Back to Paris: February 2013

February 2013
Back in Paris for a family celebration, I returned to the Hotel Cujas Pantheon, nestled between the Sorbonne and the Jardins de Luxembourg. Having stayed just 2 nights here in September 2012, I persuaded by family to book here due to the location, but on my last visit I had not noticed the level of friendliness at the hotel. Simple things like asking for extra towels and the complimentary umbrellas at reception really made the difference. Apart from location, the hotel staff are the other main attraction for Hotel Cujas Pantheon. Nothing was too much trouble, from ordering an early morning taxi, to recommending and booking a restaraunt on a very busy weekend in Paris (Italy vs France rugby weekend).

We had hoped to dine at a restaurant I had eaten in before in the Marais, Cafe Hugo, however this place was fully booked. The staff at Hotel had a few recommendations which were also full, but finally the receptionist thought of a nearby restaurant which was large enough to be seldom completely booked. We secured a table for 6 for 9.30pm on the Saturday night at Bouillon xx and we were not disappointed. On arrival we were told we had to wait maybe 10 mins for the table and although it was a full 45 mins before we did get our table, we were rewarded with a complimentary glass of bubbly from the owner. The staff were always calm and in fairness to my group, it was only the last 10 mins of waiting that tested our patience. The hold up was a couple in the centre of our table for 6 having a 'discussion' which meant they spent forever drinkning the last of their wine.
To bolster the free glass of bubbly, we ordered a couple of bottles of St. Emillion which was just super, one diner sticking to the rose. The starters included an obligatory tasting of escargots, which were cooked in garlic and butter, very rich and 6 was plenty, shared between myslef and my sister, who reluctantly shared her crab meat salad. Terrine, french onion soup, pumpkin soup and prawns with spinach salad made up the rest of the first course order. For mains I had a delicious mix of scallops and languistine with salad. Paprika was laid out delicately for dipping on one side of the plate and placed particularly by the wait staff. I also tried

For dessert most of the group were beaten, but a couple were ordered and another bottle of the St. Emillion. The creme brulee was generous size and very delicately flavoured, one lemon dessert was also ordered and the influence of too many reality cook shows was evident when I commented that it was like a 'deconstructed lemon merringue'. I'll be a long time living that comment down! Although the sad thing is that is exactly what I thought when I tasted the dish! The bill came to 320 euros for 6, so with a reasonable tip our bill was 60 a head for a very memorable meal.

Highlights of the trip included a late evening visit to the Louvre on Friday evening, where we could walk to from the hotel. Sunday saw us visiting the George Pomipou Centre or particularly the modern art gallery. Trip to the roof worthwhile for the views.


Saturday morning took us on a wander from the hotel along for breakfast at a cafe opposite the Jardin de Luzembourg called Cafe Cercle. A fab buckwheat crepe with egg, cheese and ham got me going for the day.
Saturday evening run