My travel partner and I wanted to have dinner at "The best in Paris" and were told Taillevent. However, we can not get a dinner reservation for any of our 6 nights in Paris. Any suggesstions for the next best thing? I love Les Ambassadeurs. Thanks for all input!

The same thing happened to us a couple of years ago and we had lunch instead. It was quite an experience. I don't know if the "ambiance" is different at night but I know at lunch we had a great time, service and food were superb! If the only way to try it was lunch, I would do it again!

I would suggest checking a Michelin guide. There are several three stars in Paris, and any three star experience is sublime, especially in Paris.

there are plenty of 3 star restaurants in paris. Le Grand Vefour (a favorite), Arpege, Alain Ducasse, Lucas Carton, Ledoyen, Laurent (one of these two is 'only' 2 stars) are some that come to mind. By the way, my research said that Taillevent is not all that great, they sit the tourists in a separate room from the rest and the service can be rude. So maybe not such a great loss for you.

Too bad about Taillevent for dinner, it is glorious, but as recommended you could try it for lunch.<BR>Ledoyen is gorgeous and I haven't been there for a few years but the food was gorgeous too. I went to Laurent<BR>a couple of years ago and it was very pretty but I found the service a bit lacking and the food very good but not particularly memorable.<BR>Le Grand Vefour is perfect as far I'm concerned.

We were in Paris 2 years ago in january. It was a last minute trip so do dinner reservations were made ahead of time. We were staying close to Tallivent and wanted to have dinner there, so late in the afternoon I called and they had had a cancellation - we were in. We sat at a beautiful table next to some very important guest and the food and service were wonderful. If I were you I would go ahead and make a luncheon reservation and if you really want dinner check on the day of and see if someone has had to cancel. Enjoy!

Ask the concierge at your hotel. Call now (before you go) or email. Often times tables appear out of no where!

Cancelations happen often, we dined at Taillevent and TourD'Agent because of them. Good luck.

Unless you have your heart set on Taillevent, I'd try a reservation at Pierre Gagnaire. The loudest raves are about his restaurant. Also, you may want to check out www.chowhound.com and their international board. Lots of up-to-date reviews on most of the Paris big-boys.