A Cruise along the Seine, with a chef on board!

eiffel

I am normally not a big fan of cruises and of big places with lots of people. but last week’s experience may have changed my mind.


My colleague Lily and I heard about this boat called Capitaine Fracasse at the beginning of last year, and have been curious to try it for a while. Capitaine Fracasse offers very competitive prices and a menu designed by chef Martial Enguehard. Everything about it seemed quite intriguing, so on Friday, we decided to try it!
The boat has recently been redone (Spring 2009) with lovely dark wood interiors, comfortable chairs and a spacious yet cozy dining area. The place is elegant without being stuffy, with plenty of room for the 250 diners they host every night.

The cruise boards at 8PM (twice a night in spring/summer) by the Eiffel tower, just in time to see the sparkly lights go up and down the Tour, and it goes all the way down to the Ministry of Finance, past Ile St Louis and the wonderful Piscine Josephine Baker before returning back to our starting point (with a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty model just before docking).

The meal was quite nice with a selection of entrees (5 to be precise) , one main course, and a selection of 3 mini desserts. All very tasty. Lily asked in advance for a vegetarian meal and was accommodated with no trouble.

The price is very reasonable compared to other Seine dinner cruises  (starting at 50 Euro per person), and even more impressive, chef Martial Enguehard is a Meilleur Ouvrier de France. This means that the quality of the food is superior to other cruises and that the meals are actually prepared by the chef’s team, and not by a third party that delivers to the boat. Chef Martial also designs his menus every few months using season ingredients.

The two hours of the cruise flew by, the food was good, the atmosphere relaxed and the staff extremely efficient (our friendly waiter even spoke impeccable Italian and English).

Context Paris can help you book this dinner cruise, follow this link for more information. We can also arrange this as an alternative Orientation to Paris including dining with a docent to give you a historical and city perspective as you tour the city by boat.

Posted by Petulia
Petulia is the head of European Operations at Context. She shares her time between Rome, Paris and London. Her passions are fashion and food.
February 1st, 2010 under City Life, Food and Wine, Paris, Transportation.
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