When it’s
Saturday night in Paris the possibilities are endless. One can go to the theatre, the movies,
dancing, the Opera… and also take a breathtaking dinner cruise on the
Seine. This can also be done during the
day time, but the city is magical at night, and this experience is simply a
MUST for every visitor, at least once in their lifetime.
I am in total
agreement with the notion that Paris, as a city, cannot possibly take a bad
picture. At night, this concept gets
emphasized tenfold. Notre-Dame
illuminated, the Eiffel Tower scintillating during the first five minutes of
every hour, the ghosts of the ancient Pont Neuf, the Louvre pyramid… one cannot
stop oohing and ahhing all the way through dinner.
There are a few
companies that provide this sort of entertainment. I chose the Bateaux Mouches following the recommendations of some local
friends. The company was created at the
end of WWII by Jean Bruel, who at the time devised a new glass boat for
visitors to the city to view it in all its glory whilst crusing the Seine. It is an experience I shall cherished for the
rest of my life. You should book your
table quite in advance (at least 90 days or so), especially if you will be
travelling during high season, like the summer or during the Christmas holidays
like I did.
There are two sets of menus to choose from, one higher end
than the other. I chose the more modest
one, called Prestige. It seemed quite delicious and not overtly
expensive.
You will eat on
this boat. A lot, so I suggest going
with an empty stomach. It’s a 3-course
menu, plus appetizer and cheese, and 2 types of wine. I had a whole table for myself, by the huge
glass window-pane. I sat down and allowed
myself to enjoy the feast.
First came the
appetizer, along with the house champagne called Castel Mouche, not too dry,
not too sweet. Quite good actually. I could have drank several glasses, but I
didn’t, as I knew there was more coming.
The nibbles were s couple of courgettes amuse-bouches and some grissini
with a dipping sauce. We were still
docked at this time.
For when started moving, I chose the Vol-au-vent for my starter, filled with
a mixture of escargot, garlic and parsley.
It didn’t look like a Vol-au-vent should, but the taste was what
mattered and it was truly tasty, although not well-presented. This was my favorite dish of the whole meal.
For the main
course I chose the Filet of sea bream
seasoned with basil, broccoli puree and parmesan cream. A simple, yet quite tasty dish. Very tender fish, which matched perfectly
with the puree and the sharper cream. It
was paired with a Chablis.
As we were around the
Institut du Monde Arabe, the cheese course arrived. A slice of Reblochon and a Camembert.
At this point, I was fully
stuffed. I could barely finish the
cheese, but dessert was coming! I chose
the Coffee mousse dome, served with a crème anglaise and some coffee - espresso.
I was glad I had
to walk back about half hour to the place where I was staying. I needed it!
The cost of the dinner was 99€.
Certainly not extremely expensive for a memory that will last a
lifetime. Overall, the dinner could have
been better, but it wasn’t bad, just too simplistic at time for my taste. Highly recommended.
