Alain Ducasse and Frédéric Anton
Today was supposed to be a double museum day, with Musée Picasso in the morning and Musée d'Orsay in the afternoon. We were all tired and decided to blow off our 10am Picasso tickets especially since I had received an alert saying that the government employee strike might impact whether or not the museum would open today. So we just relaxed until noon when we headed off for lunch at Alain Ducasse's fabulous Champeaux bistro in the Westfield Forum des Halles in the 2nd. Comically, we ended up with the world's worst UBER driver, whose GPS wasn't working and who was way too timid a driver... to even be a driver.
Three of us had Ducasse's iconic coquillettes jambon-comté-truffe noire, aka mac n cheese.
Simply amazing.
And le Champeaux Burger, with foie gras. OMG.
The Forum des Halles is not the more Uber/taxi friendly location, we started walking towards the Seine and the Musée d'Orsay.
We saw no available taxis the entire walk and finally arrived at the d'Orsay a little after 2pm, where we met our guide Laure...
... who escorted us to the front of the queue and into the museum.
I was tired and feeling under the weather from a bug I picked up yesterday so Mrs. SFO777 and I decided to walk back to our apartment and rest up before dinner, which was at venerable Jules Verne at the Eiffel Tower. When we arrived, a Jules Verne staffer escorted us to the front of the security queue to access the base of the tower.
And the very cool plaza level lobby where we waited for our turn in the elevator.
We last dined here some 9 years ago when it was an Alain Ducasse restaurant and really enjoyed the atmosphere and food. But a lot has changed since then and not necessarily for the better. Apparently, in the last few years Ducasse and partner chef Anton Frédéric had a dispute followed by litigation which Ducasse lost. So he is not longer involved and it is now an Anton Frédéric restaurant. The place has been complete renovated.
The only good view tables are now two tops along the window. For more than two diners, those get a few tables away from the windows but most bench seating... great for those sitting on the bench, but absolute garbage for those sitting in chairs facing the benches and what amount to a wall. Why not install a mirror on the bench walls so everyone could have a city view?? Then there was the dreadful bright lighting eliminating any semblance of atmosphere.
No idea what the counter is for as no one was there the night as it looked over scaffolding and steel.
Apparently someone has been to Gaggan Bangkok.
The prix fixe menu, either 5 courses or 7 courses. And apparently no wine pairing option.
And then there was the "service". Everything seemed rushed at the beginning and our primary server was not very good. As soon as we sat down, we were all presented with the champagne by the glass menu. Things improved when I started speaking French, rejected the champagne list and asked for the wine list.
Food was generally good but certainly not worth the prices. Then again, you are paying for the view... at least those seating by the window or on the bench.
The chicken was the best dish of the night.. roasted with bucatini, juice, light cream and black truffle.
All in all, a rather disappointing experience food that didn't impress but especially the lousy atmosphere and sub-par service. Can't imagine that we will ever some back except for the view. After dinner, we walked down the stairs to the observation deck for some wonderful night time views of Paris.
