Laurent’s Restaurant, built after the model of a Roman villa, stands far back from the centre road, and is so enclosed by trees and thickets that one has to look for it to find it. About once every three years it is thoroughly renovated and redecorated, and it is, as it has always been, one of the pleasantest as well as one of the quietest of outdoor restaurants. Laurent’s, The azaleas and the rhododendrons Champs Elysees which are about it clothe it with colour in the spring and early summer, and the acacia trees keep its little space of gravel in pleasant shade. For many years I used to dine at Laurent’s every Grand Prix night with a well-known explorer and traveller, and a Canard Pompeiane , a wonderful cold duck with black and red figures designed upon its snowy breast, was always one of the dishes on the menu of my host’s dinner. A little band, which plays quite in- offensively, is the latest addition to the attractions of Laurent’s. Partly for old association’s sake, partly for its quiet, partly for its good cuisine, I always have a warm corner in my heart for Laurent’s. The restaurant of the Ambassadeurs is on summer nights one of the dining-places to which the cosmo- politan world of Paris flocks. The ex-proprietors and 2 6 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe present managers of Maxim’s, the supping-place in the Rue Royale, are the lessees of the Ambassadeurs, and TheAmbassa- the cuisine is very good. The tables dears, Champs sought after are those of the front of the Elysees balcony which faces the stage, and to sit after dinner and smoke and drink coffee and listen to and watch the performance is one of those combina- tions of pleasant things obtainable in Paris, at a price, but which are unknown to us in London. The Am- The Alcazar, bassadeurs has a little garden behind Champs Elysees it, which is a pleasant place at break- fast-time. The Alcazar has a restaurant and a gar- den which is under the same management as the Ambassadeurs. The Pre Catalan is the latest addition to the smart restaurants in the Bois, though some of the older ones have lately been rebuilt. The Pre Catalan used to The Pre a ^arm where children and a few Catalan, Bois fashionable ladies used to drink milk in de Boulogne the ear}y mornings, and there always had been a chalet restaurant at its entrance. The proprietor of one of the most popular Paris newspapers saw that the children were monopolising one of the most charming enclosures in the Bois, and he obtained the right to build a restaurant and lay out a garden there. The restaurant is a great banqueting hall with a cupola in the centre. Large mirrors on one side reflect the long windows on the other, and the big room, all white and ornamented with great taste, might well have been copied from some palace. The servants wear quiet handsome liveries, and the carte du jour has the prices marked against the various dishes, information which some of the restaurants do not give to their clients until the bill is presented. The Pre Catalan has its lawn, which is a favoured spot at tea- time on race days. Both the Pre Catalan, and the restaurant next on my list, the Armenonville, are now 1 Tar is 27 controlled by M. Charles Mourier of the Cafe de Paris.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Laurent’s Restaurant, built after the model of a Roman villa, stands far back from the centre road, and is so enclosed by trees and thickets that one has to look for it to find it. About once every three years it is thoroughly renovated and redecorated, and it is, as it has always been, one of the pleasantest as well as one of the quietest of outdoor restaurants. Laurent’s, The azaleas and the rhododendrons Champs Elysees which are about it clothe it with colour in the spring and early summer, and the acacia trees keep its little space of gravel in pleasant shade. For many years I used to dine at Laurent’s every Grand Prix night with a well-known explorer and traveller, and a Canard Pompeiane , a wonderful cold duck with black and red figures designed upon its snowy breast, was always one of the dishes on the menu of my host’s dinner. A little band, which plays quite inoffensively, is the latest addition to the attractions of Laurent’s. Partly for old association’s sake, partly for its quiet, partly for its good cuisine, I always have a warm corner in my heart for Laurent’s. The restaurant of the Ambassadeurs is on summer nights one of the dining-places to which the cosmopolitan world of Paris flocks. The ex-proprietors and 2 6 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe present managers of Maxim’s, the supping-place in the Rue Royale, are the lessees of the Ambassadeurs, and TheAmbassa- the cuisine is very good. The tables dears, Champs sought after are those of the front of the Elysees balcony which faces the stage, and to sit after dinner and smoke and drink coffee and listen to and watch the performance is one of those combinations of pleasant things obtainable in Paris, at a price, but which are unknown to us in London. The Am- The Alcazar, bassadeurs has a little garden behind Champs Elysees it, which is a pleasant place at breakfast-time. The Alcazar has a restaurant and a garden which is under the same management as the Ambassadeurs. The Pre Catalan is the latest addition to the smart restaurants in the Bois, though some of the older ones have lately been rebuilt. The Pre Catalan used to The Pre a ^arm where children and a few Catalan, Bois fashionable ladies used to drink milk in de Boulogne the ear}y mornings, and there always had been a chalet restaurant at its entrance. The proprietor of one of the most popular Paris newspapers saw that the children were monopolising one of the most charming enclosures in the Bois, and he obtained the right to build a restaurant and lay out a garden there. The restaurant is a great banqueting hall with a cupola in the centre. Large mirrors on one side reflect the long windows on the other, and the big room, all white and ornamented with great taste, might well have been copied from some palace. The servants wear quiet handsome liveries, and the carte du jour has the prices marked against the various dishes, information which some of the restaurants do not give to their clients until the bill is presented. The Pre Catalan has its lawn, which is a favoured spot at teatime on race days. Both the Pre Catalan, and the restaurant next on my list, the Armenonville, are now 1 Tar is 27 controlled by M. Charles Mourier of the Cafe de Paris.

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