Paris, France

Les OmbresA glass hall hung above the museum roof

From the street you go up to the top of the building: first a wall of glass, then the terrace, and only after that the roofs of Paris, with the Eiffel Tower standing closest.

The address is 27 quai Jacques Chirac, on the Left Bank of the Seine, and the dining room sits at the top of the building rather than at street level.

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PlaceParis, 7th arrondissement

SettingRooftop of the Musée du Quai Branly

MenusTwo at lunch, two at dinner

BuildingJean Nouvel

The name means shadow

Paris, France — Rooftop French cooking above a museum.

The restaurant sits on the roof of the Musée du Quai Branly, a building by Jean Nouvel. The terrace runs along the roof and is planted entirely with Mediterranean species, which the official site compares to a hanging garden. From the room the roofs of Paris stack up below, and the Eiffel Tower stands nearest.

The shadow of the tower reaches the tables first. On a clear day the light comes through the steel frame and the grid presses down on the cloth in layers. After dark the tower is lit, and the light comes back in from outside.

The kitchen works in the register of a Paris bistro, with contemporary technique underneath and ingredients drawn from around the Mediterranean. Lunch and dinner each come with two menus, which keeps the choosing brief.

A long row of wooden tables under the glass roof, brown woven tub chairs on black column bases, wine glasses, folded napkins and small vases of flowers on each table, plants on the terrace and the roofs of Paris beyond the glass — Rows of rattan chairs under the glass roof

Pale wood tables and rattan armchairs with diamond-mesh backs along the window, beyond the glass a brick arch and a long trough planted with agave, and white outdoor chairs further out — The line of tables along the window

A pale grey-green plate with crackled glaze, five or six ridged potato gnocchi crowded at the centre, white foam poured over them, black crumbs scattered across, a few green leaves laid on top, a water glass and a glass of red wine at the edge of the wooden table

Gnocchi under beet leaves

A pale grey-green plate with a crackled glaze holds five or six ridged potato gnocchi at its centre. Cream has been whipped to a foam and poured over them, black olive powder sits in the gaps, and a few small beet leaves are laid across the top. On the menu it is gnocchi with beet leaves, olive powder and lemon.

At the centre of a pale grey plate a white sphere of cream rests on a flower shape made of pale pink slices, caramel-coloured hazelnut pieces showing in the gaps, four small dollops of cream at the corners pressed with pink half-moons and mint leaves

The last plate

A single sphere of cream sits inside a ring of pale pink slices, and the gaps between them are filled with caramelised hazelnuts. At the four corners are small dollops of cream, each pressed with a pink half-moon and a mint leaf.

A menu standing in a niche outlined by a warm light strip, the cover red-brown stone paper, a gold ring at its centre, the restaurant name and a line of small type stamped below, the background entirely dark

A menu bound in stone paper

The cover is stone-patterned paper with a gold ring set into the middle and the name stamped below it. Two lamps throw light up the page from either side, close enough that the grain of the paper shows in lines.

An orange curved reception desk across the middle of the frame, a tall branch in a vase, a row of white cups and a lantern on it, a dark steel and glass roof above, the tower, the roofs and the terrace tables outside

Route

Down the lift and along the river

Dinner opens at seven and closes at ten, and a meal here runs past two hours. Coming down, the Seine is at the door: Pont de l'Alma to the east, Pont d'Iéna to the west.

Two ways of ordering

Lunch runs Monday to Friday only. Two courses or three, and with two you choose between starter and main, or main and dessert. Dinner opens every night with three or four courses, and an amuse-bouche arrives before the first of them. Weekends and public holidays are served at midday as well, but on the dinner menu.

Most of the produce comes from members of the Collège Culinaire de France, and fish and vegetables are chosen with sustainability in mind. The line printed on the cover, 20 ans de dialogue des cultures, marks the museum's twentieth anniversary.

Arriving and paying

The easiest approach is by metro: line 9 to Alma-Marceau, line 6 to Iéna, RER C to Pont de l'Alma. By car, the Saemes car park on the quai by the tower is the nearest.

Bank cards, American Express and cash are all taken. Allergens are listed separately on paper, and a server will fetch the sheet.

Also worth knowing

Things that exist only here, and the bar on the same floor.

On the hour

The ceiling of the room is dark, and in the evening it lights up with a field of small stars. It happens on the hour, every hour, through dinner.

Goat only

The cheese section lists goat and nothing else. The supplier named beside it is Marie-Anne Cantin.

One dessert with the house name

A Paris Brest on the dessert list carries the name of the restaurant, filled with hazelnut praliné.

Two caviars

A 20 gram Kristal is served on its own with blinis and the usual garnishes. The other is a Kaviari oscietra, laid over the crab starter.

The bar on the same floor

It opens from 19:00 to 21:00 and takes no bookings. Whether there is room depends on the weather and on who is already up there.

The terrace on a sunny day

When the sun is out the whole terrace opens along the roof. The official site says that is when the place looks its best.

Putting an evening here into a trip

Two menus at lunch, two at dinner, a table held through OpenTable, and a roof that opens when the sun does.

Cuisine

Classic French cooking in a contemporary version, with the sourcing circling the Mediterranean.

Booking

The button on the official site leads to OpenTable. The telephone is +33 1 47 53 68 00, and parties above ten go through the sales manager.

Hours

Lunch Monday to Friday, 12:00-14:00. Dinner every night, 19:00-22:00. Lunch at weekends and on public holidays follows the dinner menu.

Dress and diet

No dress code is listed on the official site. Allergens come on a separate printed list, which a server will bring on request.

Plan this into a journey

Tell us the dates and who is travelling, and we can talk through how an evening up here fits a few days in Paris.

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