After a massive renovation by the restaurateur Gérard-Joulie Les Grandes Marches reopened late in 2012. Adjacent to the Paris Opéra Bastille it can accommodate over  300 diners on two levels and the 60 seat terrace. An ideal spot for a pre-performance cocktail or post concert dinner we arrived for dinner while the sun (long absent) this year was still shining and were seated at a booth underneath a photograph of Maria Callas and facing the winding staircase that leads to the upper salon reminiscent of a 1920s ocean liner.

After a massive renovation by the restaurateur Gérard-Joulie Les Grandes Marches reopened late in 2012. Adjacent to the Paris Opéra Bastille it can accommodate over  300 diners on two levels and the 60 seat terrace. An ideal spot for a pre-performance cocktail or post concert dinner we arrived for dinner while the sun (long absent) this year was still shining and were seated at a booth underneath a photograph of Maria Callas and facing the winding staircase that leads to the upper salon reminiscent of a 1920s ocean liner.

Although the Nez de Neuilly was suffering from a mild cold she didn’t need her nose to notice the absence of bubbles in our Pommery Rosé. And that was when the Gianni show  began-our shaven headed maitre d’ removed the offending glasses and in a most flamboyant style produced a new, properly chilled bottle and new flutes that were immediately filled with a stream of bubbles–Act I in the Gianni di Roma show.

Now conscious of our presence he entertained us over the course of a perfectly lovely meal. Don’t expect overly complicated, attention-grabbing cuisine but do expect the finest products, excellently prepared.

We began with a generous plate of white asparagus with sauce écrevisses, harbingers of a late-arriving spring. We continued with the Pommery as we savored these slightly al dente stalks.

M and I were on the same page and selected the carré d’agneau from the Aveyron–4 chops perfectly cooked to order and washed down with a Saint-Emillion.

painperduSo far, no surprises–a good thing, so when the desserts appeared we were appropriately, pleasantly surprised-artisanal vanilla ice cream over which espresso was poured at the table and an incredibly light toasted brioche with salted butter caramel ice cream that will remove any memory of you mom’s French toast.

After Gianni showed off his upper floor with it’s views of the colonne he escorted us to the terrace for a Poire William to cap a wonderful evening.

The luncheon menu is a great value.

Luncheon Formule  36 euros

Les Grandes Marches

Metro: Bastille

Open daily from 8AM-1AM