Le Moulin de la Galette, Paris

4 more images

I've found it by chance but I knew that it would be a good option for a nice lunch... and it was indeed.
Even if I don't like eating alone in the restaurants, I'll probably repeat the experience as it was giving me the feeling that I am belonging somehow to that place.
A shadow among the other shadows which were flooding that place in the last more than hundred years…
Dalida (the famous French singer) open the restaurant here in 1980 after a long history as windmill, cabaret, café, music hall and TV studio.

Favorite Dish: The Menu (see photos)-29 euros:
-Thin grilled vegetables and goat’s cheese tart-amazing
-Sirloin skirt steak in cepe mushrooms cream with Dauphine-style potatoes “au gratin”
-Thin apple tart with vanilla ice cream
Two glasses of red wine… and after that the promise that sometime I’ll go back there.

Le Moulin de la Galette nowadays is a restaurant.

The windmill is one of 14 windmills that once were located on the Montmartre hill, for grinding the wheat and pressing the graphes. The mill is called Radet and dates from 1717.

From 1860 the building became a dance hall and was painted by Renoir (Bal du Moulin de la Galette). Later it became an ORTF television studio of television with it ORTF.

Business hours: Daily Noon - 11PM

This restaurant names itself after the Moulin de la Galette, which actually sits a bit further along the street and up on a hill, a place not accessible by plebians such as you and I since it is privately owned.

Instead the windmill that it does portray is that of the Moulin Radet, the other windmill still left on this hillock that was once dotted with many such windmills.

A friend of mine who lives in Paris declared that many people he knows says this is one of the best restaurants in Montmartre. Unfortunately, we were in a hurry and didn't have ample time to sample the fare so I took a pic instead for future reference.

Also for future reference, this place has affordable lunchtime menus (Menu à l’Ardoise) of 17€ (appetizer & main course, or main course & dessert) and 25€ (appetizer, main course, dessert).

Photo: November 2007

1 more image

On a Montmartre stroll up rue Lepic, for me it is more just a fun place to walk by and enjoy the exterior of this place than to stop & eat. Don't take my word for it though. Thirza Vallois , one of my favorite and most highly recommended Paris author / experts, used to recommend the restaurant that is still supposed to be in here.

I would never argue with her.

I like the building and it is near the location of one of my favorite Renoirs.

I took the picture of the front gate and door above at the angle / corner of rue Lepic and rue Girardon, here

Obviously the works of art in this restaurant use a different oil than Renoir. The food was superb on both occasssions that I ate there. The service was equally courteous. The crowd was mixed. I was in a blazer and jeans and black sneakers, others were in blazers, ties, and wintip oxfords. One couple was in jeans and polo tee shirts, so I don't think a really formal dress code is necessarily enforced here.

I started off with a glass of Macon for 5.4 euros. Then had the Duo de asperges for 18 euros. That was outstanding! The asparagus pieces were at least 8 inches long each, white in color, and fat. r That was just the beginning of great quality produce and a great overall meal. Somehow in my next appetizer, they managed to mix ice cream with goat cheese and make it taste good. Don't ask me how, but it did.

Following up with the Entrecote de Boeuf for 27 euros was worth it too. The beef was easy to cut, no chewy parts, and cooked to medium exactly as I had asked. Finishing with a cappucino for 4.70 euros and Creme Brulee Dalida for 9 euros made this a restaurant I had to return to the next time I was in Montmartre.

Favorite Dish: Provided you don't buy a bottle of champagne or wine, plan on spending upwards of $60 U.S. per person for a decent meal.

Nearby the true windmill of La Galette, the restaurant with the same name.

Favorite Dish: In Winter, the menu is at 18 €.
In Summer, the prices are higher and the number of tourists is amazing.