Le Jules Verne – Paris
Tour Eiffel, Avenue Gustav Eiffel
Paris , France 75007
(+33) 1 45 55 61 44
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VdV Rating: 5
Food: French
PRO: Awesome food + views
CON: If you have fear of heights and high credit card bills
First, hip hip hooray for the exchange rate! So what if Greece & Spain go down in flames and drag the EU with them – the US$ is finally worth something over here in Europe! And itsa dang good thing son, ‘cuz dining at places like Le Jules Verne can get a tad spendy. But I’m gonna give you a spoiler alert right now and tell ya: this place is worth every Franc.
So, of course we weren’t gonna keep yammering about pizza and salads while we’re in Paris. We’re goin’ upscale French today, bitches! Alain Ducasse style! Woo Hoo! That’s right, the Michelin-star awarded Alain Ducasse. Not the other one.
So when we lived here, we never went up the Eiffel Tower. Dunno why, maybe it seemed too touristica. Well, that was stupid we discovered, as we were whisked to the top of the tower for the best lunch we’ve ever had, at Le Jules Verne.
We actually thought JV was located at the mid-point of the Tower, but hells no. It’s at the tip-top, about 130m up. The views up here are sick, even with the occasional storms rolling through. The place actually has three dining areas, each relatively small, fitting 14 or so tables (mainly 2-tops) each. It’s the way they had to construct it to fit within the structure of the tower, plus it gives each room a little more intimacy. They’re decked out in rich brown hues that also complement the colors of the arches of the tower. Fancy!
VdV insider tip: 1) Make a resie, fool b) Request a table in the middle room; you’ll get the best views.
Weird French thing? (Yes, yes I know…redundant). When the waiter gave us our menus, we noticed one had a white band (Janine’s) and one a black band (mine). Yep, the black band had the prices, the white band not. Don’t they know it’s the year 2010?! Better yet, don’t they know Janine could buy & sell me?! Anyhoo, we went for the Dejuner (prix fix) menu at 85 Euro each. Nope, wine is not included.
So the first thing to arrive was a little Duck Liver w/ Pistachios on a Bed of Paté number. Yes, the other J’s favorite! Just kidding. And no, we didn’t order this, it just arrived. Well, I’m not a big fan either, but I had to go in. And I’ll tell you, if you at all like this type of thing, you’d love this little bite. Artery-clogging rich, with excellent texture and the nuts added a nice almost woody taste. Along with it – an excellent flute of Laurent Perrier Rosé bubbly. We needed something good to wash that down with.
The first course for me was a Shellfish Velouté, Mushrooms and Chervil Infusion. We learned that Velouté is basically a bisque-style soup. This was wicked awesome, and I think the best part of the entire meal. The seafood bisque included lobster and crab as well as some wood mushrooms, with a morel foam on top. This was super-rich, perfectly spiced with an earthy quality from the mushrooms. The waiter looked a little peeved when I lifted the bowl up to slurp up every last drop.
For the other J, Steamed White Asparagus, Mimosa Garnish and Citrus Fruit Mousse. As we foodies know, the white variety is the most tricky to prepare, but if done well, Cést Magnifique! Plus, white asparagus doesn’t result in…asparagus pee! Word. Anyhoo, as with everything here the presentation is spot-on, and the flavors worked perfectly together. Three stalks of nice, tender asparagus with an orange zest, shaved egg and a caper caviar.
Next course! Bresse Chicken Fricasseé, New Vegetables in a Marbles Cooking Juice. Yah, kind of a strange description. Lemme tell you, this an’t no Poulet Roti. This was a fantastic meal, Bresse chicken is da best, and it was cooked perfectly, very tender and flavorful, in its own juices with baby carrots, onions, & mushrooms. Basic goodness. ‘Nuff said.
For me, the Roasted Challans Duckling, French-style Broad Beans and Peas. Ordered and served medium-rare. Again, this was a rich meal. And I’m not the biggest fan of duck, but it seemed the French thing to do. I tell ya, an assembled fork-full of Daffy, a pea 
and a piece of pickled onion made for a killer bite. I couldn’t finish it all, it was just too rich pour moi.
Ding ding, dessert time! Hey man, if you know J&J ya know, at least when we’re not on holiday, that we usually only have a salad for lunch. Maybe with Grilled Chicken. Holy criminy, I thought we might blow up. But we’re no quitters! J had the Bitter Chocolate & Raspberry Tartlet, which was scrump-dili-icious. How the hell couldn’t it be? And low calorie to boot! It was a good-looking number too. I had the Strawberry & Rhubarb on a Soft Biscuit w/ Pistachio Cream. It was a nice, not overly sweet dessert. Nice bright flavors from the fruits and the pistachio cream added a nice balance to the biscuit.
But were they done fattening us up like…geese before they’re turned into Foie Gras? No siree, Marcel. Then they brought over a pantload of truffles and peach marshmallows. And cookies! I mean, there were 16 truffles (I had to count), 10 marshmallows and 1/2 dozen cookies. Why not throw in a barf bag too? Hell, they should force you to walk the gazillion stairs back down after a meal like this! But we did have to ‘try’ them all. The truffles were excellent (I pocketed a few), and the peach marshmallows were awesome. I thought they might get a little messy in my pocket so we left most of them.
So, bottom line (finally)? It’s not cheap (with all the vino we drank the bill was north of 300 euro), but Le Jules Verne brings it. The service, atmosphere, preparation, flavors, views, everything. We bestow on Le Jules Verne the coveted VdV 5-star rating (I’m sure we just made Alain’s day;)
