As for the location of the restaurants, few can match that of Le Jules Verne: it is located on the second level of the Eiffel Tower.
In addition, it has been awarded two Michelin stars.
So on paper, it’s the very definition of a bucket list restaurant.
But in contrast to the michelin inspector who described lunch there as “an exceptional experience”, some reviewers have criticized the restaurant for being “a tourist trap‘ and one claims that the restaurant is ‘overly dependent on location.’
In fact, on Tripadvisor, more than 230 out of 995 reviewers rated it average or below.
Foodie Alexander Varga, co-owner of the Michelin-starred restaurant ’42’ in Esztergom, Hungary, was eager to discover for himself what it’s like to eat at Le Jules Verne and recorded a fascinating YouTube video of his award of 1,400 euros. (£1,160/$1,470) experience there.
As part of his “mission to find inspiration in gastronomy”, he visits other Michelin-starred restaurants (he has scored more than 80 three-star restaurants to date) and creates fascinating videos of his experiences there.
They are uploaded to his YouTube channel, ‘Alexander The Guest’, and his Jules Verne video has accumulated more than 545,000 views so far.
Foodie Alexander Varga filmed a fascinating YouTube video of his 1,400-euro (£1,160/$1,470) experience at Le Jules Verne, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant on the second level of the Eiffel Tower.
The video begins with the climb to the location, with the view, as expected, knocking Alexander down. Above, the ‘good’ appetizer, a smoked eggplant and roasted tomato caviar tartlet
Alexander is very impressed with the restaurant, but is disappointed by some aspects of its food.
He tells MailOnline Travel: “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but not from a good food perspective.”
The video begins with the climb to the location, with the view, as expected, knocking Alexander down.
In the video, he comments: ‘That view. Paris lies beneath us like a work of art.’
Then comes the appetizer: a tartlet of smoked eggplant caviar and roasted tomato. “Good flavors, but the texture was a little watery,” Alexander says.
The bread, however, is “magnificent” and passes the “crunch test.” And it goes “perfectly” with the “delicious” appetizer: cold Spanish tomato soup and preserved cherry tomatoes with a sabayon (light sauce) of smoked butter and wild garlic oil.
Next, lobster with a light vanilla foam, along with a cup of crab soup and caviar on the side.
Alexander praises the “intense flavors.”
Above: The “magnificent” bread, which Alexander reveals in the video “passes the crunch test”
The appetizer: cold Spanish tomato soup (left) and preserved cherry tomatoes with a sabayon (light sauce) of smoked butter and wild garlic oil (right).
Your browser does not support iframes.
The second course is a galette with Comte cheese and girolle mushrooms, served with tortellini stuffed with mushrooms and hazelnuts.
The galette is the “clear winner,” while the tortellini are described as simply “okay.”
Below are the prawns served in two ways: a star dish.
Alexander comes with roasted prawn tail with a parmesan cheese emulsion and prawn ravioli.
‘Intense flavors’: Lobster with a light vanilla foam, accompanied by a cup of crab soup and caviar
“Winner”: The second course is a galette with Comte cheese and girolle mushrooms.
Prawns are served two ways and “they don’t work.” The cola (left) was ‘delicious’, but the ravioli (right) ‘had a disturbing ammonia-like smell’
The confit lamb. This is the dish that disappointed Alejandro the most.
After the disappointing lamb, Alejandro is offered veal sweetbreads (above). “Good stop,” he concludes.
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work,” says Alexander, who reveals that the “ravioli had a strange, almost ammonia-like smell.” And he adds: “The smell was disturbing and I didn’t finish it.”
The cola, however, “was delicious.”
The main course? Confit lamb inside pomme boulangère (baked potatoes) with caramelized onion and covered in a stew with peas and lamb juice.
Alejandro’s thoughts? “In terms of presentation, in my opinion this is not a two-Michelin-starred main course.”
He tells MailOnline separately: ‘This was what disappointed me the most. I had higher expectations for the main course.’
Alexander shares his comments with the waiters and they offer him veal sweetbreads to make amends.
“Good stop,” he says.
Dessert is hot chocolate soufflé in a bowl and a bar of cold cocoa ice cream. “I love the concept,” Alexander says.
Alexander says the restaurant “might not meet the two-star standard” if a curtain were closed and blocked the view.
Dessert is hot and cold chocolate: hot chocolate souffle in a bowl and a cold cocoa ice cream bar.
“I love the concept,” Alexander says.
The verdict? Alexander understands that the restaurant faces logistical problems being on the second floor of the tower (kitchen and storage space is limited), but says: “If you were to draw a black curtain around the restaurant and block the view, then I would have to say that could “Did not meet the two-star standard, even though the service was exceptional.”
MailOnline Travel asked Le Jules Verne if he would like to comment on the video, but he did not respond.
To see more of Alexander’s fascinating food videos, visit www.youtube.com/@alexandertheguest and follow him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/alexandertheguest and on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@alexandertheguest. Follow your restaurant on Instagram at www.instagram.com/42restaurant.
For more information on Le Jules Verne, visit www.restaurants-toureiffel.com/en/jules-verne-restaurant.html.