My party of 2 spent $680 at Monsieur Paul in Disney World where kids under 10 aren't allowed and reservations are almost impossible to get
Carly Caramanna
- My party of two ate dinner at Monsieur Paul, one of Disney World's fanciest restaurants, for $680.
- The restaurant was opened by chef Paul Bocuse and offers French nouvelle cuisine.
Monsieur Paul is located in Epcot's World Showcase at Disney World.
After a lengthy closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, Monsieur Paul reopened at Epcot in October 2022. Acclaimed French chef Paul Bocuse launched the restaurant (then called Bistro de France) in 1984 alongside Roger Vergé and Gaston LeNôtre. It's now helmed by Bocuse's son, Jérôme.
The signature table-service experience is one of few restaurants at Disney World that has a minimum age requirement of 10 years old.
The upscale atmosphere also requires a dress code: "Clothing should be clean, neat and in good condition. Please no swimwear," according to Disney's website.
Reservations are challenging to come by.
Guests can book a dinner reservation 60 days in advance at Disney World. Because of the limited amount of seating at Monsieur Paul, it's often difficult finding a reservation.
The restaurant also requires guests to cancel reservations at least 72 hours in advance or pay a penalty fee of $100 a person. Generally, Disney World restaurants charge a fee of $10 a person for cancellations within two hours of the reservation time.
We used MouseWatcher, a paid service that tracks down reservations at the parks, and were able to get a table a few weeks in advance.
Given the restaurant's location inside the French Pavilion at Epcot, a valid park ticket and reservation were required for admission. As an annual passholder, I just had to make an Epcot reservation through the My Disney Experience app.
We arrived early to enjoy Champagne next door.
We arrived at the France Pavilion about an hour before our reservation.
Our evening started next door at the pavilion's wine bar, La Maison du Vin, which is connected to Les Vins de France and L'Esprit de la Provence.
We opted for two glasses of celebratory Dom Perignon to mark the occasion.
We checked in at the restaurant and were promptly taken upstairs.
Monsieur Paul is located on the second floor of a building in the France Pavilion that houses Chefs de France on its first floor.
The walls of the staircase were lined with images from the restaurant's history, including photos of Chef Bocuse and Mickey Mouse.
The restaurant's atmosphere is elevated yet welcoming.
Monsieur Paul's atmosphere depicts a modern, French elegance but still feels approachable. There were no obvious Disney details in the dining room.
Disney describes the restaurant as showcasing "classic French architecture with bright colors and a touch of modern design."
It felt like an ideal spot for a romantic meal or special occasion.
The menu is prix fixe.
Priced at $195 a person (plus tax and gratuity) the prix-fixe menu is a take on French nouvelle cuisine, which Chef Bocuse helped to pioneer. The avant-garde cooking style led the chef's France-based restaurant, L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges, to hold the longest-running record in receiving three Michelin stars until 2020.
Monsieur Paul's dining experience is inspired by the gastronomical meal, a popular style of dining in France. It entails making food an affair that celebrates classic recipes with modern twists, seasonal ingredients, and multiple courses paired with beverages.
Meals include a starter cocktail, appetizer, fish course, palate-cleanser, meat course, cheese course, dessert, and digestif. Additional cocktails and wine are also available for purchase.
We were seated at a table with a window and view.
We arrived for the evening's first round of seating and were pleased to be placed at a window-side table.
The window offered large, sweeping views of the World Showcase and Spaceship Earth in the distance.
The meal began with complimentary Champagne.
After being seated, we were presented with a glass of Champagne and the menu. The champagne was dry, with a hint of subtle fruitiness.
For those desiring a nonalcoholic option, there are drink substitutes.
At this time, the server also introduced himself and explained the menu.
Next an amuse-bouche arrived at the table.
A generously portioned amuse-bouche, or a bite-sized hors d'oeuvre, arrived at the table.
It included a savory shortbread with Parmesan and lemon zest, fried zucchini balls, and sliced tuna with herb oil and salt.
After we ordered, we received the bread basket.
As we were awaiting our courses, we were served complimentary bread.
There was a variety to choose from, and I was impressed by the freshness and quality. It was similar to other bread I'd had in France — my favorite had a bit of cheese baked into it.
During this time, we also chatted with our server about add-on wine pairings, available à la carte, that would best complement our course selections.
I chose the lobster for my appetizer.
Monsieur Paul offers a diverse starter menu, which included saffron mussels soup and escargot. I decided to order the Maine lobster salad with passion-fruit vinaigrette.
The lobster was poached and seared and served with clams and shallots. It was well-cooked and paired perfectly with the bright vinegar that had notes of passion fruit, mango, and lime.
The dish's delicious taste and beautiful presentation were a wonderful start to the meal. The portion size was perfect for one and was one of the lighter courses of the experience.
My friend chose the escargot as a starter.
My friend went with a more traditional French dish of escargot cassolette with watercress and potato emulsion for her starter.
The escargot was served out of the shell and was perfectly cooked before being placed in a rich, buttery emulsion. This made for a fantastic dipping sauce for the bread and was one of the highlights of our meal.
I thought this had the best presentation out of the many escargot platters I've had in both the US and France.
Our next dish was the fish course.
There were three options to choose from for the fish course: sea bass in a puff pastry, seared scallops, and snapper.
I chose one of Monsieur Paul's signature dishes, snapper en écailles de pommes de terre, which is snapper with potato scales and thyme sauce.
It was bursting with flavor, and the fish was extremely delicate. It ended up being my favorite course of the evening.
A pear brandy was served as a palate cleanser.
As is often customary with lengthy, fine-dining meals, we were served a palate cleanser after the fish course.
It consisted of pear brandy and sorbet. I've had sorbets as palate cleansers before, but this was the first time I had it served with pear brandy.
The presentation was also captivating, adding an element to the experience.
We ordered additional drinks to pair with our food.
Although there weren't any set wine pairings, we opted to order glasses throughout our meal.
Our server guided us through this and gave excellent suggestions based on the food we were ordering.
The meat course was up next.
The meat course offered several options, including a rack of lamb and chicken fricassee. I decided on the center-cut beef tenderloins served with porcini fricassee, creamy mashed potatoes, and bordelaise sauce.
The medium-rare steak was incredibly tender. It was well-seasoned and paired perfectly with the bordelaise sauce. It quickly became one of the best steaks I've had at Disney World.
A steak entrée of this size and quality can go for upwards of $60 to $70 at other Disney restaurants. Considering the price of the prix-fixe menu price at Monsieur Paul, this added great value.
After the steak, we received a platter of curated cheeses.
After ample time to enjoy our meat course, we were presented with an imported cheese plate.
This included cow's-milk brie, fresh goat cheese, and blue cheese served with fig jam, honey, and walnut bread.
I chose a chocolate-almond cake for dessert.
The dessert course offered three options: classic meringue, apple tart, and almond cake.
I went with the almond cake with chocolate cream, hazelnut biscuit, and chocolate ice cream.
The platter was presented with a lavish chocolate dome on top adorned with the restaurant's name. The server then poured warm chocolate-cognac sauce over it to slowly melt the dome. It was absolutely delicious.
My friend ordered a thin apple tart with almond cream, which was also excellent.
The meal ended with more desserts.
We were finally presented with several small desserts, including macarons and a digestif of sweet port wine.
The digestif was the perfect ending to the meal, and we opted to take this final course to go.
Although we spent $680, I thought Monsieur Paul was worth every penny.
With tax and tip, we spent $680 on our almost three-hour dinner experience.
Both the food and the service were absolute highlights. I felt totally removed from the often hectic nature of the theme park.
Although the atmosphere felt fancier than the rest of Disney World's restaurants, it was approachable, welcoming, and relaxed. Even though there were many courses, it felt well-paced. The attention to detail was also incredible — the servers even reset our utensils for every course.
The quality of each course and overall execution justified the expensive meal. Monsieur Paul is now my favorite restaurant in all of Disney World.
Popular Right Now
Popular Keywords
Advertisement