Le Restaurant in Musee d'Orsay

Lunch at the Museum

I have a few fond childhood memories, of lunches in museums. Dining at the Detroit Institute or Arts seemed pretty darn classy, when I was a young girl.

I'm sure it still is. But the museum wasn't in Paris. And that museum (and all others I've ever dined in) was not housed in a former rail station! 
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Gare d'Orsay... a Train Station

I love art museums and I love old train stations!

Double Dining Adventure for a lunch outing, in a museum and a 125-year-old train station. 
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Musee d'Orsay in 1999

Since I was 6 my dream was to go to Paris. Probably inspired by the Eloise in Paris book. (same Eloise who lived at the Plaza, in NYC) 

I was over 40 when I finally traveled to Paris with Don. I remember posing with Degas' Little Dancer... in my hideous overall-jumper. And I remember eating ice cream in a magical cafe. ​

No photos of my ice cream, but I took one of Don, that I've always loved. He wears the chandelier so well! 

Cafe Campana in 2023

25 years later, we returned to Paris and toured Musee d'Orsay on a chilly November day. It was lunchtime when we exited the Impressionist Gallery and spotted this intriguing cafe.

What fun to dine near the giant clock window, beneath whimsical golden bells! But we both were eager to return to the main restaurant, that we remembered.

Le Restaurant

There are at least 4 places to dine at the museum. We of course chose the one with the simple name and the grand decor!

It looked as I remembered! Soaring ceilings, tall windows, marble and gold, crystal chandeliers. No way do you mess with altering that kind of decor.

Tables & Chairs

​Well, some things had changed. The rattan chairs from a quarter century ago, were gone.

The dining section in back (with cool fireplace!) was closed. I took advantage and snapped a photo of a few unoccupied, colorful chairs.

These crinkly plastic chairs cracked me up! Did they forget to remove the cellophane after shipping? I was reminded of some "mod art" I used to make in the early '70s. We bent pieces of wire and dipped them into a can of  liquid plastic, called  "Fun Film". It was indeed fun.
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Fingers Crossed!

There was a short wait for a table and I hoped beyond hope for a window view.

Clearly there were no bad seats. 

Marble Statue

Maybe we'd be seated beside the marble statue.

Chances were even better we'd be seated beneath a lovely chandelier. 

There must have been a dozen at least.

​Frescoes

The lovely wall and ceiling frescoes (by Gabriel Ferrier and Benjamin Constant) ​could be spotted from any table.

Like I said. No bad tables.

Better Table

There were no bad tables, but there were better tables. And we got one!

How is that possible that we lucked out?

Similar

It was extra fun that our table was very similar to the one we had in 1999.

You can see the nude statue over Don's left shoulder in both.

Less Lucky with Waiter

We did not luck out with a kind, or fun, or gracious, or entertaining waiter. But who cares. We weren't there for the service.

Our waiter did not attempt English and we fumbled with a little French. I managed to ask which desert was best and he pointed to the menu.

More to Observe

I hoped our server would be slow delivering our food. There was so much to absorb around us.

The view with rooftops and clouds, was entertaining enough. But I also just enjoyed staring at the fancy metalwork. 

​Yummy Stuff to Pour

​Don and I both ordered good stuff that involved pouring!

Don ordered the special of the day. It was a meat pie with Beaujolais sauce, served on mixed greens, with dried fruits. 

This guy is usually pretty adventurous with dining, but he seemed a little concerned about what kind of meat was inside his triangular pie.

I sampled a little and the crust was flaky and festive. There was sort of a meatloaf texture, but the flavor with sauce was delicious flavor. Do note the bread on the side of the table. So tasty I tossed one in my bag for later!

Ice Cream!
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There was nothing to worry about with my order. I had dessert for lunch!

I ordered Affogato-Glace trois vanilles... which is "3 vanilla ice cream, drowned with signature coffee and praline"

I felt like a chemist as I poured 1895 Lavazza coffee from a beaker, into the clear glass container that held my ice cream. 

My photo doesn't capture the little reaction that happened when the warm coffee hit the ice cream. No photo of my little reaction when I tasted it, either. Heaven!  
 
So Happy

We left happy! A great museum experience, followed by a magical little feast. 

I peeked in the big doors before we headed downstairs. What was in this space back when the building was filled with rail travelers! What a fun thought before we departed.

Good-bye Beautiful Museum

We headed off with more good memories. No posing with Little Dancer this time.

I had a better camera this time and captured some of those memories! No cellphone cams back in 1999!
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