Did you know that there’s a two-star Michelin restaurant in the Eiffel Tower? Typically, such a huge tourist location (one might even say tourist trap!) will only offer the most basic, mass-produced food to cater to the gobs of tourists moving through. But, here in Paris, you can find one of the city’s most elegant dining rooms occupying the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. Le Jules Verne is a very special place, and we ate here on our last night in Paris in early November, 2024, capping off a lovely trip full of art and culinary artistry.

Le Jules Verne offers seating for lunch and dinner, and while you may get a bit of a better view during the day, we came at night and experienced an absolutely magical evening overlooking the City of Lights. Le Jules Verne has its own dedicated entrance and elevator in the Southwest pillar of the tower. The security workers around the tower are all extremely helpful and point you in the right direction. Note that the restaurant does require jackets for men both at lunch and dinner, so be aware of this when you make your reservation. Only 6 people fit in the elevator at a time, so if you are coming for the first seating at 7pm, I would suggest arriving early.

The restaurant itself occupies the entire second floor of the Eiffel Tower, and has a private viewing deck. My only note for our entire evening is that they didn’t tell us when the viewing deck was closing so we missed getting a few outdoor photos and experiencing that, but we did have a table right by the window with an east-facing view, so we can’t really complain too much. The vibe here is elegant and refined, and the entire waitstaff is eager to make sure your evening is absolutely perfect.

The food is beyond compare. Perfectly classic, yet innovative French cooking and preparations await you, and we chose the seven course menu with wine pairing. Prior to the seven courses, we were served several treats, including a little savory tart, a chestnut soup, and epic amounts of sourdough bread, which were consistently refreshed throughout the meal.

Next up was a lovely lobster dish that was served with a foamy, vanilla sauce with a dash of olive oil, a beautiful and delightful course. Following that was one of my favorite dishes, scallops served with a crispy puffed buckwheat gallette. The crispiness of the buckwheat really complimented the savory, buttery scallop nibs.

Following these amazing seafood courses was MORE seafood! The next course was a surprising langoustine ravioli served with parmesan cream, truffle, and covered by a mild beet jelly. Following this was an absolutely gorgeous fillet of turbot, simply cooked and served with a generous dollop of Osetra caviar. The fish was perfect, firm, flavorful, and one of my favorites of the night. You know I can’t resist tiny flowers!

After all of the seafood, was a lovely slice of beef which was mega savory and cooked rare, served with crispy ham that was a brilliant combo. Note that if you ask for your meat to be cooked anything other than rare in Paris, you are going to get a lot of raised eyebrows.

Following all of this incredible food, we opted for the cheese course as well. This was an extra 35 Euro supplement per person, but we couldn’t say no to the chef’s own goooey, aged cheese packed full of truffles within and on top of the cheese. This cheese is seasonal, and truly special. We were each served probably about 6 ounces of cheese each, which honestly was a bit much, and I would suggest if you go with the optional cheese course, you split it between two people. Additionally, we ordered a wine pairing to go with the cheese, a less expensive sherry, that was brilliantly described to us by the sommelier, although he really wanted us to try the super expensive, small batch sherry. When he returned to the table, he apologized saying that they were unfortunately out of the less expensive sherry, but they would pour us the fancy stuff for the same price. Now THAT’S service.

The desserts were classic French desserts. First up was my favorite, pear with a cream base, and more pear sauce. This was highly acidic and not only a great dessert, but a palate cleanser as well, which was totally necessary after that super fatty, mouth-coating, and filling cheese. For the last course, we were served their award winning chocolate souffle with a crunchy chocolate gavotte filled with cream. I’m not a chocolate person, but this souffle was absolutely divine.

After a few more snacks, and some after-dinner chartreuse, we were definitely full, and ready to voyage back to earth. We were allowed to walk around the restaurant to check out the different views, including the stunning north view towards Montmarte and the Arc De Triomphe. When we left, they offered to get a cab for us, and escorted us off the grounds. Le Jules Verne was a totally special and spectacular experience with both service and food, worthy of the author’s name, the price, and their two Michelin stars.