Trying Café de la Paix for the first time in Paris

Bonjour, it's Théo. Today we are next to the Opéra, you can see it right here. We are going to try the famous Café de la Paix, one of the most iconic cafés in Paris. It's raining so let's go inside. I'm sitting inside, out of the rain, and we are today with Gabrielle. We're here to eat some delicious lunch. And the place is just iconic. When I was going in the Opéra district, I've always looked to the Café de la Paix because it looks so beautiful inside. They even have a brioche bread, this is like their signature bread. The Café de la Paix is one of the most iconic in Paris. Many people know the Café de la Paix just by the name. Perfectly located because it's close to the Place Vendôme, the Opéra, it's just next to the Opéra. Even if the place is really chic, it's still accessible. It's a bit expensive because it's a more expensive restaurant than others, but it's not a place with a bouncer that won't accept you at the gate, you know, it's not something exclusive. And also, even if it's in a touristic place, it's less touristic than Café Angelina for example. Even if Café Angelina is great, but if you go to Angelina, you have to wait a long time outside. For the Café de la Paix, usually you have no line. We are on a Tuesday lunch and it's not full right now. You have a lot of choice in the menu. The starters are about 25 to 35, so it's definitely higher than other starters in other cafés. For the main course, it's about 40 or 50. And the desserts are 16 euros for each dessert. I think it's maybe one of the most expensive restaurants we did on this YouTube channel. And it's a beautiful one, so I'm happy to bring you with us. It's time for the aperitif, as we say in French, the aperitif. But with mocktails. Aperitif at lunchtime. Yes! I know some people who do aperitif like all the time, so cheers! I think we need to try this brioche bread because it looks fantastic, crispy, like puff pastry. It's like a croissant bread. It's really buttery, it's delicious. And it's time for the starters. We have the white asparagus with a little bit of shredded eggs on top. And this is the French onion soup, the soup à l'oignon. And this one looks delicious. Both are classics of the French cuisine. The asparagus is a classic for the spring because it's really a seasonal product. And the French onion soup here, it's like an old recipe from the 19th century. It's the classic, iconic starter in the Café de la Paix. It looks really creamy, oily. The broth looks beautiful. Wow, that cheese though. It's not your first onion soup. No, it's not my first onion soup. It's actually one of my favorite starters. I had this in Erloy Brasserie, especially in the winter, in the colder months. But this one, the cheese is amazing. And the bread, usually, it's a little too heavy. But here, they did it very light. I would recommend to get this one. And what about the broth? Because it looks really, really good. Like the soup looks so good. It tastes really like onion has been simmered for hours and they barely added any salt. So not salty at all. Very amazing. Can I try the onion soup? Yes. Let's go. The cheese and the bread is good, but I want the soup. I want to taste the onion. That is delicious. It tastes like the juice of a dish that's simmered for hours. Like you taste all the flavors. It's really, really good. It's time to try the white asparagus with some pickles or capers. You have a little bit of this vinegar pickle taste, but I think I prefer the French onion soup. I prefer the white asparagus when they are alone. I don't really like when you have some little eggs or some pickles. What do you think about it? The white asparagus. You're not a fan? Not the biggest fan. The sauce is very nice though. I think I would have this sauce with like a salad or some bread. So I'm a better fan of the French onion soup. Yeah. We finished the starters. The French onion soup is definitely a good starter. You need to try it in this restaurant. It's delicious. It's one of the classics of the house, so definitely try it. The asparagus were a bit less good because it's a mix with the sauce gribish and some eggs on top. And I don't really like the shredded eggs, so it was not my favorite. We just have a little history of the Café de la Paix from the waiter. And he told us that the ceiling with all the paintings and even all the buildings of the Café de la Paix is classified as monument historique. When a monument is classified, or even just a building in Paris is classified monument historique, you can't just change it as you want. You can't just destroy it to build like a skyscraper. No, you have to keep the vibe and the charm of the monument to keep like the old painting. And I really like that to protect like the culture in France and the many cultural and historical places. It's so great to have this classification. Thank you very much. And it's time for the main course, the plat. And now we are talking. This is the beef tournedo. This is the most tender part of the fillet. And we took it rare to still have the thickness and the juice of the meat. We have like a roasted shallot and some homemade gnocchi and a little béarnaise sauce with tarragon. It's one of my favorite sauces. It's incredible. And this is the fillet de cannette, the duck breast. We have an orange sauce, some orange slices on top and it looks absolutely fantastic. I chose the beef fillet, the tourne-d'eau saignant, which means rare. You are not used to saignant, you are not used to the bloody meat. Let's see how I feel about all the red. You will see it's the best temperature. I even prefer it bleu, so even more raw inside. It's so tender. The tourne-d'eau is the most tender piece of the meat and it's still pink inside, but it's cooked, it's not bleu, it's not raw. I'm not used to red meat, very tender. You see, I told you. Yeah, I really like it. I thought it would taste very raw and have a very strange taste, but just very soft, very delicate. But it's not raw, it's cooked. That's why it doesn't taste raw. You can't know you don't like it before trying it. It's a pure pleasure. I love the tourne-d'eau. I told you to trust me on the temperature. That's true. It's a good choice. Taking it saignant, still pink inside. And now it's time to try the canette, the duck breast. I'm going to take it with the orange sauce. It's as tender as the tourne-d'eau. It's melting in your mouth. And I love this meaty flavor of the duck. I really like it. I like the strong flavor of the meat. It feels like butter. I told you. I told you this is the best temperature for duck, for beef. French food changes your life. I told you. Seriously, people, don't be afraid of trying pink meat inside, like the rare, the saignant, as we say, or even the bleu meat, which is still raw inside. Step by step. Yeah. I'm going to try again the beef of the tourne-d'eau with a little bit of the sauce béarnaise because it looks, it looks fabulous. I love it. I don't know what to say. It's just so good, guys. It's just so good. We were a bit disappointed by the asparagus because it's a dish that some people love it, some people don't. The French onion soup was delicious and the main courses were absolutely delicious. The temperature, the cooking, it's perfect. The duck, as the beef, are both so tender. It's a real pleasure to eat those dishes. We finished everything. It was absolutely delicious, but do you have still room for the dessert? Of course, always room for dessert. Always. The dessert just arrived. We decided to take the millefeuille because it's the classic of the house. The waiter told us it was delicious. It was one of the best in Paris, so I can't wait to try it. And also the crème brûlée, and this one looks fabulous. Looks like thick, so you have like a lot of custard to it. Gabrielle told me that she was not the biggest fan of the millefeuille, so she's going to try it. Yes. Let's start with the crème brûlée. Break the crust. Oh, let's go. Looks beautiful. It's the good one? Amazing. It's super light. I feel the vanilla and really the crunchiness on the top. I think it gives the sensation of a perfect crème brûlée. I don't know how to cut it. I will try it like to cut it in half like that. Ready? Oh, yes. Oh, it's easy to cut. The problem with the millefeuille is when you try to cut it, you are destroying the cake. It's really good. And the caramel on the side is delicious. So, this dessert, I'm usually not a fan of because usually the cream is very heavy. I love the cream. You see? The cream is very delicious. But I'm still not sure what to think about so much flakiness. Yeah, you don't like the mix of the cream and the flakes. I feel like flaky things for me are mostly salty. Honestly, I'm surprised by the Café de la Paix. I thought at the beginning it would be like a classic brasserie, a bit overpriced dishes and just classic dishes. But no, it's really good. Like, it's really good quality. The waiter is absolutely adorable. And the vibe of the restaurant, the beauty of the place, it deserves to try. It deserves the price. It's definitely more expensive than other restaurants. It's not a creative cuisine. So, you will just find the classics. But it's always perfectly made. And especially the main courses were incredible. We finished the meal. You're drinking a tea? Yes. It was perfect. Thank you so much for the Café de la Paix for inviting us. We were invited also with Instagram because I'm also active on Instagram. And this YouTube video is like a bonus to bring you with us for this beautiful meal. And it was incredible. Like, honestly, it was delicious. If you come to Paris, even just for a drink, you need to try the Café de la Paix. It's an iconic place. It's beautiful. And it really deserves the hype. If you want to explore Paris and discover the French way of life, don't forget to subscribe to this YouTube channel. I post every single day. So, see you tomorrow.