it once in your lifetime. Giving the food a grade: Appetizer=A Main Course = B Desert=A Views from a window seat=priceless. Again, as some have said before, the point of going here is not just for the food, but for the place. Life is what you make it. Enjoy everything you can in this short time we get on this planet.
Jul 15th, 2006, 06:35 PM
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I have to relate my favorite JV story. 13 years ago, my wife and I went to Paris for our Honeymoon. We made reservations for the JV months ahead. Got there at 7:00pm, were seated next to a window with the most incredible view. 4 hours later, after too many courses, two bottles of wine, and and close to $300 poorer, we took the private elevator back down 'to earth'. My wife was in the beautiful dress that she wore to our wedding (2nd time for both of us - dress was a nice white t-length). As we walked near some of the shrubs at the base of the tower, my wife told me "I don't feel very well", and promptly got sick in the bushes at the base. $150 of sick, so to speak. Next time we went back to Paris, we noticed that there was a small fence around the shrubbed area. Coincidence? I don't know.
Jul 15th, 2006, 07:58 PM
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I am a huge proponent of the fact that you can dine very, very, well, in gorgeous surroundings, with excellent service and cuisine, for quite moderate prices, in Paris. Also, that you can collect one terrific picnic meal and libations for enjoying along the Seine or on a park bench or in your room or apartment. All a delightful and romantic experience.
We've had dinner at Le Jules Verne on every trip to Paris. For us, it has been the only allegedly "worth every penny for the experience" dining destination on the planet (and we've visited many, many). We have always been spectacularly pleased with the food in every way. At those prices, one expects them to deliver, and we have always been impressed and never disappointed.
In my experience, the farther ahead you book, the more likely you'll get a window table. (We've always booked as soon as we know we're going, at the earliest time, and have always received a window table.)
You can check prices and reserve at www.reservethebest.com
I would gladly subsist on baguettes and tap water the rest of our visit, even pare down the luggage and take the RER from CDG, if necessary, to budget for Le Jules Vernes. At home, I'm a great cook, and we nearly never dine out (except when traveling) or bring in "take-out", even pizza, subs.
I followed advice to book the earliest time so as to arrive in the daylight and enjoy dusk, then twilight, then sunset. We also advise our server that we wish to go outside after dinner (there's a special staircase and the 2nd etage is plenty high up enough to enjoy the views, and is especially advantageous for photos), then enjoy our coffee and dessert in the cocktail lounge. Most people are not aware of the cocktail lounge. After dinner they head for the elevators. But, the views from the lounge are the very best! Toward Notre Dame, Hotel de Ville, Tuileries, Pont Alexandre III, Place de la Concorde... And, there's a fabulous piano player (who's been there on all our visits and remembers our requests).
One year, I bought the cookbook (in English), and the chef, Alain Reix, came out of the kitchen and presented it to me after signing it.
Last year, we had our dining room (at our window table) all to ourselves for nearly an hour - tres romantique!) and Alain Reix came out into the lounge, visited with everyone, and posed for photos.
Also last year, we opted for the "Menu of Discovery", which was absolutely magnificent (our "keepsake menus", glossy dark blue and shiny silver, with silver binding cord and tassle, signed by M. Reix in the lounge), because we just could not make up our minds.
I had to look up the price (€125 each), and the menu (8 courses including foie gras poached in bordeaux, Dublin prawns and caviar with cucumbers, warm poppyseed bread stuffed with cream of crab and shrimp, baked mullet with roasted vegetables, avocado sorbet, bresse chicken with morels, utterly amazing chocolate cake with raspberry ice cream, caramelized custard - no comparison to "creme caramel"
which is the very best evidence that "you remember the experience long after you've forgotten the price".
A three-tiered silver tray (as if we needed or wanted it) full of more sweets (roasted cashews, petit fours, strawberries dipped in chocolate, ethereal chocolate truffles...) was delivered with our coffee (as always) in the cocktail lounge. Pas de problem, all was packed up (and enjoyed "later" during the night...).
For anyone who enjoys a cheese course, the display and flourish with which is it presented here is, well, only place even close might be Le Grand Lefour or Chez Jean.
We rode the elevator down with what remained of the staff. Lest anyone suggest we outstayed our welcome, we were not only encouraged to stay, the piano player kept on playing our favorites, long after he should have been off duty.
Following our extraordinary repast, we always leisurely stroll "home" all the way down and through the Champs de Mars, with the Tour Eiffel sparkling on the hour, to wherever we're staying in the 7th (lately an apartment).
For us, Le Jules Vernes could not possibly be more magical and tres, tres, romantique.
I am SO looking forward to spending our wedding anniversary there in September.
We've had dinner at Le Jules Verne on every trip to Paris. For us, it has been the only allegedly "worth every penny for the experience" dining destination on the planet (and we've visited many, many). We have always been spectacularly pleased with the food in every way. At those prices, one expects them to deliver, and we have always been impressed and never disappointed.
In my experience, the farther ahead you book, the more likely you'll get a window table. (We've always booked as soon as we know we're going, at the earliest time, and have always received a window table.)
You can check prices and reserve at www.reservethebest.com
I would gladly subsist on baguettes and tap water the rest of our visit, even pare down the luggage and take the RER from CDG, if necessary, to budget for Le Jules Vernes. At home, I'm a great cook, and we nearly never dine out (except when traveling) or bring in "take-out", even pizza, subs.
I followed advice to book the earliest time so as to arrive in the daylight and enjoy dusk, then twilight, then sunset. We also advise our server that we wish to go outside after dinner (there's a special staircase and the 2nd etage is plenty high up enough to enjoy the views, and is especially advantageous for photos), then enjoy our coffee and dessert in the cocktail lounge. Most people are not aware of the cocktail lounge. After dinner they head for the elevators. But, the views from the lounge are the very best! Toward Notre Dame, Hotel de Ville, Tuileries, Pont Alexandre III, Place de la Concorde... And, there's a fabulous piano player (who's been there on all our visits and remembers our requests).
One year, I bought the cookbook (in English), and the chef, Alain Reix, came out of the kitchen and presented it to me after signing it.
Last year, we had our dining room (at our window table) all to ourselves for nearly an hour - tres romantique!) and Alain Reix came out into the lounge, visited with everyone, and posed for photos.
Also last year, we opted for the "Menu of Discovery", which was absolutely magnificent (our "keepsake menus", glossy dark blue and shiny silver, with silver binding cord and tassle, signed by M. Reix in the lounge), because we just could not make up our minds.
I had to look up the price (€125 each), and the menu (8 courses including foie gras poached in bordeaux, Dublin prawns and caviar with cucumbers, warm poppyseed bread stuffed with cream of crab and shrimp, baked mullet with roasted vegetables, avocado sorbet, bresse chicken with morels, utterly amazing chocolate cake with raspberry ice cream, caramelized custard - no comparison to "creme caramel"
which is the very best evidence that "you remember the experience long after you've forgotten the price".A three-tiered silver tray (as if we needed or wanted it) full of more sweets (roasted cashews, petit fours, strawberries dipped in chocolate, ethereal chocolate truffles...) was delivered with our coffee (as always) in the cocktail lounge. Pas de problem, all was packed up (and enjoyed "later" during the night...).
For anyone who enjoys a cheese course, the display and flourish with which is it presented here is, well, only place even close might be Le Grand Lefour or Chez Jean.
We rode the elevator down with what remained of the staff. Lest anyone suggest we outstayed our welcome, we were not only encouraged to stay, the piano player kept on playing our favorites, long after he should have been off duty.
Following our extraordinary repast, we always leisurely stroll "home" all the way down and through the Champs de Mars, with the Tour Eiffel sparkling on the hour, to wherever we're staying in the 7th (lately an apartment).
For us, Le Jules Vernes could not possibly be more magical and tres, tres, romantique.
I am SO looking forward to spending our wedding anniversary there in September.
Jul 18th, 2006, 02:28 PM
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There are other restaurants in Paris where you can get better food (also for high prices, of course). Most people, however, go to Jules Verne for the location. I would not say the menu has the depth of of some other places.
My personal favorite is the Pres Catalan in the Bois de Boulogne. In summer you eat outside. When it is cooler, you eat inside, but you feel like a part of the out of doors because the whole restaurant is glass windows. It is the most atmospheric restaurant I have ever eaten in.
Having said that, I certainly cannot compare my limited dining experiences (and no one can have but limited dining experiences in Paris unless he lives there because there are so many places) and come up with the best restaurant in Paris. A lot of people like Taillevent (probably the most expensive restaurant in Paris too). I have never been there. Le Grand Vefour has its partisans, etc., etc.
If you want to eat at Jules Verne, by all means go and make up your own mind. It is my exeperience, however, that those who come from areas where the restaurants are more limited tend to be more enthusiastic about wherever they eat in Paris because, wherever it is, it is a relatively "new" experience for them.
My personal favorite is the Pres Catalan in the Bois de Boulogne. In summer you eat outside. When it is cooler, you eat inside, but you feel like a part of the out of doors because the whole restaurant is glass windows. It is the most atmospheric restaurant I have ever eaten in.
Having said that, I certainly cannot compare my limited dining experiences (and no one can have but limited dining experiences in Paris unless he lives there because there are so many places) and come up with the best restaurant in Paris. A lot of people like Taillevent (probably the most expensive restaurant in Paris too). I have never been there. Le Grand Vefour has its partisans, etc., etc.
If you want to eat at Jules Verne, by all means go and make up your own mind. It is my exeperience, however, that those who come from areas where the restaurants are more limited tend to be more enthusiastic about wherever they eat in Paris because, wherever it is, it is a relatively "new" experience for them.
Apr 26th, 2007, 09:43 PM
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Is JV or Altitude 95 still listed on www.reservethebest.com? I've searched every whichway and can't find either restaurant. I'm interested in seeind the menu for lunch/dinner. We ate at Altitude in 2002 for dinner and enjoyed it very much. Were interested to try JV, but have read the prices are outrageous for dinner and thought perhaps lunch would be in our budger. Suggestions on how to search for it are welcomed. I've tried by district, name, and even went thru the entire list. Thx
Apr 26th, 2007, 11:57 PM
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I just got back from Paris this week and had lunch at JV. I too was expecting average food but have to say the whole thing was wonderful! The bill for 2 was Euro300 without wine but there was a lunch menu that would have worked out cheaper! I was told that Alain Ducasse had bought the JV but haven't seen anything to confirm this. I would not hesitate in recommending it and we actually tried to get a dinner reservation on our last night. They were full but promised to call back if they got a cancellation, they did call back but we had just gone out so missed an opportunity to dine at JV again, that was my only regret. By the way, we also found the service delightful and the cheese tray was magnificent.
