Exploring Paris's Oldest Restaurants: Delicious Food or Tourist Traps?

Le Train Bleu (1901)

• 🚀 The journey begins at Le Train Bleu, a restaurant from 1901 located in a train station, renowned for its spectacular, museum-like interior.
• 🍽️ The Pâté en croûte was a highlight, featuring layers of poultry in a flaky pastry with pistachios and sea salt.
• 🍖 The signature leg of lamb was incredibly tender, melting in the mouth with rich flavors from the meat and garlic.
• 🍊 Crêpes Suzette provided a balanced sweetness with citrus acidity, expertly prepared with a flambe.
• ✅ The meal, costing €125.50, was highly recommended for its phenomenal food and atmosphere.

Le Dôme Café (1898)

• ☕ Visited Le Dôme Café (1898), a legendary spot favored by Anthony Bourdain, known for its classic Parisian brasserie feel.
• 🥣 The rockfish soup offered a harmonious balance of flavors, enhanced with a spicy sauce and crispy bread.
• 🌊 The Le Dôme Platter was a grand display of cold seafood, including oysters, prawns, crab, welks, and clams, all exceptionally fresh.
• 🐟 The Sole Meunière was delicately prepared, moist, and buttery, showcasing the fish's natural flavor.
• 🍰 The Napoléon Mille-feuille was a massive, airy dessert with vanilla cream and rum, dissolving in the mouth.
• 💰 The total bill for three people was €394.50, with exceptional service and a picturesque setting.

Bofinger (1864)

• 🍻 Bofinger (1864), a historic brasserie, impressed with its grand interior featuring a beautiful stained-glass ceiling.
• 🦪 Started with three oysters, noted for their brininess and melt-in-your-mouth texture.
• 🥗 The endive salad with pickled cauliflower, almonds, and orange slices was crisp, refreshing, and a welcome vegetable dish.
• 🥨 The pretzel was noted for its crispy, hearty texture.
• 🍖 The Choucroute Garnie, a signature sauerkraut dish, was a massive platter of meats, including pork leg, sausages, and ham, all steamed with aromatic spices.
• 💰 The substantial platter cost €30, and the total bill was €58.90.

L'Escargot Montorgueil (1832)

• 🐌 L'Escargot Montorgueil (1832) is famous for its escargot, with patrons like Pablo Picasso and Charlie Chaplin.
• 🧈 The XXL Snails were served in a rich, buttery garlic and parsley sauce, with the snails offering a chewy, slightly earthy texture.
• 🐸 Frog legs were also a highlight, meaty and flavorful, sautéed in butter and parsley, tasting similar to chicken.
• 🦆 The Duck Confit was ultra-tender, falling off the bone with embedded duck fat flavor, served with crispy potatoes.
• 💰 The total bill for these dishes was €138.00.

Patisserie Stohrer (1730)

• 🍰 Patisserie Stohrer (1730), the oldest bakery in Paris, offers a paradise for pastry lovers.
• 🥃 The Rum Baba was a refreshing, rum-soaked cake with cream, its sponginess and rum flavor gushing out.
• 🍫 The Chocolate Éclair featured a delicious chocolatey batter with chocolate cream inside and chocolate ganache on top.
• 🍇 A raisin pastry was flaky, buttery, and sweet with a sugar coating.
• 💰 The total cost for pastries was €20.50.

Le Procope (1686)

• 🏛️ Le Procope (1686), the oldest cafe in Paris, is a historical gem with over 300 years of history, once frequented by intellectuals like Voltaire and Rousseau.
• 🧀 The French Onion Soup was topped with a thick, crispy cheese blanket over a flavorful, slightly sweet broth.
• 🍲 The Calf's Head dish was incredibly tender, melting in the mouth with gelatinous qualities and rich sauce.
• 🐔 Coq au Vin featured chicken braised in red wine with bacon and mushrooms, saturated with flavor.
• 🎩 A highlight was seeing Napoleon's hat, left as collateral for an unpaid bill, a testament to the cafe's enduring history.
• 💰 The total bill was €89.10.

La Tour d'Argent (1582)

• 🍽️ Mentioned as the actual oldest restaurant in Paris (since 1582), La Tour d'Argent, famous for duck, unfortunately does not allow filming.
• ✨ These historical institutions are described as timeless classics, culinary institutions, and museums, preserving history and offering delicious French food.