Paris Insights - The Restaurant Review

Café Marly

posted April 22, 2024

93, rue de Rivoli

75001 Paris

Phone: 01.49.26.06.60

Metro Station: Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre (Lines 1 & 7)

Type of cuisine: French

Days & hours of operation: Continuous service Mon to Sun 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.

Credit card: Visa, MasterCard, American Express

Café Marly is an elegant restaurant located in the Richelieu wing of the Louvre.  It offers open-air terrace seating with a view of the glass pyramid on the central courtyard, and a strikingly handsome dining room within the building itself.

We came here for lunch last Friday and enjoyed a superb meal in the dining room.

Apéritif
To celebrate the elegance of the place, we each ordered a glass of Charles Heidsieck rosé champagne.  Salmon-colored with fine fizz, it exuded notes of red fruit.  It was dry with a long finish on the palate. 

The menu
The menu lists nineteen starters, ranging in price from 15€ to 110€; sixteen main courses from 16€ to 49€; and ten desserts from 12€ to 22€.  There is no fixed-price menu.

The starter
For the starter, I ordered Cœur de laitue & avocat, a salad consisting of butterhead lettuce, slices of avocado, two sprigs of chive, and fresh parsley leaves.  The lettuce was sweet, like sucrine, which I initially mistook it for.  It was a generous portion and so tasty that I finished it in good order.

My partner forwent a starter.

The main course
For the main course, I selected Filet de bar grille, beurre citronné, a serving of filet of bass accompanied by a small cup of lemon-flavored butter-and-cream sauce.  The bass filet had been seared on the skin side and lightly pan-fried on the other.  I spooned some of the beurre citronné onto the flesh and proceeded to enjoy a wonderfully succulent and tender fish dish.  A small cup of whipped potatoes was served alongside.

My partner opted for Raviolis à la truffe and was served a wide-brimmed shallow bowl containing four large, plump ravioli nestled in heavy cream sauce.  Topped with shaved black truffle, the dish tasted decadently delicious.  A small ramekin of shaved Parmesan was served alongside, but she did not think that the dish needed additional flavor.

The bread
Bread rolls were served alongside with a pat of Echiré unsalted hand-churned butter.

The beverage
For the wine accompaniment, my partner ordered a glass of Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Louis Père & Fils 2022.  With a garnet robe, it had a fruity nose with a little spice and a soft, red-fruit flavor.  She quite enjoyed it with her meal.

The dessert
For dessert, my partner requested Cracker’s cheesecake, which was marked with an asterisk to indicate that it was not a housemade dish.  About 3” in diameter by 1½” in height, it had a wonderfully thick shortbread crust and a cream cheese filling that had the consistency of thick custard.  Topped with fresh blackberry, blueberries, raspberry, and red currents, it was served with raspberry coulis.  Exquisite!

I forwent dessert.

The bill
The bill for two, including two glasses of champagne, one glass of wine, one starter, two main courses, and one dessert, came to 169€.

The service
The service was attentive, friendly, and helpful. 

The ambiance
The dining room is large with a parquet floor, much of which is covered by a carpet with cranberry-and-grey geometrical patterns.  There is a tall ceiling where a Murano chandelier hangs, cranberry-red walls with antique gold trim, and black wainscotting with gold trim all around.  We sat on dark gray-and-taupe-colored velour chairs at a round, black-lacquered wooden tabletop trimmed in gold.  The overall effect of the décor is that of quiet elegance.

While we dined, pop and jazz music played over the sound system.  The only song that I recognized was “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss),” but I was not sure that it was the original version by Betty Everett.  By 1:30 p.m. the dining room had filled with customers and was quite noisy with the sound of conversation.

The menu is in French and English.  English is spoken.

The waiter told us that customers in wheelchairs can be accommodated on the terrace, but they would have to be picked up and carried up the stairs to reach the terrace level.  Access to the WC, up a narrow flight of stairs, would be impossible.

Travelers to Paris who plan to spend some time exploring the Louvre will enjoy coming to Le Café Marly for lunch or dinner.