One Perfect Parisian Night
May 11th, 2017, 11:44 AM
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One Perfect Parisian Night
My husband and I passed through Paris on the last night of our vacation to Croatia. We booked the night at the Hilton CDG, but figured we are in Paris...without kids...let's take RER into town for dinner.
I spent a RIDICULOUS amount of time researching Parisian restaurants. The restaurants I'd visited on previous trips were either closed down or not open the night of our visit. I wanted something with a quaint Parisian bistro/brasserie feel, not far from a Metro station, and traditional French cuisine. I settled on Chez Monsieur in the 11th arrondissement.
The RER from the Hilton is just inside the adjacent Terminal (F?). We took RER to Madeline Station and from there the restaurant was under 10 min walk. I partly chose this restaurant as my husband had not visited this arrondissiment on our previous trips, and I only briefly walking through or on the hop on/off bus.
The restaurant was exactly what I was looking for. The evening was at the end of an 8 day trip and we hit a few snags that day traveling from Croatia to Paris. We were exhausted and were tempted just drop our bags and head out in what we were wearing. But my husband decided yes we lugged nice clothes all the way over for this dinner, might as well wear them. I'm glad we did! Our visit was a Saturday evening and I don't think there was a single man dining not in a sport coat. There were mostly French patrons in the restaurant all dressed very nicely.
The hostess and waitstaff were fantastic. I started with the ham and cheese platter and my husband the escargot. We shared the La blanquette de veau for our meal and the profiteroles for dessert. Everything was delicious and we would love to visit Chez Monsieur on a future stop in Paris.
After dinner we walked about 10 min to the Paris Ritz. As the hotel was under renovation on our previous visits to the city, I asked if we could stop there for a nightcap. Being a history and architecture geek, plus literary fans of Hemingway, I was in heaven! So grateful for my husband to indulge me this experience. The hotel is stunning. We arrived around 10pm on a Saturday night to Bar Hemingway, just as a table for 2 opened up. We were seated promptly by the waiter. I enjoyed a lovely cocktail (I kept the beautiful white rose that adorned my drink, I believe they were given to all the ladies) and my husband a few French beers. We greatly enjoyed our time at Bar Hemingway.
We ordered an Uber to transport us back to the Hilton.
I could not have asked for a more romantic, beautiful evening in Paris capping off an amazing vacation to Croatia.
Note: If you are interested in the history of the Ritz, I highly recommend "The Hotel on Place Vendome", a pretty recent book on the Ritz (including its famous inhabitants) during WWII. Fascinating book and a big reason of why I wanted to visit the hotel. And of course, the historical fiction book "The Paris Wife" about Hemingway's initial time in Paris through the eyes of his first wife, Hadley, while he wrote the Sun Also Rises is another good read before a visit to Paris.
I spent a RIDICULOUS amount of time researching Parisian restaurants. The restaurants I'd visited on previous trips were either closed down or not open the night of our visit. I wanted something with a quaint Parisian bistro/brasserie feel, not far from a Metro station, and traditional French cuisine. I settled on Chez Monsieur in the 11th arrondissement.
The RER from the Hilton is just inside the adjacent Terminal (F?). We took RER to Madeline Station and from there the restaurant was under 10 min walk. I partly chose this restaurant as my husband had not visited this arrondissiment on our previous trips, and I only briefly walking through or on the hop on/off bus.
The restaurant was exactly what I was looking for. The evening was at the end of an 8 day trip and we hit a few snags that day traveling from Croatia to Paris. We were exhausted and were tempted just drop our bags and head out in what we were wearing. But my husband decided yes we lugged nice clothes all the way over for this dinner, might as well wear them. I'm glad we did! Our visit was a Saturday evening and I don't think there was a single man dining not in a sport coat. There were mostly French patrons in the restaurant all dressed very nicely.
The hostess and waitstaff were fantastic. I started with the ham and cheese platter and my husband the escargot. We shared the La blanquette de veau for our meal and the profiteroles for dessert. Everything was delicious and we would love to visit Chez Monsieur on a future stop in Paris.
After dinner we walked about 10 min to the Paris Ritz. As the hotel was under renovation on our previous visits to the city, I asked if we could stop there for a nightcap. Being a history and architecture geek, plus literary fans of Hemingway, I was in heaven! So grateful for my husband to indulge me this experience. The hotel is stunning. We arrived around 10pm on a Saturday night to Bar Hemingway, just as a table for 2 opened up. We were seated promptly by the waiter. I enjoyed a lovely cocktail (I kept the beautiful white rose that adorned my drink, I believe they were given to all the ladies) and my husband a few French beers. We greatly enjoyed our time at Bar Hemingway.
We ordered an Uber to transport us back to the Hilton.
I could not have asked for a more romantic, beautiful evening in Paris capping off an amazing vacation to Croatia.
Note: If you are interested in the history of the Ritz, I highly recommend "The Hotel on Place Vendome", a pretty recent book on the Ritz (including its famous inhabitants) during WWII. Fascinating book and a big reason of why I wanted to visit the hotel. And of course, the historical fiction book "The Paris Wife" about Hemingway's initial time in Paris through the eyes of his first wife, Hadley, while he wrote the Sun Also Rises is another good read before a visit to Paris.
May 11th, 2017, 05:37 PM
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I'm glad you enjoyed your evening but, just to avoid confusion for readers, Chez Monsieur is not in the 11th arrondissement, it is in the 8th, literally just across the street from the 1st. A long way from the 11th!
May 11th, 2017, 08:16 PM
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We stayed at the Westin on Place Vendome in April of last year. Our train from Barcelona arrived in Paris on a Sunday afternoon. We did not have dinner reservations for that night. The concierge at the hotel made us reservations at Chez Monsieur which was a short walk away. We keep up with the restaurant scene in Paris, but this place escaped our notice until then. Dinner was fantastic. We had several of the same dishes you had, including the escargot, blanquette de veau and profiteroles. It was a very enjoyable meal, especially for a last minute dinner on a Sunday night. We have enjoyed the Hemingway Bar on previous occasions, but the Ritz was still under renovations when we were there. I can't wait to go back to see the finished product.
May 12th, 2017, 07:36 AM
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Thank you for the kind replies.
Nukesafe, thank you for catching that! I had looked briefly at their address and was thinking "11" was the arrondissement but it's their street number.
Nukesafe, thank you for catching that! I had looked briefly at their address and was thinking "11" was the arrondissement but it's their street number.
