Le Jules Verne Review
There’s something serendipitous about a gastronomic lunch, especially one with an unobstructed view of Parisian landmarks. I experienced my third bucket-list pleasure at Le Jules Verne in Paris, after loving the iconic destination in 2004 and 2013, when multi-Michelin-star chef Alain Ducasse was at its helm. This time, I vowed to lunch again within the three contemporary glass-framed dining spaces on the second level of the Eiffel Tower.
I chose the least expensive à la carte menu at €180 (about $210), which does not include wine or coffee. This menu offers two options each for starters, main course and dessert, though the multicourse extravaganza served included a variety of additional dishes, sides and tastings. (There are two more luxuriant choices: a five-course tasting menu from €295 and a seven-course tasting menu from €330.)
My daughter Alison and I taxied to the south leg of the tower on Avenue Gustave Eiffel and walked to where a formally dressed greeter met us and confirmed our reservations; he accompanied us inside an elaborate double door. In the entry foyer, built into and around the steel structure, the host accompanied us to where the elevator operator ushered us inside. (This exclusive-to-Jules Verne-guests, no-waiting-in-line, private elevator is a major enticement.)
A greeter, host, elevator operator, coat check lady and madame in the ladies room all hailed our arrival, as well as the restaurant host who led us to our table, where Maître d’Hôtel M. Didier Gaufreteau greeted us and Master Sommelier Benjamin Roffet suggested Champagne Tarlant.
The magical meal — from the warmest of greetings to the farewell chocolate bar — is credited to Executive Chef Adrien Delcourt. It started as many do, with a coupe of Champagne, which gave me a few moments to view the scenic vista. The lunch continued with the deft arrival of still-life food portraits accompanied by new, perhaps creative or unusual or extraordinary flavors.
The first amuse-bouche, a tartlet with chestnut panna cotta and a Madeira wine glaze, was a pleasing, parmesan-studded starter.
The bread was a small boule, a crusty round loaf cut in quarters served with a swirl of salted butter. The second amuse-bouche was comprised of a tiny bowl filled with a verdant frothy foam, colored green from parsley and chervil and topped with a creamy round of foie gras on a quarter-size melba toast crouton.
For our starter, we chose crab. What arrived cold within two deep, white porcelain rounds were Granny Smith apple-flavored emulsions scented with tarragon and crowded with delicate crab meat. The small side dish contained a hot, saffron-colored, apple cider bisque filled with crab meat.
For the main dish, we opted for langoustines. Two roasted langoustines sat perched upon a puddle of briny langoustine-parmesan cream and topped with truffle; they were larger than giant shrimp, smaller than lobster tails and sweeter than either. I had to refrain from picking them up to suck out the bit of meat in the shell. Next to our platters, the risotto dish included silky pearls of tapioca topped with a sprinkle of seaweed powder in our shallow bowls.
While I didn’t order the supplemental cheese course, a table next to me ordered it and allowed me to take a photo. In gastronomic meals, cheese is typically served after the main course and before palate cleansers, pre-desserts and desserts. Here, the cheese course is served in a three-tiered tower, within which were individual brioches and a truffle-topped aged Saint-Nectaire.
The first pre-dessert was a sorbet sphere, with dobs of prune purée, a palate cleanser between cheese and sweets. The second arrived on an elongated, raised oval plate decorated with two tiny mignardises per person, topped with creamy rounds. One tasted like an exotic fruit. We decided to try both desserts. I ordered the vanilla option, flavored with coffee, which arrived accompanied by a round, shortbread-like biscuit. Alison chose the ginger- infused pineapple with a touch of coconut. They were each layered and so delicious and complicated I admit to having eaten mine and tasted Alison’s biscuits, foams, ice creams, merengues, mousses and whipped creams before I could appropriately assess, identify or accurately describe all the components.
After coffee, we were given a parting gift: Inside an envelope was a bar of Jules Verne dark chocolate.
Worth every euro!
2nd Floor of Eiffel Tower
6 Avenue Gustave Eiffel
75007 Paris, France
tel 33 1 83 77 34 34
Photos by © Marie-Line Sina
