Need upscale restaurant recommendation for Saturday lunch in Paris
 

I will be visiting Paris next month with my husband. We would like to dine at a romantic restaurant with Parisian ambiance for lunch on a Saturday. I know that the weekend day limits us. <BR><BR>I would truly appreciate any recommendations. We were originally planning on dining at Le Grand Vefour but, unfortunately for us, it is not open Saturdays.<BR><BR>Thanks again for the help, if you can.

Still hoping for some recommendations. Thanks.

Maybe it would be helpful to clarify what you mean by romantic; there are lots of upscale restaurants (not necessarily romantic) and lots of nice, romantic restaurants that are not 2 or 3 Michelin starred restaurants. Le Grand Vefour satisfies both categories, of course.<BR><BR>Maybe you could run a search here for &quot;splurge&quot; restaurants, and then read the<BR>descriptions to see if they sound like your idea of romantic. <BR><BR>My daughter and her husband had lunch at l'Arpege on their honeymoon, and whereas they have raved about the food and service, I don't remember their mentioning romantic. It is quite upscale, expensive, and vegetarian. They thought it was a notch above Grand Vefour, where we all ate lunch last year.

There's a new book out Called &quot;Romantic Paris&quot;this includes restaurants, beautiful pictures!

Great food, service, and Parisian ambiance are more important to me than romantic.<BR><BR>Also, we will be going to Opera Garnier that evening for a ballet performance. We thought that we would have a late lunch and then stroll the streets until the performance.<BR><BR>Please share any thoughts or suggestions.

Hi<BR>Do you have any interest in an afternoon tea, and then perhaps stopping for a late dinner or snack after the ballet? For an article on places to have afternoon tea;<BR>http://www.nytimes.com/library/travel/europe/ct991121.html<BR><BR><BR>For lunch, one of my favorites is<BR>La Bucherie on the street of the same name (left bank, 5th, near the Seine.)<BR>Notre Dame is just opposite though a ways off.<BR>The cafe has a fireplace to feel cozy around in cool weather, very good food, and excellent desserts. At lunch time they get a mix of casual drop-ins and business people. They are open for lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner. The decor isn't particularly noteworthy, but you will know you are in Paris.<BR>Basically continuous service from noon to midnight. Note that it is not at all on the same level at le Grand Vefour. <BR>Is Tour d'Argent open for lunch on Saturdays?

<BR><BR>You might consider the Champs Elys&eacute;es branch of Ladur&eacute;e. I had a wonderful dinner there in June: the decor is sumptuous and the meal was excellent (I had duck medallions with a cassis reduction, which I still remember vividly!).<BR><BR>Their site says they're open &quot;365 days a year from 7:30 am.&quot; You can visit it at www.laduree.fr if you want to see the setting for yourself - and the menu, if you can get it to display, which I couldn't when I visited just now.<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip!

Hi<BR> I replied earlier, but it seems not to have gone through.<BR><BR> Try Le Train Bleu and Jules Verne. You can find them easily on google.com.

There's an old thread entitled &quot;Recent Paris Restaurant recommendations&quot; that you might want to read. It mentions Le Grand Cafe near the old opera house as being very good. Also lunch at the Ritz Hotel is quite elegant.

If a beautiful setting figures into your notion of romantic, how about the Pr&eacute;catalan? Or there's a lovely restaurant in the Parc St-Cloud, the name of which escapes me at the moment.<BR>Another one I would call romantic is Armand au Palais Royal, behind the palais in what were once the stables (NOT at all what the setting evokes now!)

Thank you for your suggestions. Originally, I was hoping for a Michelin star-rated restaurant for lunch. However, a SPECIAL restaurant is more important. By special, I mean a memorable dining experience -wonderful food, service, and atmosphere. Cost is flexible, although I would prefer not to spend 200-300 euro (excluding wine, of course).<BR><BR>Elaine, La Tour D'Argent IS open on Saturday for lunch. Should we consider this restaurant? I have read that it is a step below Le Grand Vefour. Although, many patrons seem to think it is wonderful. <BR><BR>Ira, we will be dining at Jules Verne the following evening for dinner. I have read that Le Train Bleu is very atmospheric but suffers in the food and service areas. We were thinking about stopping there for a snack one day if we have the chance.<BR><BR>Also, we will be staying in the 7e, just in case that helps.<BR><BR>Any other recommendations continue to be most welcome.

Hi<BR>First let me say that I've not been to Tour d'Argent for a few years. It's food is not as top level, imo, as Le Grand Vefour. On the other hand, like the Jules Verne, it IS very good, and it is a beautiful setting and with luck you will see out the window to Notre Dame.<BR><BR>Friends of mine, foodies, were at le Train Bleu about a year ago and were quite disappointed in the food.<BR><BR>Other top places to consider<BR>(and I don't know if they all serve Saturday lunch)<BR>Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athenee<BR>Pierre Gagnaire<BR>Les Ambassadeurs at the Crillon<BR>Ledoyen<BR>Taillevent<BR>

Le Train Bleu is worth it for the room. Laserre with its retractable roof. Bofinger in its non-smoking room--very beautiful.

I have to agree with Gretchen--Le Train Bleu is worth it for the room and the ambience! While not at the level that would please &quot;foodies&quot;, we did enjoy our lunch, and I plan to go again this trip. Our server was quite gracious.<BR><BR>I also like Bofinger--it's a traditional brasserie with a nice ambience and good food.

I would recommend Le Cinq. Lovely decor, excellent, kind service for a restaurant in the George V. Recently received 3 stars. Chef Legendre brought over from Taillevent a few years ago.<BR>Jules Verne has a lovely view but is rather cold and expensive for the quality of food which is excellent but a notch below some other places. Ambroise and Alain Ducasse would be open but I have not eaten at either so I cannot say much except to note that Ducasse is extremely expensive. Tour Argent was excellent but I last ate there in the 80's. I believe Bristol would also be open and is excellent. <BR>I would check the Michelin guide and Zagats for more up to date information as I was last in paris in november

Le Cinq is a great suggestion!

If you are staying in the 7th, consider Les Violon D'Ingres. Excellent service and food preparation. Not La Tour D'Argent but the potential for a 'special' meal is there! Enjoy.

On our first trip to Paris in 2000, we had to &quot;settle&quot; for Les Ambassadeurs in the Hotel Crillon for our splurge dinner since our first few choices were booked. <BR><BR>I can't imagine anything being better than that evening. We had an amazing meal and the dining room was simply exquisite. Very, very romantic in my opinion.<BR><BR>http://www.relaischateaux.com/site/us/FicheAdherent?RcCode=ambassadeurs<BR>