L’Avenue
41 Av. Montaigne, 75008 Paris, France
If you love to people watch, want to spot a celebrity or meet the models of Paris, and value clout over a delicious meal, L’Avenue is the place for you.
After being rejected at the Eiffel Tower view restaurant we thought we made a reservation at (lol the reservation sites are very confusing when you don’t speak French, okay?), Nadya and I walked up the “fancy street” we passed through the other day on our way to Crazy Horse. We retied our dresses and adjusted our straps while approaching the hostess stand at L'Avenue. We expected to get glared at and turned away but were surprisingly welcomed with smiles and a sweep of the arm to an open table. The couple to the right of us sat dressed in Chanel and Moncler - the woman wrapped her head in a Dior silk scarf before taking her fork and spoon to her pasta. To the left, a pair of Parisian boys dripped in Tiffany rings and chains that clanked against their plates and they cut into steaks.
What is “El Tigre?” We asked our model waitress. She replied with the most beautiful French mumble and we telepathically agreed to nod as if we knew what she was saying.
“OkAy! We’LL HavE That.”
It turned out to be a Thai fusion beef dish with some sort of sweet and sour fish sauce. The meat was displayed and cooked perfectly to a medium rare. With the sauce on the side and the perfect amount of herbs spread across the sliced meat, we could customize each bite.
As for our other dish…
“Three words for you. Issa” spicy lobster pasta…Hopes were high for this one, maybe that’s why it was disappointing. The pasta came in a classic twirled mound. Underwhelming and predictable in both the presentation and taste. For 27 euros? The pasta was clearly not tested previous to plating because you could still see the uncooked white center of each noodle. The few shreds of lobster stood out as oil and water from the tomato sauce.
The best part of this meal was the butter and bread, something you could get for under 5 euros at a boulangerie near your Airbnb.
If you’re feeling parched from your bougie day on the designer street of Paris, I do highly recommend this corner restaurant - across the street from the Dior headquarters - to rest and refuel for a lunch. I say lunch because more than half of the experience of eating at L’Avenue comes from the ability to people watch and be emerged in the elite Paris class.