As a Francophile, I always celebrate my birthday by treating myself to a great French meal. When I lived up North, we would visit Walt Disney World and always book either Chefs de France or Monsieur Paul for my birthday meal. French and Disney in one experience? Mais oui! When we moved here, I was excited to be able to visit the France pavilion as often as I wanted, but I always save Monsieur Paul for special occasions like birthdays.

With COVID happening in 2020, I was unable to get to Monsieur Paul for my birthday in April, because of the park’s closure. So I thought I would share a review from my birthday celebration at the restaurant in April of 2019.

Monsieur Paul is one of the gourmet dining options available at Walt Disney World and was formerly known as Bistro du Paris. A few years ago, it was completely refurbished and re-branded as Monsieur Paul. The restaurant is located on the second floor of Chefs de France in the French pavilion at Epcot.

Chef Bocuse first opened Les Chefs de France at Epcot in 1982 and then Bistro du Paris sometime later. The portrait above is actually of Chef Bocuse, and I always ask for that table under his watchful gaze. Boscue was named Best French Chef in 1961 and Chef of the Century in 2011 by the Culinary Institute of America. He achieved 3 Michelin stars for 48 straight years at his famous Lyon restaurant, Auberge du Pont de Collonges. After his death in 2018 one of his chefs from his Lyon restaurant, Chef Nicolas Lemoyne, took over the helm at Monsieur Paul.

The atmosphere of Monsieur Paul is an elegant and authentic Parisian style dining experience. It is beautifully decorated without being too over the top. The dining room is smaller and more intimate that most dining options at Walt Disney World, making this a truly unique experience.

On my last trip, I started with escargots in a puff pastry with a garlic cream sauce, accompanied with a mushroom puree. If you have never had escargots, it is way more delicious than you would think. Particularly this dish as the snails are served in a flaky puff pastry. It is a delicious and unique take on the dish.

If requested, your server will provide you with an additional menu of vegetarian options. I opted for the ratatouille, one of my favorite Disney movies and one of my favorite French dishes. The dish was very light and full of flavor. It was the perfect light meal for a Spring day at the parks.

Of course, I ended my meal with the macaron. It came with a vanilla ice cream, raspberry sorbet, and drizzled with a raspberry coulis. They did a beautiful presentation for my birthday with Happy Birthday written in chocolate across the plate. Now, I love a macaron, so this was such a treat to have the little extras with it.

Unfortunately, as of today, Monsieur Paul has not reopened, so I most likely will be spending this year’s birthday at Chefs de France. I have heard that they are now using the upstairs dining space that is Monsieur Paul as back up seating for Chefs de France.

Have you dined at Monsieur Paul? What are your other favorite dining options at Walt Disney World?