Brunch, carnival and late night dinners

Yesterday, armed with a good review from Oubruncher; literally 'where to brunch' a website dedidated solely to great places to have brunch in Paris, we made our way to the 8th. Le Quai was not our first choice but after numerous attempts to make reservations at our initial choices - and being told that there was nothing available before 2pm (for brunch!) we decided to take the 2pm.

Lesson learnt:  Sunday brunch reservations to be made at least a couple of days before anticipated date, AND when told that there is nothing available until 2pm; take whatever they can give you and stake your claim. Brunch in anywhere between 11am and 3pm; and with the late evenings and even later mornings -we only just managed to get the kids ready and out of the apartment just an hour earlier to our reservation time. We made a trip of it, got off the metro a couple of stops early and took a leisurely stroll along the Champs Elysees while taking in the sights. Arrived early but were still seated.

Le  Quai Anatole, Metro Solferino(12) is a boat restaurant on the left bank, which came highly recommended. Although we arrived between servings - the reservations are made in blocs in order to accommodate diners at different times and prepare fresh food for the bloc bookings - the freshly-made pancakes, freshly-baked croissants, pain chocolats and assorted pastries came out early, a salmon and scallop dish, creamy chicken heavy on sage and garlic, assorted salads, the usual sunday brunch fare of scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage, assorted cheeses and a wide array of desserts were all on offer.

Friendly service and efficiently done, you get seated and shown the buffet - after which you dine at your leisure. It was fairly busy, we arrived at the end of the first, early morning bloc, stayed for a while, and left in the middle of the 2pm bloc; and at all times most of the tables were busy.
Really enjoyed the food, I was certain I was passing out a couple of times - when dishing up food, having completely forgotten that I was floating on water, and feeling my world move.

Sated we made our way to the Carnival at the  Tuileries Gardens. The kids had a fantastic time, taking in the carnival feel of the amusement park set-up. It offered up rides, games and food courts. The carousel ride is well worth it; giving perfect views of the city. We made our way to the far-end of the gardens; and while they exhausted themselves fully we had our afternoon drinks under the marquee and listened to lounge music.
By the time we rounded the kids up and were making our way back it was 7:30pm with the sun just over our heads. Appetites piqued once again, we headed made our way back - stopped at Porte Maillot, for a quick drink; that turned into two, then dinner.


Le Congrès Maillot is just off the Porte Maillot Metro, 84 Avenue de la Grande Armée in the 17th.

The waiters are in white dinner jackets and the decor is heavy drapes, linen laden tables and dark heavy wood furniture. It has a very luxurious and welcoming feel. We were there relatively early and managed a reservation. I had a duck foie gras  and toast starter, followed by roast duck in a honey sauce, my son tucked into the grilled cabillaud with pommes frites; a really grown-up version of 'fish and chips', which was off the kids menu and which he thoroughly enjoyed - my daughter had the salmon and tagliatelle and my husband, steak and greens with a perfectly-smooth bearnaise sauce.

By the time we left it was 10pm the kids were exhausted, as were we, after a full day. Took the opportunity to walk off the dinner and  and take what was left of the long summer day. In case I have not mentioned it, I am loving the weather - after the cold SA weather, this is such a welcome change.

Today was "Le Quinze Août", a public holiday. What's the holiday for? I do not know for sure and have yet to confirm, but the waiter from Le Congrès last night explained that it is a rest day, to make sure that everyone returning from their vacances is well and fully rested before they start work on Tuesday! Really?
Whether true or not, I made sure that today was a rest day (of sorts); went to Montmartre for the day, but the day was fairly simple.
More about that tomorrow.