Paris - 1 dinner splurge recommendation ??

I am going to list some of my favorite establishments that are beautiful - none are particularly overly expensive

Grand Café Capucines
La Rotonde
Le Train Bleu (wow factor galore)
Le Procope
Au Pied de Cochon
Le Wepler
Brasserie Bofinger

What is your splurge budget?

$300 or less for 2 people

Second for Le Train Bleu.

Le Train Bleu is a good one.
I will add La Coupole (Montparnasse) to the list, had a business dinner there in December and was very pleasantly surprised! Beautiful setting, very good food, well within your budget (closer to $100/ea with alcoholic drinks). Main downside: it is a loud place.

Our splurge place does not 'have a great atmosphere if by that you mean a gorgeous room -- It is plain walls -- but the multi course tasting menu for about 60 Euro a head has never disappointed. We celebrated our 49th anniversary there this fall with friends and my birthday there a few years ago and will probably celebrate my birthday there again this spring.

Another place we enjoyed this fall was Coretta in Batignolles on the edge of Martin Luther King Park a short walk from the Pont Cardinet stop of the 14 metro line. Lovely food -- amazing dessert and it is sort of like being in a tree house with lovely views -- modern decor.

We had an anniversary lunch at la Tour d'Argent a few years ago -- dinner was too expensive but their prix lunch was under your budget and we had a really lovely time and meal in the window overlooking Notre Dame -- the view is of course diminished by the Notre Dame disaster but it still looks out on the river and is a pretty room. Good food and lovely service and they sent us home with a bag of house made sweets.

Bofinger and Train Bleu have gorgeous rooms and Les Ombres has the stunning view through the glass roof to the Eiffel Tower.

Check the via Michelin web site for 2 & 3 star restaurants in Paris. Then select the most appealing one and go for lunch. Experience will be outstanding at a more reasonable price.

Many of the fancy restaurants have elaborate lunch menus similar to their dinner menus at about 60% of the price -- not all but many. So yes, it is worth looking at the web sites of some of the top places to see if they offer this kind of deal and to view the menu selections. This is why we did an anniversary celebration at La Tour d'Argent at lunch and not dinner.

I am no Paris expert, but one of my most memorable dinner evenings was at Au Port du Salut jazz club near the Luxembourg Gardens.
https://www.auportdusalut.fr/en/

"Previously an inn of the same name, the building was constructed during the 18th century and succeeded an even older establishment, which, during the 15th century, was frequented by the poet Francois Villon.... As a way of respecting the historic heritage of the building, there are musical interludes every evening and the objective for the future is to recreate the artistic buzz of the most wonderful period at the Port du Salut."

They have a variety of musical styles on different nights:
https://www.auportdusalut.fr/o/animations-musicales/

With a choice of fixed price menus at €33,00, you can easily stay within your budget or splurge for other choices. I had a lovely meal for about $75.

The photo on this page is the jazz room where I had dinner. Be sure to book your reservation on this page .... and as I look at their reservation system, you may actually need to confirm directly that you're booking a table in the jazz room:
https://www.auportdusalut.fr/o/animations-musicales/

(The images on their "Photos" page are a different space, without the jazz club atmosphere and performances.)

Interesting idea to check Michelin but your budget, about 260€, is almost what a Michelin 2 or 3-star restaurant will cost per person without wine. I would have suggested les Climats, which is 1 star, but the menu there is 140€ per person without wine, 250€ per person with the wine pairing. It is an unbelievable experience, but I'm not sure if it matches your stated requirements.

Le Train Bleu does offer impressive atmosphere and the food is good, not overly pretentious. You might also consider les Ombres which usually has a menu at 90€ and, with a modest bottle of wine, would not exceed your 260€ plateau. Les Ombres, with a roof that is all glass, sits very near the base of the Eiffel Tower. Both the food and the view are fabulous.

Ducasse sur Seine is always a night to remember with excellent food, served on a boat with a glass superstructure, offering unparalleled views from the Seine as it cruises the heart of Paris. Priced at 150€ per guest, it might be just over your budget, but overall, it's an event you would not soon forget.

One last idea would be a restaurant owned by the same people as les Climats, Chez Monsieur. It is more affordable yet, for me, is exactly what a Parisian restaurant should have; Bentwood chairs, linen table clothes, 1920´s charm, and magnificent food. It´s been too long since I have dined at Chez Monsieur, and I cannot wait to return.

Any of these restaurants will require reservations, I might suggest a week in advance is not too early, and may not be early enough.

Fancy food is simply a state of mind. Expect a wonderful dining experience at most of the restaurants proposed in this thread, but what you are served should be the star of the show.

Les Climats, now there is a lovely suggestion. That would be my dream to go to.

I tend to really trust David Lebovitz's recommendations:

https://www.davidlebovitz.com/paris/

Bustronome - le gourmet bus - is also in your budget and I find their food to be fantastic. Plus the views are unbeatable.

“Our splurge place does not 'have a great atmosphere if by that you mean a gorgeous room -- It is plain walls -- but the multi course tasting menu for about 60 Euro a head has never disappointed. We celebrated our 49th anniversary there this fall with friends and my birthday there a few years ago and will probably celebrate my birthday there again this spring.“

Janet, what’s the name of this restaurant? Sounds great!

I've eaten at Le Train Bleu. Beautiful interior but I wasn't terribly impressed with the food. Then again, I am not a "foodie".

I keep meaning to try this place every time I am in Paris, but never seem to make it there. Looks so charming! https://www.lecoupechou.com/

Le train bleu, in the Lyon rail station, is not for diehard foodies anyhow. It serves a safe, time-tested menu, competently cooked and served, in memorable surroundings. Cheap menu is about $55 US without wine. https://www.le-train-bleu.com/fr/

The Smoking Dog, at Les Halles, is a classic bistro, including (I think) a zinc bar and of course a seafood spread. Sorry, I couldn't find prices but you might e-mail the resto and ask for a menu.
https://www.auchienquifume.com/?lang=en

Both these sites show pictures of the decor.

Janet, what’s the name of this restaurant? Sounds great!

What if I guessed: l´Initial

I keep meaning to try this place every time I am in Paris, but never seem to make it there. Looks so charming!

There is no restaurant more charming than le Coupe Chou. Ask for a seat by the fireplace. However, the food is unremarkable.

The Smoking Dog, at Les Halles, is a classic bistro,

Great place for lunch. Not sure if I would call it a splurge.

Donna LOL. can't believe I talked about our favorite restaurant but didn't mention it's name. It is l'Initial in the 5th.

Here is what the menu sequence looks like. a few bits on the table right away -- last time it was a tiny cheese crisp, a tiny potato puff and a stunningly good goat cheese ravioli. Then an amuse; two entrees; a fish course; a meat course (only course with choices: last time it was lamb chops, duck and pate pie and sweetbreads -- on another visit it was a pigeon pie, lamb chops and a beef dish). then two desserts -- a sorbet and then some sort of pastry. After the meal when many then order coffee there are mignardises. We got a bottle of Champagne because it was our anniversary. The sorbet last time was a strange asian fruit and was just so good I wish I could buy it in the shops. We have eaten there 5 or 6 times over the years and always had impeccable service and a lovely meal. And the servings are quite small so you leave well fed but not unpleasantly stuffed. There is an option for a cheese course at extra cost but while we do that for home dinners, it is too much food for us here.

The entries vary as do the other courses. Once we had a wonderfulled grilled foie gras, one of my favorite French dishes, another time it was a lovely shrimp and fennel dish in a dressing. Always tasty stuff.

FWIW when we mention it is a birthday or anniversary they always do a little thing with the dessert -- a candle or writing happy anniversary in French on the dessert plate in chocolate.

Janet, thank you. I’ll be celebrating my birthday in Paris this year and will put l'Initial at the top of my list!

we enjoyed this place in the Sixth

https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-maison-du-jardin-paris

For a nice rooftop bar try the former Art Nouveau Samaritain, now the Klimpton St. Honoure.
Beautiful views over Paris.

The renovation they did embraces the old department store.

We enjoyed Brasserie Bofinger.

https://www.bofingerparis.com/en/

Les Ombres is about 500 € per person for the 5 course dinner, 380 for lunch with the wine pairing (200 without), so sadly not in the stated budget.

We are hoping to go with L’Initial for our anniversary dinner, but they won’t open bookings until a month before. We booked a lunch reservation at Le Train Bleu for a different day, but honestly that is as much or more about the ambiance than the food for this trip. Southern California is not overflowing with that kind of ambiance (although we do have amazing ocean view options 😉), so opted to go for it.

The current special dinners at les Ombres end 5 March. The OP is not in Paris until April, at which time the menu is 96€ or 146€ with wine.

Other than mentioning the current Les Ombres menu is only on offer for 100 days, the reservation and pricing info form does not give that info — it only relays the pricing I mentioned.