Nomiya at Palais de Tokyo

Nomiya is a temporary restaurant installation designed by artist Laurent Grasso atop the Palais de Tokyo, only open till July 2010 . It's set in a glass box with sweeping views of the city and the food concept is almost like a private dinner party, except you share a communal table with like minded foodie strangers. They only serve 12 people at a time for lunch and dinner and chef Giles Stassart and his team whip up four & five course inventive, modern French meals. With such limited seating, it's almost impossible to get a reservation, which are only available on line and open up daily exactly for the next 30 days at 12:01AM. I didn't have the patience to wade through this complicated, unnerving reservation process, so when browsing through the site I saw that you can go on a tour for free.

I went with my new friend Helen Rogers who was visiting from New York. I had a feeling she was an adventurous soul like me, and she said an emphatic yes to my invitation. Nomiya also has cooking classes, so we came in on the tail end of a kids baking class, where they were putting the finishing touches on some yummy chocolate concoction. We climbed the stairs up to the restaurant and before we even entered, we were blown away by the views. It was dusk, so the light was magical. Once inside, the dramatic purple, blue, and pink lighting lit the view in such a romatic way.   Of course the Eiffel Tower took center stage as it always does but the amazing thing was the reflection bouncing off the other side of the window made it look like it was placed in a different spot, like an optical illusion. Try and tell which ones are actually the tower and which are reflections.

Nomiya
Palais de Tokyo
13 Ave. du President Wilson, 16th arr.
Metro:Iena
Reservations on the internet only- Good luck!
http://www.art-home-electrolux.com/en/?date=2010-6-28

Daytime view

Shot at street level day before

Coming soon: Eye Prefer New York Tours

New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte’s professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.

Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 3 students, maximum 6 students.

Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.

Coming soon: Eye Prefer New York Tours

New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte’s professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.

Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 3 students, maximum 6 students.

Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.

Coming soon: Eye Prefer New York Tours

New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte’s professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.

Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 3 students, maximum 6 students.

Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.

Comments

[helen]

Sheer genius! I cannot decide if your writing, your aesthetic, or your inquiring mind make "Eye" so enchanting. Lovely memory of Paris and meeting you.
Merci, Richard!

[Diogenes]

Wow, Richard. Stunning pics - the Tour Eiffel looks beautiful. Love the purple blue light. I probably would have opted for the tour over eating there as well...

[Linda]

JUST GLORIOUS MONSIEUR!!!

[Sharon]

Your photos of the Tour Eiffel were brilliant, elegant, soft and brought tears to my eyes. You're so good Richard!

[Sab]

Hi There, Just passing by for the first time and loved your pics of Lady Eiffel. I think I've seen one of them on another Paris blog and commented there that I loved it too! As a Paris photographer I generally have pretty strong opinions about photos of the tower, and not too many people actually manage to get anything particularly original these days, so consider that an extremely high compliment! Looking forward to more...

[Lynne]

That's just where we got to sleep when the Hotel Everland was there!

[MJ]

We were visiting Paris for New Year's Eve and booked the free tour at the Nomiya for New Year's Day. During the tour, our guide got wind of some cancellations for dinner for the following evening, our last night in Paris. We were offered the spots and did not hesitate for a moment to accept the chance of a lifetime. Needless to say it was an incredible experience; it made the perfect Paris finale punctuated by the views, food and new friends!