CHECK OTHER REVIEWS FOR THIS PLACE:
When you enjoy an exceptional breakfast, a delightful lunch, and an exciting dinner, you plan on coming back for another meal! Ladurée, the macaron king and famous breakfast creator opens for lunch and dinner until 10pm. After visiting in Beirut and Italy, here I am back to the iconic location on Les Champs Elysées in Paris for a dinner experience. Historical and decorated with gold, Ladurée’s dinner space is simply an enclosed terrace filled with tables. Tight, the space hosts more than it can handle and the chairs are too uncomfortable to sit on happily.
For dinner, Ladurée offers a selection of plates from the sea, some from the farm, vegetables, salads and other sides. Desserts have their own leaflet occupying two pages. It was already 09:30 pm and choosing from omelette and sandwiches was not easy for me. I settled for a mini gruyère burger, croque monsieur and club sandwich.
Things have improved since 2012. No more paper placemates, the 25 page menu now has only three; from a fast casual to an upmarket eatery, Ladurée tables are covered with a white tablecloth and decorated with a table napkin. Eat “light,” sandwiches and salads because a mouthwatering dessert awaits.
What to expect:
- The place is a tourist get together.
- Service is slow.
- They don’t have WiFi.
45 minutes passed and yet the food was not ready, so the waiter offered a plate of bread with the signature Ladurée fingers of butter.
To start, I had the smoked salmon with light sour cream and blini bread bites. Six thick slices of salmon, soft and fatty with cream that makes every bite an experience. The blini, however, are dry and hard textured. My father in law had the velouté de homard and loved it; the sauce is served a-la-minute. My wife’s Ladurée autumn salad looks fresh and colorful, as well as the crunchy shrimp salad. Crisp and colorful salad loaded with flavors and textures. I was excited to try the burger.
The burger: three mini burgers cooked medium, juicy but the burger is dry needing a load of ketchup. Ladurée uses Alain Milliat gourmet ketchup which is great to add the required moisture and sweetness. The croque monsieur is special, made of rolled bread with cheese and ham inside. The French fries are cold and stale. Good food for a coffee shop for tourists.
I didn’t like the excessive load of people, the tourists and the slow service but I enjoyed the casual food which I can experience at any Ladurée. If planning to visit again, it won’t be this location. The food is good enough but not exceptional; service is way too slow.
