Le Train Bleu

NEVER go to Le Train Bleu for afternoon tea!! I had dinner there once and, although the food was Compass Catering standard and hideously overpriced by Parisian standards, the beautiful ceilings and period seating with brass luggage containers seemed to justify the visit.

While I was in Paris last week i arranged to meet friends for tea at 3pm. Paris is in love with tea and tea houses proliferate, La Duree and Mariage Freres in rue Bourg P'tit Bourg being two of the most elegant, but I thought LTB would make an interesting change. The menu offered a range of teas, some a 8.5 euros each and some cakes at approx 7euros each. We were three so we were looking at a bill of 45 euros before service

On arrival we were told that, as we weren't having a "MEAL", we couldn't be seated in the main restaurant. Empty tables were clearly in view in the main restaurant but, no, we couldn't have one of those. Instead we were shown to a manky clothless table with food smears on it, when we asked if a cloth could be laid we were told that as we were not having "a MEAL" we didn't qualify for a tablecloth! The other options were equally clothless tables in side rooms on the way to the toilets which were more reminiscent of condemned Bournemouth old people's homes than Parisian chic.

We declined the manky table and had lovely tea in a salon de the elsewhere. We suggest you do likewise!
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David Birchall
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 1
Thursday, November 26, 2009

My wife & I were on the net looking to book a night out in Paris that included a restaurant and a visit to the Moulin Rouge - in a little corner of the site was an icon that said 'Le Train Bleu'

When we opened it we knew we had to go there so we booked as soon as we arrived at the hotel in Paris. After a Quick Metro ride we arrived and were taken in by the decor - simply stunning. The ambience was so welcoming - but let's get to the food.

My wife had the Lyon Pistachio sausage brioche and I the home smoked organic salmon - simply melt in the mouth

Then came mains, we had the Veal Brisket 'Forgotten in the Oven' [for just long enough] and the Grilled heart of beef fillet [ medium rare] - just delightful and complimented with a very smooth Bordeaux

Of course the 'Indulgence' menu had to be taste tested - Hard decisions were made without any deference to waistlines. In the end the choices were French toasted brioche with marzipan ice cream and the profiteroles. The 'remember you're out' manners' were ever so gracefully discarded as we ate from each other's plate

So, if you want somewhere special with wonderous ambience, superb food and friendly staff to really celebrate your stay in Paris, Le Train Bleu is a 'must eat there' restaurant
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Will Burcham
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, November 09, 2009