Today is our friend Lisa’s birthday, and we have a dinner reservation for 4 at Monsieur Paul at EPCOT. And with no kids at Disney World, we’re going to eat like adults. See what makes Monsieur Paul a fine dining experience like no other!
Planning Monsieur Paul
Monsieur Paul is located in the France pavilion at EPCOT, just above Les Chefs De France. And just like any restaurant at Disney World, advanced reservations are highly recommended. Monsieur Paul is only open for dinner, and sounds like the perfect place for a special occasion. So, we made reservations at 6:00PM just a few weeks ago. But check their cancellation policy. They will charge you $100 per person for canceling less than 72 hours out. So, why so easy to book and hard to cancel you may be asking? It’s probably because the new prix fixe menu is expensive. But it’s no ordinary meal, it’s an 8-course dinner. They call it a gastronomic meal, which is where people devote themselves to the art of “eating and drinking well.” Read more about this restaurant here: Monsieur Paul | Walt Disney World Resort.
But before you head up to Monsieur Paul, there’s a few more things to know. Kids under 10 are not allowed. This means there are no kids menus either. So without kids, here’s our chance to experience this restaurant. Another thing to know is their dress code. It really just says to wear clothing that is neat, clean and in good condition. And to not wear any swimwear. Since we’re planning to go to the parks all day, the girls pack clean shirts. But I’m just going to wing it and wear my dry-fit polo all day. The other thing is to plan at least 2 hours for dinner. So our plan is to enjoy the parks, eat very little and come ready to enjoy!
Around the parks before Monsieur Paul
If you want to go straight to Monsieur Paul, skip this section. But, if you want to see what a day at Disney World can be like without kids, continue reading…
Here are the highlights of an awesome day:
- Get 7:00AM virtual queue for the 1st time for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
- Enter Magic Kingdom around 10:00AM and head straight to the ride.
- Experience Tiana’s Bayou Adventure for the 1st time, and still get wet.
- Dry off in the Haunted Mansion line before enjoying the classic ride.
- See Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade on Main Street.
- Get candied popcorn snack for the monorail ride to EPCOT.
- Make it to EPCOT before the 1:00PM virtual queue.
- Get virtual queue for Cosmic Rewind, the Guardians of the Galaxy ride.
- Gran Fiesta Tour Boat in Mexico kicks off our trip around the world.
- Beers and troll krem in Norway.
- A drink and air conditioning at Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar in Italy.
- The American Adventure for the show and a nap.
- The French patisserie for a snack.
- Boat ride back across the lagoon.
- Cosmic Rewind is the best rollercoaster in all of Disney World!
- Walk back to France freshening up on the way.
- Make it back to Monsieur Paul right before our 6:00PM reservation ready to eat.
The Monsieur Paul Dining Experience
Monsieur Paul is located in the France pavilion in the World Showcase at EPCOT. And you can see the restaurant after crossing the bridge from the United Kingdom. But there’s a separate entrance around the back. And once in the door is a desk where we check-in. Here a young gentleman, Enzo, guides us up the stairs to the restaurant and our table.
Though there are 15-20 tables in the restaurant, we notice only one other table seated when we walk in. And we are guided to our table near some windows and are presented with our menus. We find out Enzo is our server for the night and explains the menu options. He also points out their caviar and wine menus you can add to the prix-fixe options. Becky and Lisa decide to add on the less expensive of 2 wine pairings. While Lisa’s husband Jack gets an old-fashioned. I just stick with water, though our 1st course comes with a drink.
Cocktail maison et amuse-bouche
Enzo leaves for a few minutes and comes back with our aperitif. He pours each of us some champagne into a flute glass. Monsieur Paul’s cocktail is supposed to stimulate our appetites. After sipping the champagne for a little while, the chef comes to our table to address a food allergy. With no concerns, a few minutes later we get our 1st food course.
Amuse-bouche are small bites to enjoy before our meal. They are different from appetizers because they’re selected by the chef. And we each are presented with a plate with 3 little offerings to try. On the left is an onion pastry crunchy and light. On the right is a small cup of lobster bisque, providing a few spoonfuls of the rich soup. And in the middle is some tuna poke topped with some olive tapenade that melts in your mouth. All three set the tone for what’s to come.
Our next serving was not on the menu. Enzo comes out with a basket of fresh bread options including baguettes and fennel rolls. He asks us which we want, but we decide to try each and split them between us. So he puts some on each of our bread plates and gives us each our own ramekin of butter. After the small bites, we devour the delicious bread and butter.
Choice of Appetizer
There are 3 appetizer choices and we’ve all already decided we’re going for the escargot. Even Enzo agrees, it’s better than the lobster salad or mussels soup. But he throws a wrench in our decision. He tells us they also have a special appetizer not on the menu. It’s a truffle mushroom bisque with a puff pastry. And Becky decides to get it, but the rest of us still get the escargot. Though, before the appetizers arrive, the girls get their 1st wine pairing. It’s the 1st of 2 white wines, a 2021 pinot blanc from the Alsace region of France.
A few minutes later, multiple servers bring and present our appetizers all at once. The escargot cassolette is in a green watercress and potato emulsion. The broth is good and there’s about a dozen of the tasty snails. So far so good. But Becky’s soup is the one that everyone’s interested to see how it is.
The truffle bisque is covered by a puff pastry. And to get to the soup, Becky has to dig into it with her spoon. Once through, she is able to get some of the very hot broth. She has to let it cool down, but once she does she thinks it’s excellent. At this point, we’ve already been here over an hour, and ready for the next course.
The Fish Course
Just like before, Enzo brings another white wine before the next course. This blanc is a blend from the coast of Provence. And just like the appetizers, we choose from 1 of 3 menu items though no secret option this time. For the fish course, we can choose from sea bass, snapper or seared scallops. Lisa and I choose the sea bass which comes in a puff pastry. But Becky already having the soup with a puff pastry, chooses the snapper with potato scales. Jack also orders the snapper.
Again multiple servers come out to present our dishes. But the sea bass comes out on a platter, which is then arranged at the table on to our plates. It’s fun getting the table-side treatment and the presentation is wonderful.
The puff pastry itself looks like a fish accompanied with some vegetables. It also comes with a blend of sea salt, fresh peppercorns and chives with choron sauce, a tomato-spiked bearnaise sauce. Inside the puff pastry is a nice portion of perfectly cooked sea bass. This is both a fun and delicious choice.
Becky and Jack are treated with a nice size piece of snapper coated in potato scales. It is over some veggies and also accompanied with a nice thyme sauce. Again the fish is cooked perfectly and is a nice choice. After the last 2 good-sized portions, we are ready for a break.
Trou Normand
Le Trou Normand is a pause between the fish and meat dishes. It’s a French tradition of having a glass of brandy to both cleanse the palate and aid in digestion. This practice is also believed to stimulate the appetite in preparation for the remaining courses. To present this course between courses, Enzo wheels out a cart with four glasses and a bottle of pear brandy.
In each glass is a scoop of vanilla sorbet on a plate with a spoon. Sorbet is often accompanied with the brandy and can be different flavors. Enzo presents each glass to us pouring the brandy over the sorbet.
The brandy is strong and delicious. And by the time we get to the sorbet, it just all comes together. It’s really nice and I think it does the trick. After the break, we are ready for the meat course.
The Meat Course
The next wine brought is a red blend from the Bordeaux wine region to pair with the meat course. Again we get 1 of 3 options to choose. Jack chooses the rack of lamb, while the rest of us order the beef filet. There is a chicken fricassee option as well.
Multiple servers present our dishes, and one pours some thyme sauce over Jack’s lamb. It is accompanied with some green cabbage stuffed with mushrooms and chestnuts. Again it’s cooked perfectly and a nice choice.
The center-cut tenderloin is covered with a bordelaise sauce accompanied with porcini mushrooms. It even comes with a small crock of mashed potatoes mousseline. It’s excellent and another good-sized portion. In fact at this point Becky doesn’t think she can eat any more. So more steak for me. But the good news is there is time before the next course.
Cheeses
The last wine paired is with the cheese course and it is also a red. Though it has a strong oak flavor, so we share the 2 glasses between the 4 of us while enjoying the cheese. We each are presented with our own tray with 4 different cheeses and its accompaniments.
Our trays contain an herbed goat cheese, along with stilton, brie and blue cheeses. We each also get a small jar of fig preserves, some grapes and raisin bread to go with them. Each cheese is very different, and though strong, the blue cheese seems to be the favorite.
Dessert Options
Again for dessert there are 3 options. The 1st is a meringue with sorbet, a chocolate almond cake with ice cream, and a thin apple tart. We previously told Enzo it was Lisa’s birthday, so they bring a dessert plate with a lit candle. But they put the candle on the wrong plate. So Becky gives her plate to Lisa to blow out the candle and then they switch desserts.
Becky had ordered the thin apple tart, similar to a crepe with some vanilla ice cream on top. And a server pours almond cream all over it. Lisa’s real birthday dessert is the meringue which is also what I get. The light meringue has some mango sorbet garnished with some fruit which is a nice treat.
Jack ordered the chocolate almond cake with hazelnut biscuit and chocolate ice cream. And when the dish is presented, they pour a warm chocolate Cognac sauce all over it. And just when we are about to dig in, we hear the fireworks outside. Though we’re more interested in enjoying the delicious desserts. All 3 are great, but there is 1 more course.
Mignardises & Digestif
Not long after dessert, we are each given our digestif. It’s a small pour of port wine that is a sweet finish to our meal. But we are also given our mignardises.
On a plate are 4 packages of French macarons. Each contains 2 cookies that contain 2 different flavors. One macaron is lime and raspberry and the other is vanilla and chocolate. We all decide to take them with us so we enjoy a little taste of Monsieur Paul later.
Shortly after our mignardises and digestif, we are presented with our bills. And before we leave, we ask Enzo for 1 more thing, to take a picture of the 4 of us. Once we are all ready, Enzo escorts us back downstairs to the exit.
Summary of our Monsieur Paul Dining Experience
By the time we leave Monsieur Paul, it’s after 9:30PM. We can’t believe we spent over 3.5 hours here, but loved every minute of it. The amuse bouche set the tone for an exquisite meal. We enjoyed every course and the time between each was perfect spread over 3.5 hours. And the service was exceptional. Enzo was more like a guide along with us on this culinary tour of French cuisine. He was very knowledgeable about each dish and every drink. And the other servers who presented our food along with him made us feel like the only table there. Whether for a special occasion or just an intimate dinner, we all highly recommend treating yourself at Monsieur Paul!
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