A legendary Paris restaurant reopens with a view of Notre Dame's rebirth and the 2024 Olympics
ABC News
The legendary Paris restaurant Le Tour d’Argent already boasts a wine cellar with 320,000 bottles, a world-famous duck recipe and a storied history stretching back 441 years
PARIS -- The Tour d’Argent already boasts a 320,000-bottle wine cellar, a world-famous duck recipe and a storied 441-year history. Now, the legendary restaurant is about to serve up its "plat de résistance": a front-row view of two of the biggest events of 2024 — the renaissance of Notre Dame Cathedral and the 2024 Summer Olympics.
A city landmark unto itself — and an inspiration for the restaurant in the movie “Ratatouille’’ — the Tour d’Argent recently reopened after its own renovation, which preserved revered traditions while adapting to the 21st century.
‘’It’s very reassuring for many customers to see that such establishments are still present in our history, and in French gastronomic history,’’ owner and CEO André Terrail told the Associated Press.
The restaurant claims to be the oldest in Paris, its 1582 opening date embossed on the doors. It says King Henri IV ate heron pâté here; ‘’Sun King’’ Louis XIV hosted a meal here involving an entire cow; and presidents, artists like Salvador Dalí, and celebrities including Marilyn Monroe have graced its tables in the generations since.
Today the Michelin-starred restaurant remains one of the most exclusive places to dine in the French capital, out of reach for most. The simplest fixed-price lunch menu runs to 150 euros ($167), and the most affordable fixed-price dinner is 360 euros – and that’s without even peeking at the 8-kilo (17-pound) book dubbed the ‘’bible’’ of its wine cellar.
