New dining venues have been popping up within museums in Paris, offering visitors a stimulating combination of art and gastronomy. We returned to two of our favorite institutions, La Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine and the Institut du Monde Arabe, to review their restaurants, both of which have received much press. In addition, we visited the little-known Musée Bourdelle and dined on the garden-view terrace of its café, which opened in March 2023.

Girafe, La Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine

In the east wing of the Palais de Chaillot, this museum comprises a vast collection of life-size casts of architectural elements from French churches and heritage buildings. The true-to-scale copies of cathedral doorways, pillars, stained glass windows and frescoes make this museum truly unique. The detailed model of the Notre-Dame de Paris presents the opportunity to closely examine the monument’s original Gothic façade. A memorable temporary exhibit delved into the extensive renovations required after the devastating 2019 fire. It was a pleasure to wander through the museum’s bright and airy rooms, but with more than 75,000 square feet of exhibition space, we became hungry and footsore.

Girafe, the ninth-floor restaurant, offers a sensational view of the Eiffel Tower from its grand terrace overlooking the Champ de Mars. The art deco interior is attractive, but the terrace is the place to see and be seen. During our two hours at the restaurant, we had front-row seats to a marriage proposal and a photo shoot, both backdropped by the Eiffel Tower. The seafood-oriented cuisine won’t win a Michelin star anytime soon — dishes are too salty, and presentation could be improved — but my grilled octopus accompanied by gnocchi and carrot-ginger mousse was tasty enough. Most of the fashionably dressed diners around us seemed much more focused on taking selfies than on the food, and while staff members were obviously irritated by the need to dodge around people fixated on getting the perfect photo, we certainly had fun people-watching. Don’t go out of your way to dine at Girafe, but its privileged location makes it worth considering if you are in the area. The museum is closed on Tuesdays, but the restaurant is open daily.