I ate at the restaurant Les Ombres in the Musée du Quai Branly soon after it opened a number of years ago and was impressed by the sophisticated cuisine, the amazing sight of the Eiffel Tower looming over our heads through the glass ceiling and the large rooftop terrace with views of the tower and much of Paris. I was not impressed, however, by the service at the time.
Many years later, things have changed. The Eiffel Tower and the terrace are just as impressive, the food less so and the service much more so. What happened? Tourism, I’m guessing.
Almost all of our fellow diners appeared to be visitors from out of town, and the default language of the adorable staff seemed to be English. No Parisian snobbery or arrogance here. They even let in a man wearing shorts, in spite of the fact that they sent out an email the same day specifying the dress code, which explicitly said “no shorts.“
My friend Helen was in the mood for a splurge. She had received a gift certificate for a meal at the restaurant and invited three friends to join her. Not only that, but she also sprang for a bottle of champagne to kick off the meal.
The very short menu didn’t offer many interesting choices.
As an appetizer, two of us went for the crabmeat salad with lobster-bisque mayonnaise and apple- and celery-flavored jus. It was okay, but nothing more. Too bland.
The others did better with sea bream carpaccio decorated with triangles of carrot strips, orange sauce, flower petals and coriander.
Since none of the other main courses interested me (because of my no-chicken-in-restaurants rule and a preference for meat dishes over pasta in French restaurants), I ordered the more expensive (+€12) pan-seared beef tenderloin with summer vegetables, mashed potatoes and mustard jus. It was an excellent specimen of a classic dish. The meat was rare, as requested (initially, the waiter had just assumed that, as English-speakers, we would want it well done), the vegetables were tasty and appropriately al dente, and the potatoes buttery and creamy.
Carmela, who did order the chicken, pronounced it good, though she didn’t care for the mashed potatoes. She loved the grilled artichokes in pepper sauce.
Lucy, the only vegetarian in the group, was happy with the potato gnocchi with Swiss chard, olive powder and lemon.
We ordered all three desserts and the goat-cheese plate to share. The Paris Brest and red-fruit vacherin were both deconstructed (a gimmick that rarely improves on the original version), while the chocolate cake came in the form of a well-bred cocoa-topped disk with a swirl of chocolate sauce on top. Like the other courses, they were all perfectly fine without eliciting any ecstatic sighs.
After we finished eating, we retreated for a final drink to the huge terrace, where we were thrilled at the sight of the city at our feet, and the tower and dark sky overhead. Truly, this was the best part of the evening.
Les Ombres has evidently given up on imaginative haute cuisine, but you are almost guaranteed a good time by the warm welcome and especially the spectacular setting. It will cost you, though. The cheapest bottle on the wine list was priced at €100 – never before seen.
See our Favorite Restaurants by Arrondissement page to find a good restaurant in the neighborhood where you want to eat.
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