Review: Musée D’Orsay Restaurant
by Elena Greco
May 2017
The food at the Musée D’Orsay Restaurant, traditional French fare, is excellent and the prices reasonable, but the real headline here is the venue. It was originally the restaurant of the Hôtel d’Orsay before the hotel became the museum. It was built in 1900, and the décor is dazzling, with gilt everywhere and paintings on the ceiling, and light and color everywhere. Modern lucite seating in bright colors somehow blends perfectly with the ornate details of the past. The waiters are excellent, and even a bit snooty, which one would certainly hope they would be in such surroundings (mine said, clearly disapproving, when I ordered the religieuse pistache—a truly divine pistachio éclair, “Madame, it is LUNCH time,” as I clearly did not understand the inappropriateness of ordering dessert at that hour). My companion ordered lunch (which seemed to satisfy the waiter), and said his food was excellent. And, of course, after your meal, you have a museum of beautiful paintings to explore.See Elena’s bios for more information about the author.