The Exclusive Paris Dining Experience That Seriously Impressed Ina Garten
Paris is a city of both food and fashion, and it's hard not to imbibe both when you visit. Whether browsing designer shops on the avenue Champs-Élysées, one of Paris' most famous streets, per CNN, or ducking into a shop for the perfect baguette, escargot, or the best croissants Paris has to offer, the City of Love is filled with so many go-to destinations. We're not alone in this thinking. Per Le Monde, 33 million people are expected to visit the home of the Eiffel Tower, including Ina Garten.
Garten is a big fan of the food in this French epicenter of culinary delights. Back in May, the Barefoot Contessa took to social media to share her post-COVID Parisian getaway with her husband Jeffrey, showcasing all of the food and dining the two took in after what she called "2.5 years in a rabbit hole." Naturally, her first stop was Café de Flores where she and her husband shared a glass of rosé and some chips.
Garten also revealed on Instagram that she couldn't go to Paris without dropping by her favorite bakery: Poilane. She noted she first ate at this boulangerie in 1971 when she and Jeffry went to Paris and their accommodations consisted of a "small orange tent." Times have definitely changed for the celebrity chef who now travels in style and has an apartment near the bakery she loves. Earlier this year, Garten dished on a Parisian dining experience that seriously impressed her.
You need a reservation
Ina Garten shared on Instagram in May that during her Paris trip, she dined at Twenty-two Club Paris, so named for the 22 seats set around a "communal table," per the restaurant's website. The eatery goes on to describe its to-die-for view of the gardens of the Palais Royal, which Garten also gushed over. In her post, she expressed gratitude to the owners, writing, "Thank you Braden & Laura Perkins for a magical dinner at your @twentytwoclubparis dinner club!! The setting in the Palais Royal is stunning, the dinner Braden prepared was beyond delicious, and we will remember the evening forever."
What did Garten eat? According to her hashtag, it seems like hot smoked trout salad was on the menu. But if you want to know exactly what diners get to feast on, Twenty-two Club Paris' social media posts show some examples, such as saffron chips and a dish featuring "cappelletti, ricotta, sorrel, whey, & caviar" (via Instagram). The restaurant notes that what it serves is largely based on "vegetables that are growing at our farm located 1 hour from Paris near Rambouillet." It doesn't decide exactly what to serve until a week before diners have their reservations. And speaking of reservations, you need to make them at least "one month in advance."