Le Minipalais

Classy ambiance with delicious food!

We came here after wandering the Champs Elysees. We had a reservation, and were seated quickly in the open-air deck. We had a great view of the comings and goings of the Cours la Reine, and the Seine over the road.

My salmon was a bit dry, but when eaten with the sauce and peas, was moisturized and flavored well.

My lunch date's duck was delicious! Juicy and flavorful, it was a delicious bite.

The bread served on the house is a bit dry, but flaky. The chips were salty and crunchy.

Overall, I hope to return!

Le Mini Palais is in an idyllic location inside the Grand Palais, an exhibition hall and museum complex. The restaurant has a gorgeous main dining room and terrace, but unfortunately they stuck us in the reject room (I didn't bother to take a picture), a small annex dining room off the main large space. It had nice views of the terrace, and at least we had a table by the window, but I regretfully wish I had spoken up at the time and asked to be seated elsewhere with better ambiance.

We were served bread and popovers, a fun and unique alternative to the standard bread offering. They were crusty on the outside, pillowy soft on the inside, and had a nice buttery and eggy flavor.

The food was delicious but quite rich in general. Mom and I went halfsies on two dishes. The first was the parmentier, a dish of duck confit topped with potato purée. It was luscious and flavorful, but probably contained an epic amount of butter. It was quite greasy and the potatoes were absolutely butter laden. Imagine rich duck confit topped with the absolutely heaviest and richest potato purée in the world, and that is this dish. Rich but good. It was impossible to finish because of the richness, even though we swapped our plates halfway through eating so we could sample both of our selections.

We also tried the Scottish salmon with green lentils and bacon. The fish was cooked perfectly and the lentils were super flavorful. This was also a tad decadent due to the bacon-laced stewed lentils beneath the fish. I'm glad we opted for only main courses and not appetizers and/or desserts.

Because this place is so posh compared to some of the other restaurants we visited on our trip, I feel like the service was also less warm in comparison to other experiences. Some of the staff was actually a bit rude to us when after our meal we wanted to go onto the terrace to take a look at the view. A server actually said we should have just asked to be seated there, like it was our fault. Very strange and awkward.

Based on my personal experience, Le Mini Palais was overrated and the service was lacking. Even though the food was generally good, just heavy, I wouldn't come back here for a future meal, nor would I recommend it. There are far better restaurants in Paris with much better food and service!

The locations great and the restaurant is pretty. The purple/blue light is a bit odd but you get used to it.
The service was good. Our server forgot a requested side but it came out right away when requested again.
The food was good but not really memorable. The red wine marbled egg starter was interesting but the highlight was the celery mousseline. The penne cooked as a risotto was just okay. The chorizo added some nice flavor but the pasta was okay with no hint of risotto creaminess I imagined.
It's a pretty stylish restaurant but I wished the food held up as much as the appearance of the restaurant.

This was a most disappointing meal in Paris. Horrible management and terrible food. So many other amazing places to dine. Skip this place for sure.

One star is very tempting.

Highly regarded, this is a great spot if you feel its important to be seen by the Paris fashion crowd. But be sure you can compete with them. If not, and you're there to experience their fabled cuisine, forget it. Other than watching dozens of people impressed with themselves in a half-empty restaurant and eating ok food which isn't what you came to Paris for, this is a no-go.

Saumon mi cuit is suppose to be something special. It wasn't. The duck filet was boring. The Crozes Hermitage tasted great, but not enough to make up for the food.

Fabulous room. Maybe that justifies the second star.

Went in the afternoon for a tea break had the afternoon tea with an assortment of cakes and cookies, small but delicious and a pot of tea all for 19 Euro.

The room has a wooden floor, not a lot of decorations, but the music is at a good level you can hear the person you are with. The chairs are comfortable. There is outside dining as well. The location is ideal if you are at the Grand Palais or Mini Palais to just drop in.

Beautiful atmosphere and great drinks. This place has a very classy overtone and is beautifully with soft lighting. Unfortunately, we had just finished dinner at another Restaurnt and only had drinks here. The drinks are strong and impactful. I highly recommend this place for couples because of its intimate and romantic setting.

First up, this place is going to be hit or miss if you can see from the reviews. Some are fantastic, some are horrible.

Secondly, regardless of the above comment, you WILL have stereotypical "French" slow/disinterested/rude service. Be aware of it and just be patient.

Third, this is one of the only places open on a Sunday. If you need to eat somewhere Sunday night, go for this!

Fourth, as part of the second one, they probably also don't speak English. Don't get the English menu. Our waiter got confused because we were ordering in English and he didn't know what was going on and I ended up getting the wrong thing. After some google translate, two different menu comparisons, and some spanish thrown in there, they very helpfully got me the correct dish.

And last, our food was fabulous but don't bother with the virgin cocktails.

We had a dinner 06-11 with group of 8 people, food was ok, the service was not so attentive, we paid our bill, but on the way out we were chased by the waiter and demanding to pay our bill, I went to see the Maitre'd and this guy demanded 3 times to pay the bill despite my explanation that we already paid for it as if we are trying to run away and I think the guy wearing black suit is thinking we are just some kind of trash people, trying to embarrass us, until I saw the waiter who received our money ( we paid cash by the way) and show this Mitre'd the money.. that's the only time he let me go.... the thing here is , check with your people first before you suspect or accuse or embarrass the customer... I feel like we are being discriminated because we are asians? I am dis appointed with this bullshit...will never coming back in this restaurant....

Wasn't expecting the quality of Dishes per to the decor. But oh la la .... The food

Sardines a must

Salmon was cooked to perfection. Ever so delicate with tandoori spice
Poached pear dessert is refreshing and a favorite at the table.

Love the food.

The interior decor, ambiance and service unimpressionable