Paris is truly the most beautiful city in the world. Each building, courtyard, garden and street are all stunning in their own way, leading to countless pictures for the snap happy (aka myself).
One of the most fun places to take pictures is at Palais Royal. The historic palace, encircling a courtyard with modern black and white columns, offers a mix of old and new, and the perfect whimsical backdrop for photographs.
After an excessive amount of pictures (I’d blame Greg but no one would believe that!) we headed off to lunch.
We dined at nearby Le Grand Véfour, the most glamorous restaurant in Paris.
It truly is a beauty, with ornate gold gilding offset by plush red furniture. King Louis the XIV would have been impressed!
As decadent as the restaurant is, their lunch three-course menu is a surprisingly good deal at €115 per person. Now describing that amount as “a good deal” may seem strange, but to put it in perspective the restaurant’s least expensive appetizer alone is €75.
Plus the level of service at Le Grand Véfour makes the experience special and you certainly get your money’s worth when dining there.
We were served this gorgeous little snack before the first course. As you’ll see from the pictures, the dishes at Le Grand Véfour are all plated beautifully.
For his starter, Greg selected the Garden Peas Broth with a soft-boiled egg, cured Savoie ham and a pinch of chili Espelette.
I had Shellfish in Their Jelly served with a Basmati rice foam and cucumber granita.
For his main course, Greg dined on the Duckling Filet accompanied by a confit of berries and vegetables, beetroot and black currant juice with a hint of Timut pepper.
And I selected a daring dish, the Calf’s Head served with crispy brain, eggplant dip and grilled tomato sauce. The waiter was clearly impressed because he nodded his head and slowly applauded when I ordered it.
Did it taste good? Yes, it did.
Could I get past the mental hurdle of eating brains? No, not really, I’m ashamed to say. So Greg was nice enough to switch plates with me!
I forgot all about the brains when the waiter brought out a massive tray of different French cheeses!
He was the perfect cheese sommelier, and helped us choose which ones to try based on our likes and preferences. My only regret? Not selecting more cheeses to taste!
Then before our desserts came out we were served several pre-dessert desserts, which in my opinion is genius. Can we please make pre-dessert dessert a thing?!
For my real dessert I had the Mango and Passion Fruit.
And Greg dined on the Raspberries Jelly and Sherbet, flavored with Sansho pepper and a pistachio biscuit.
And then came the post-dessert desserts! Can we please make pre- and post-dessert dessert a thing?!
We loved our entire experience at Le Grand Véfour, from the atmosphere to our fabulous waiter to the amazing food. It was by far one of my favorite meals of the trip, if not my most favorite!
To find out more information, or make a reservation at Le Grand Véfour, click here.
And if you can’t decide between lunch and dinner, choose lunch! You’ll have an equally wonderful experience, but for significantly less cost than if you dined in the evening.
And plus this way you’ll have plenty of time to take pictures at nearby Palais Royal during the daylight!
(You can find all of my France travel posts here).
~A
P.S. My dress is by Diane Von Furstenberg. It’s sold out in most stores but you can still find it here.
