An Elegant Dining Experience at Monsieur Paul
Tara Mulkerin3.19.20Recently my family and I had the chance to dine at Monsieur Paul in the France pavilion in Epcot. I have long wanted to dine here but I wasn’t sure my family would enjoy it. I hadn’t planned to dine that night. It was Food & Wine Festival and I figured we’d be eating around the World that day. But come later in the night my family was hungry for a full meal. I immediately thought this was my chance to finally eat at Monsieur Paul as my family “didn’t care” where we ate. Sitting on a bench in Japan at 8:45 pm, I wasn’t hopeful that we’d be able to get in since Epcot was closing at 9:00 pm. We headed over to France and into Monsieur Paul. We were greeted by a host and hostess who were very happy to accommodate us. We waited no longer than five minutes before being led to a beautifully set table. Monsieur Paul is one of the most elegant and gourmet restaurants in all of Disney World, and yet we felt at ease in the clothes we had been wearing that day in the park. Our lovely waitress Juliette, who was incredibly charming with her French accent, introduced herself as our server for the evening and served us water. Looking over the wine list, my husband ordered Riesling as I wavered in my selection. Juliette asked me what I generally liked to drink. I told that I was not much of a drinker, but I liked fruity drinks. She told me she’d have something fixed up for me. We leisurely perused the menu and there were so many items that we’d never eaten before. It was certainly a menu fit for a seasoned gastronomist. We were on the Deluxe Dining Plan, so we said to each other, let’s expand our horizons. Juliette returned with soft drinks for my two daughters and with my husband’s wine. For me she had a concoction of vodka, passion fruit, grapefruit juice and grenadine. On top was a thinly whipped topping and fruit. It was perfectly refreshing and light. We were also served several types of bread including a French baguette, Olive rolls and a cheese-topped ciabatta bread.
Juliette patiently went through the menu with us, explaining items we were unsure of. My husband and daughters ordered al carte, but I decided to really step out of my comfort zone and ordered off the seven course Prix Fixe Degustation Menu. The menu had plenty of items I had never tried. I was excited for this gourmand adventure.
With more courses than everyone else, I was served first. The first course of my meal was a Semi-cooked oyster emulsion with fennel and lime caviar served interestingly in a glass slightly larger than a shot glass. I was tentative, never having tried oyster, but it was delicious. All the flavors came together perfectly. I received my second course while my family were enjoying a second round of bread. The presentation of my Escargot tart with parsley coulis and whipped cream, ricotta with garlic, and marinated vegetables was beautiful. Escargot was a food new to me. Again, very delicious, in fact, my daughter tried it and loved it as well. She’s a very picky eater so this was quite a surprise! My third course was served while my family received their appetizers. I had a seared scallop with creamy polenta and tomato puree, all delectable. My daughter and husband had the Oxtail broth with braised beef, vegetables and black winter truffles covered in a huge puff pastry. My husband enjoyed it all while my daughter felt there were a bit too many truffles. My youngest daughter ordered green and white asparagus with fried egg yolk and Bayonne ham with a red wine Hollandaise sauce. We ordered this because my older daughter and husband wanted to try it and my youngest was not interested in any of the appetizer choices. While my daughter did not care for it and I’m not an asparagus fan, my husband thought it was amazing. At this point I am served my fourth course, chilled peach soup with Verbena sorbet. Meant to be a palate cleanser, the soup was a small portion. It was good, though I found the peach flavor to be slightly overpowering. It is at this point that I realize we are the only table left in the restaurant and it is 10:00 pm. At other restaurants at this late hour, we have felt rushed and at one we weren’t offered dessert even though it was part of our dining plan. I realized that we would still be a while longer in the restaurant and apologized to Juliette. She laughed and said it was not a problem. There were also several other servers helping her and talking with each other. They all seemed to be good friends with each other and genuinely enjoyed being our servers. It was now time for our entrées, and my fifth course. My meal was a veal tenderloin duo with French sweet peas and ricotta. I haven’t often eaten veal, but this was exceptional and presented beautifully. My husband was overwhelmed by how much he enjoyed his crusted lamb loin. It was presented in a puff pastry and served with polenta with peppers and cherry tomatoes, green pepper coulis and lamb au jus. My oldest daughter just recently started enjoying duck, so she was thrilled to order the roasted duck magret. She wasn’t too sure when it was placed in front of her. It was accompanied with grilled pieces of lamb alternating with duck shepherd’s pie, cherry tomatoes and a potato emulsion. She decided just to dive right in and in the end, all that was left were a few cherry tomatoes. My youngest daughter ordered the New York strip steak with duchess potatoes and shallot confit with a red wine sauce. This child could eat beef every meal, but she prefers things plain. Finding her plate completely empty was so nice to see.
Of course, you cannot leave a French restaurant without dessert and we certainly didn’t! With my prix fixe meal came a choice of three imported French cheeses and a dessert choice. My family had the vanilla ice cream with raspberry sorbet in meringue with whipped cream plus the warm chocolate almond cake with raspberry coulis in the center with hazelnut crust and hazelnut ice cream. They were all beautiful and delicious, but I think my dessert was a showstopper! I had the milk chocolate sphere which consisted of a chocolate almond cake, praline and chocolate cream, light hazelnut biscuit with chocolate ice cream served with warm chocolate and Cognac sauces. The sphere comes intact and then the warm chocolate and cognac sauces are drizzled over it exposing the full dessert. Of course, we all shared a little, but I was stingy with my sphere; it was just too scrumptious to share! Late as it was, Juliette offered us an after-dinner coffee or cordial, but aside from being comfortably full, we were also ready for bed and opted for our check. Monsieur Paul is expensive. We fortunately had the deluxe dining plan, so we only had a small charge for my upgrade to the Degustation Menu. Without the dining plan, our total bill would have been over $400. I don’t think there is a more elegant restaurant on Disney property other than Victoria & Alberts. This is a wonderful restaurant for a celebration or for a newly married couple, and it would certainly make a terrific place to have a marriage proposal. Children are welcomed but if you prefer a child-free experience, I recommend a later dining time. I would say this was one of the highlights of our trip and one we will definitely repeat.
I would love to help plan your next vacation and introduce you to all kinds of magical experiences. You can contact me at tmulkerin@wishesfamilytravel.com. If you would like to keep up with my travel experiences, please follow my Facebook page.
