The tea room at the Ritz has kept some of the warmth of before

Paris is full of extremes even on Place Vendôme and before trying out the mood of the new Ritz Hotel, I decided to have a sandwich at the best place in Paris, Le Petit Vendôme, a well known address of the young crowds, including my niece Océane who works in the hotel and food business.

The bar Vendôme extends into the garden under a blue grey veranda

I was not disappointed by the ambiance of this bistrot from Auvergne and my home made pâté de campagne sandwich on baguette, was excellent with a glass of Saint Pourçain. I could have chosen any cheese from Auvergne also or andouille, or ham. I read le Parisien, the best newspaper for crimes and taxi strike news, and was surrounded by men at the counter, who seemed jolly and liked their food. (Of course you can have regular steaks and foie gras also).

Cheered up by this ultimate French cheap lunch, I walked around the jewelers of place Vendôme, looking for a present to buy. It was quite fun to see the different security methods and the width of smiles at Bulgari, Tiffany, Cartier, Fred and Van Cleef. And I was pleased to hear that Van Cleef & Arpels’ famous Alhambra necklace now costs 15 000€. My mother  gave me one for my baccalaureate some years ago…
My budget was modest, I was one of the rare French customers, and they were all extremely polite. Another nice surprise.

Iceberg roses in the large garden

Having warmed up to luxury, I courageously crossed the place to the Ritz Hotel which quietly reopened in June after a four year and a 400 M€ renovation.

It used to be called Hôtel de Gramont in the 17 th century! Gabrielle Chanel lived there and Marcel Proust used to have supper at the Espadon restaurant.

I was greeted by a very nice doorman, a discreet bag check, polite answers to my questions : is the putting green still in the garden? « I am new Madame, I never knew the putting green, but no, it is not there anymore”, It was replaced by a formal 1 600 square meters French garden with trimmed lime trees and iceberg white roses. Slightly icy… but elegant.

No more putting green in the formal French garden but the bushes of white roses are pretty

The bar Vendôme is the same and opens up on a large veranda of blue grey iron and glass. Not very cheerful in grey weather but I read the New York Times and was fascinated by the detailed story of the Khan family.
Everyone was incredibly gracious and I noticed many members of the staff chatting with customers in good English. They have been trained to tell the history of the place and quote many famous customers such as F.Scott Fitzgerald and Charlie Chaplin. My cheesecake with wild strawberries was quite good, and there was a hook on the chair for my handbag, which is the sign of well planned hospitality. The Espadon restaurant is still there and so is the shopping arcade that leads to rue Cambon and the Hemingway  bar.

In the shopping gallery, you find all the right brands including Missoni and Panerai

I wondered if I should plan to return for dinner, given the prices that are around 120€  at the brasserie ? Lunch of Caesar salad (45€) and cocktails (22€ ), cheese (24€), seemed a little overpriced. But then the cheapest room is at 1 100€ in August, in low season, so I suppose that it is a bargain.

The big question is whether regular customers of “Before”, like Woody Allen and David Rockefeller, will return to the Ritz or remain at the Bristol Hotel which welcomed them so gracefully for the last four years?
A suivre….