Les Ombres

On top of the Musee Branly in Paris sits an attractive terrace restaurant under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. Les Ombres is a well-known tourist destination for it's fantastic view of the most famous Parisian attraction. The terrace opens for lunch and dinner in the summer, although I did have to sit through a punishing client lunch there once in 34 degree heat and no parasol - pretty ironic as the restaurant's name translates as "The Shadows".

We were welcomed with a flute of champagne and a non-alcoholic cocktail for my pregnant wife which we enjoyed in the sunshine of the terrace before dinner. We enjoyed it at the time, but not too much when I saw the bill at the end of the evening: 18 Euros for the champagne and 10 Euros for a a small glass of mixed fruit juices.

The amuse bouche was fairly decent - a rilette of salmon for me and a froth of scallop soup with a light drizzle of hazlenut oil for my wife. The salmon was nothing exceptional but good enough. The scallop foam was very light and delicately creamy. This was pretty good actually.

For the main course, I had a filet of sole which was curiously put-together in a parcel of transparent foil with asparagus and split peas. I'm not sure the parcel was altogether necessary, and it was slightly unappetising as it looked like plastic wrapping, but I soon forgot about that as I tucked into it. It was absolutely delicious served with a light curry-spiced sauce. The fish was perfectly cooked and the flavours were excellent.

My wife had the pigeon served on a bed of savoy cabbage shredded finely and cooked down with peas and ham. This is a traditional French dish and this was served in a traditionally small portion! It was beautifully presented and tasted excellent but I couldn't help noticing that it was probably the smallest dish of all when I saw other guest's food being brought out of the kitchen.

For desert my wife had a light sponge with strawberries in an almond sauce and served with a lemon basil sorbet.

I had a cafe gourmand which came with a nice trio of of cakes: a raspberry and citrus puff, a strawberry cheesecake and a millefeille of chocolate.

All-in-all the food was pretty good but not exceptional. The service was faultless and the view outstanding, but the food itself was a bit expensive for what it was: aside from the pricey aperitifs, the sole was 43 Euros and pigeon was 36 Euros.

That was my third visit and the first time I had to pay so perhaps I hadn't noticed before just how over-priced it was. Worth a visit for a special treat if you're in Paris as a tourist, and worth taking advantage of if you're entertaining clients (as long as you get a seat under the parasol of course). Reservations required.

PS: apologies for the poor quality pictures. I was stuck with my i-phone and the sunset didn't help.

Les Ombres
27 Quai Branly, 75007 Paris
01 47 53 68 00
http://www.lesombres-restaurant.com/index.html