BITE AT THE MUSEUM

There’s no better time to board the Eurostar – three major Parisian museums have new brasseries that are ready to impress you. The Musée Des Arts Decoratifs’ restaurant is called Loulou (above) and has been designed by Joseph Dirand. He has transformed the historic dining room at the heart of the 13th-century Palais du Louvre; Eero Saarinen’s ‘Tulip’ chairs perch atop a Breccia di Medici marble floor, and a subtle trompel’oeil Flanders landscape stretches across two walls ( loulou-paris.com).

Next door, the Louvre’s Café Mollien ( below left) complements the museum’s majestic architecture with contemporary design. We love the extraordinary brass and acrylic lights that the project’s interior designer, Mathieu Lehanneur, describes as ‘ large scale pale-pink eggs’ ( louvre.fr).

Elsewhere, Paris’ oldest factory, La Monnaie de Paris (the French mint) – which still produces commemorative coins, jewellery and Légion d’honneur medals – has a new joint: super-chef Guy Savoy’s eponymous restaurant ( below right). The Michelin-starred brasserie’s décor is sultry and atmospheric, with the look of its three high-ceilinged salons overseen by architect Jean-michel Wilmotte ( guysavoy.com).