A Sunday in the summer is not the best time to eat in Paris. Not only were most of the nice restaurants closed on Sundays, but the famous Sunday-friendly ones (Pierre Gagnaire) were off for summer vacation. The result is that on Sunday night we didn't really have a place to go. We ate lunch at a Chinese place of all things, just off the Champs Elysées, which was actually pretty good. It was a needed break for my grandma and grandaunt. For dinner, they decided to stay in and get room service. My dad's friend Johan was flying into Paris for the night and wanted to meet for dinner, so I tagged along.
Our concierge was able to get us into La Tour d'Argent, a Michelin two star, and one of Paris' oldest restaurants. It supposedly opened in 1582 as an inn, and has survived. For most of the 20th century, it was a Michelin three star - one of the early favorites in the guide. It was dubbed France's best restaurant for like 70 years or something. But after the prolonged success, it apparently lost a step as other restaurants evolved and improved. It finally lost a star (in the early-mid 90s, I think?) despite its prestige. Well, nothing was open and my dad was keen to retry the restaurant and see if it has picked up any slack since the wake up call of the lost star.
The restaurant sits at the edge of the Seine. You actually take an elevator up a few floors to the main dining room, which has probably the best view of Paris I've seen. It's really amazing up there, and the view alone would cement the place as a surefire special occasion spot.
To be honest though, that's all it had going for it. The place was just straight-up gimmicky. It really tried hard to shove its history down your throat. It is famous for its duck, a dish they've been serving for like centuries or something. When you eat dinner there, they give you a little postcard printed with the number of the duck you're eating. I don't even remember what number we got, but I think they served their millionth not too long ago. Anyway, the whole atmosphere just screamed gimmick. 
hors d'oeuvres Our dinner began with this tray of hors d'oeuvres: a cheese puff, a pastry I don't remember, a curry-based samosa, and a salmon with cream on toast thing. They were alright, but really didn't taste any more special than hors d'oeuvres you'd get anywhere. 
quenelles de brochet André Terrail - 45 euros These pike dumplings were the highlight of the meal. André Terrail is either one of the old owners or chefs or something in the restaurant's history. Claude Terrail, the current boss, actually came around to say hi to most of the diners. He's really old now, and it was kind of interesting seeing him sit at a table in the corner and survey the place throughout the night. Anyway, the quenelles were soft and flavorful, with a rich, thick sauce. Then again, I wouldn't say they were notably better than the version at, say, Jeanty at Jack's in SF. 
caneton 'Tour d'Argent', part 1: breast with blood sauce - 60 euros The famous caneton 'Tour d'Argent' is a pressed duckling served two ways. The first is this breast with a blood sauce. The little fried things are some kind of puffed potato. This duck was pretty good, but really nothing too special, especially given all the hype. There was just too much sauce, and while not bad it was a bit overwhelming. It certainly didn't score any points in the presentation department. 
caneton 'Tour d'Argent', part 2: leg with bearnaise sauce More mediocrity here. Again, nothing wrong with the duck. It was actually a pretty tasty leg, just nothing special. At least the bearnaise was on the side so we could pick how much we wanted. Also, not much presentation and no sides to speak of. 
financiers, chocolate/nuts, macaroons, berry tartlets We waited a bit and after a while these pre-desserts came. They didn't offer us cheese, despite the cheese cart we saw rolling around. We didn't mind that much because we didn't really feel like it anyway, but that's a pretty glaring glitch for a two star place. These treats were, again, just average. 
peach flambée with raspberry brandy, vanilla ice cream, and orange flower cake - 28 euros This is my dad's dessert. I forgot to take a picture of my coffee millefeuille, which was too sweet and paled in comparison to some of the others we had. The peach was a bit of a show. They brought the peach out, poured the brandy on top, and flamébed it at the table. It was pretty dark by now so it was quite cool-looking. My dad said it was pretty good, but again nothing special.
So in the end, this was definitely one of the worse meals we had on the trip. The restaurant has a myriad of problems to deal with. First, the food isn't stellar. Second, the service is subpar. It was really the only meal where we experienced any remotely snobby attitude from the staff. The thing that annoyed me the most though was the cheesiness and the gimmicks. It's obvious this place is riding on its historic fame, and letting everything else just freeride.
I'm not saying it wasn't a good meal, but I'm comparing it to some very high standards here. Based on my admittedly limited experience, I'd say La Tour d'Argent is worthy of at most one star. Baumanière, Le Meurice, Chez Bru - they're all light years ahead of this place. But damn, does it have a nice view...
I'm leaving for Melbourne tonight. I'm taking a 12 hour (!!!) bus ride there overnight and spending the weekend there. Gonna spend Saturday doing a tour of the Great Ocean Road, and the rest of the time just exploring the city. See y'all on Monday for my last France post.