Lunch at Joel Robuchon

Today was all about lunch!  Brian ducked next door to the Boulangerie for a ham and cheese "sandwich" (aka enormous baguette) which we shared for breakfast before getting ourselves dolled-up for lunch.

Joel Robuchon is a Michelin 2-star restaurant which we have both been very keen to visit, and it actually exceeded our expectations.  We were only able to get an early booking (11:30am) and were the first customers to arrive.  We were greeted by at least 15 different members of staff - all charming - and chose the degustation menu of 10 courses plus coffee and a basket of bread and they threw in a complimentary appetiser of fabulous thinly sliced Spanish hams to start!  The service and presentation of the food was nothing short of sensational.

In summary, the tiny courses consisted of: gazpacho, king crab with cognac, caviar, tiny cep mushrooms with coddled egg, foie gras with white cocoa beans,  Japanese style chicken dumplings, John Dory, the tiniest baby lamb chops with potato mash, passionfruit and coconut mousse, and a dark chocolate dessert to die for!  And the wines by the glass, recommended by the sommeliers, were 2 different white burgundies and a Rhone Syrah - all fabulous. What a lunch!


We then made our way down Boulevard Saint-Germain to collect some concert tickets, cheese from our favourite cheese shop and a fresh
baguette before walking all the way "home" for an afternoon nap! Then, at about 6:00pm, we took off again for a leisurely stroll along the Seine, past the Louvre to the Tuileries Garden. The park was full of people - including lots of children - and the gardens looked exquisite.  We found a couple of vacant seats and sat for a while as the sun set and then jumped onto the metro to return to Isle Saint-Louis.


It was quite a warm afternoon and we felt the need to stop in a traditional little bar at the other end of our street for a glass of beer with the locals (no other tourists) and then enjoyed a very simple dinner of bread, cheese, grapes and a glass of wine back at our apartment.

It's been a beautiful, romantic day in Paris today.  What joy it is to be here again.