This famous restaurant was conceived in 1900 around the time of the Universal Exhibition. At that time, it was the Gare de Lyon’s station buffet, which later became Le Train Bleu. It was a famous architect named Marius Toudoire who was responsible for the Gare de Lyon clock tower and the façade of the building who was entrusted with the design and works of the restaurant. The management of the railway company wanted to create an unmissable gourmet expierice for people travelling through the Gare de Lyon.
The station buffet was opened by then French President Emile Loubet and became Le Train Bleu in 1963, the name apparently a tribute to the ‘Paris-Vintimille’ line from 1868 on Le Train Bleu (the legendary train that services the towns along the Mediterranean Coast and the French Riviera). The decor of the restuarant retains that sumptuous ambiance that the Belle Époque (c.1871 to 1914) is so famous for.
It’s like a time capsule…
The restaurant is quite large and has a large lounge/bar area as well, so I looked up to see how many diners they can seat and it’s a huge 200 people that can be seated here at any time. That is quite a considerable number of people and certainly explained the general hustle of the place; totally consistent with being in one of Europe’s very busiest train stations. I also learned at this time that Le Train Bleu is a two Michelin Star restaurant. Seems 2024 is accidentally becoming a ‘Big Year o’ Fine Dining’.
Naturally, we decided to stick to our resolve to drink as much champagne at every opportunity while in France… the Bollinger, always a good choice (for breakfast, lunch or dinner!), was delicious and moorish.
The meal started with a small purée of herbed carrot that wasn’t on the menu… very tasty!
I spent more time looking at the ceilings than at the menu!
Just beautiful!
Mr K looking very happy with his wash… bit of Bolli before lunch will do that.
M. Alain preparing Mr K’s entrée, table side…
Devilled eggs and Petrossian caviar for me; herbed Green Asparagus with vinaigrette for Mr K…
M. Alain returned to prepare Mr K’s main meal table side also… I thought these staff members were wait staff, but it seems they need to be capable chefs too.
Pork medallion Mignon, with champignons for me; braised lamb shoulder with garlic and potato au gratin for Mr K…
Delicious so far – and large portions! Like, pushing American size portions.
I was amazed at how quickly they could turn the tables over. There were loads of people waiting for tables when we arrived. We had booked this on the recommendation of some colleagues before we left home, so had no trouble getting seated but many were standing around for quite a long time waiting for a table to be vacant, but I swear the party opposite us finished up and paid their bill, a new party of diners were being seated within about 3 minutes… impressive.
I had had an elegant sufficiency so passed on dessert, but Mr K had ordered the Iranian pistachio soufflé served with Turkish sour cherry gelato at the beginning of the meal, (as is usually the case with soufflé!). I had a tiny taste, and it was delicious! Seriously, it was a next level super tasty dessert – likely due to the complete lack of chocolate! 😉
A lovely long lunch in a gorgeous restaurant – certainly would recommend it to anyone coming to Paris as an opportunity to step back in time, and have a lovely meal in absolutely beautiful surroundings.
