Milla’s Paris: Lunch at l’Hôtel Plaza Athénée
Post-shopping, my friend Ashleigh and I headed to the fabulous Plaza Athénée for a spot of lunch and people, let me tell you: it was a lunch to remember! As if the beautiful scented flowers in the lobby weren’t enough, the sound of the harpist gently playing drew us to La Galeries de Gobelins, where we were greeted by a welcoming hostess for our 15h30 reservation.
As we sat in awe of the sparkling chandeliers, our attention was being pulled in all directions from the delectable, taste-bud feast of a dessert trolley to La Cour Jardin teasing us with shades of summer. I have to say, this is pure glamour! After hitting the shops, we were famished though spent 20 minutes trying to choose. “There’s too much choice!” Ashleigh declared. She was right; how could we be expected to choose just one item from the we-want-to-try-everything menu? We opted for one set of each of the canapés on offer including fois gras, parma ham & cornichon, succulent crab and cucumber, melt-in-your-mouth smoked salmon and gazpacho. The latter was a revelation to me since I have never liked this cold soup, until this day! If the chef’s reading, send me the recipe already!
As if the food wasn’t enough, the glimpses of the La Cour Jardin completely captivated us and we just had to have a look. Please excuse the crinkled linen dress – yet another reason not to shop on the High Street. But I digress… In perfect sync with the hotel’s understated elegance, the vividly coloured geraniums, whilst pretty and enhancing, do not overwhelm. There’s something fairytale-like about this garden. I simply must go back.
We chatted away and nibbled on our canapés, the desserts were flying by and we had our eye on the strawberry and pistachio cake. Much to our horror, a fellow patron took the last slice. As you can imagine, we hated her for a split second: don’t come between a woman and her cake! Our waitress assured us that there was more to come all while tempting us with a religieuse à la fraise . Next time! As our dessert was placed before us, silence descended on our table. There were no words as our taste buds experienced pure bliss and the harpist soothed us with her tunes. The crunchy base, soft sponge, cloud-light pistachio cream and oh those strawberries… Finally Ashleigh spoke up as I continued to devour my plate of heaven. “You can tell these are Gariguette, you taste the sweetness”. She was right! If it wasn’t bikini session, I probably would have ordered another piece to go. And by “another piece” I mean an entire cake! Unfortunately, by the time we had finished dessert, our waitress had left so I couldn’t get her name, but we both agreed that she was fabulous: very knowledgeable about the menu and so friendly, without being intrusive. We were treated like regulars. I felt as though I could happily spend the entire afternoon there being very well looked after. Alas, reality came creeping back…
Most recently, I have been asked where to have the best afternoon tea. Of course, it depends what you’re looking for. However, I can tell you will complete certainty that whatever you think constitutes to a good experience, the Plaza Athénée has it all. If you’re visiting Paris, let me know and I’ll join you there – I need more of that cake!
Hôtel Plaza Athénée
25 Avenue Montaigne
75008 Paris
+33 1 53 67 66 65
Let the cake adventures continue…
Not Just Another Milla was a guest of Hotel Plaza Athénée.
Beautiful, insanely beautiful. LOVE hotel teas and lunches and the Plaza Athenee, well, I’m sure the shadows are whispering stories that can’t be held in anymore.
It’s rather interesting because many people do not like dining at hotel restaurants. It always strikes me as odd, as most have a top chef and a menu of dreams.
I feel sure that the Plaza Athénée is full of secret stories but alas, no gossip for us, just dessert from heaven! Oh Madeleine, la cour jardin is like a freakin’ dream-world!
Milla, you are making me hungry! Looks yummy and you look so pretty.
Oh thank you Michelle, you’re a sweetie! I think you’ll have a hard time choosing where to take tea…
Everything looked so wonderful, especially the desserts! We’ll definitely meet up there when I visit Paris….. someday…
I thought you’d like the dessert! Deal – we’ll take tea at the Plaza Athénée!
PS – more food posts from you please!
Milla what a fabulously narrated outing! I felt like I was there with you….sampling chilled soups (a fave of mine in the summer when well done) and scrumptious desserts. I ventured to a cafe here in Cambridge that has the closest thing to a classic pain au chocolat. It was heaven!
Thank you so much Noelani! You must send me some recipes – it would be great to try to make one. For your next visit, I propose tea in the stunning Galeries des Gobelins. How can you turn that down?!
I’m so happy you found a real pain au chocolat. Once you’ve had the real thing, there’s no going back. During my last trip to London, my French craving for bread was in full swing, so I bought a baguette. Big mistake! There are many things us Brits can do. Baking a baguette is not one of them!
Oh, Milla, thanks for sharing your experiences there! I’ve long yearned for a leisurely jaunt there, but have yet to do so! I even had mentioned it on my sidebar as a favorite place of Paris-loving Aimee! Your afternoon looked delightful! xoxo
Well clearly Aimee has the best taste! The Plaza Athénée is such a landmark. Have you been to Paris Sandy?
x
gosh, looks yum!!!! the strawberry and pistachio cake looks to die for!!! =D Btw, i just posted a post on the kids editorial of Cadeaux for the Vogue Paris December – Jan 2010-11 issue. Have u seen it yet? I was just curious to think what u thought abt it cuz u always have great analysis into these fashion talks, hehehe. Be great to know what u think!
Happy weekend ahead!
Cinz
Really worth dying for honey! Strawberry and pistachio is such a delish combination.
Just heading over to check now but what I can tell you is that I wish Vogue Paris had the same intrigue, controversy and relevance as when Carine was running the show. The last few issues have gone from mediocre to utter rubbish.
Bon week-end!
x
The cake adventure, ah I love it. What a beautiful looking place for afternoon tea. I’ve been following your tea posts and I think this is my favourite, just for the descriptions and photos of the food. Your dress looks really lovely, where it is from?
Maybe I should change my blog name to “Eating My Way Through Paris”. How fab would that be!
Thank you SOTC, nice to know you’re following! It’s not a secret, I like luxury and let me tell you, this place has it all!
xx
ha ha…love that you owned up to hating the cake thief for a split second!
sounds like a lovely, lovely lunch!
The worst type of thief in my opinion!
x
What descended on me while reading this is just pure jealousy. You know how some people think that calories from broken cookies don’t count? Well I believe that calories consumed in this way, with pure, almost orgasmic, pleasure don’t make you fat. They just make you a happier person which is a pretty cool thing to be
)))
kisses
M
Milla – love your dress!!
Merci ma belle!
hey girl, i’m working in this kitchen and i can give you the recipe of the gazpacho!!!
we TRIED to go but they do NOT take reservations for tea…only hotel guests get in. You have to wait and wait and wait and the person I was with did not want to wait.
I would have in a second
c’est la vie
http://parisbreakfasts.blogspot.com/2012/04/les-galerie-des-gobelins.html
If you can, go during the week and on time at either 15h00 or 15h30 when they start serving afternoon tea. Good luck!