Join us in welcoming Guest Author Mark Zambrano with a review from Disneyland Paris. Today, he takes us to the brand new Bistrot Chez Rémy!

Bistrot Chez Rémy is the new 370 seat table service restaurant located on La Place de Rémy at Walt Disney Studios Park, the largest in Disneyland Paris.

Immaculately themed with Disney details around every bend, this rat-sized addition to Disneyland Paris is a fantastic chance to step inside the wonderful world of Ratatouille.

Atmosphere

Follow the signs from Toy Story Playland to La Place de Rémy, where roofs are crowded with crooked chimneys, classic Parisian street lamps line the cobblestone streets, and hidden Rémy’s abound.

Imagineers seemed to have spared no expense creating this “Pixar Paris” that transports guests to the City of Light right in the middle of a Disney Park.

Adjacent to the incredible new ride, Ratatouille: The Adventure – L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy, is Bistrot Chez Rémy, serving French food with flare and shrinking diners to the size of Rémy & Co. with the help of some very oversized furniture, cutlery, and other accoutrements.

As soon as you walk through the door of Chez Rémy, you are immersed in Ratatouille. From Chef Gusteau’s Golden Fork award, Rémy’s honorary Doctorate of Culinary Arts, Anton Ego’s famous critique or the famed “Anyone Can Cook!” cookbook, the walls are awash with memorabilia to set the mood.

Make sure to pay special attention as you walk past the check in desk – you might just spy a 5 euro note framed on the wall. It’s the tip left by Chez Rémy’s very first customer!

Continue on to the dining room where champagne corks serve as stools, giant plates divide the booths and lights come courtesy of candles on spoons. Tropical drink umbrellas add flare to jelly topped tables, Christmas lights hang through giant copper pots on the ceiling and measuring spoons dress the walls with tacks.

You can tell great pains were taken to replicate the final scene of the movie to a T. As we were guided to our table (AKA the top of a sardine can), we barely had enough time to take it all in.

Eats

Our bottle cap chairs were surprisingly comfortable as we perused the menu – all prix fixe with the exception of dessert, if you so choose. While offerings are limited, there should be something for everyone on the menu – including vegetarians. The dish made famous by

one little chef (ahem, ratatouille!) is of course, offered with each main course as a side.

The starter course offered for adults was a mixed green salad. Our choices for the main course were three: grilled beef, cod, or tofu casserole. Thankfully, although maybe not for the calorie conscious, the dessert menu was much larger with seven delicious sounding treats.

The kids menu looked appetizing – even to us – with a melon salad starter and beef meatballs, salmon, or linguini as main dishes. Little chefs even have their own dessert choices: an eclair or cream cheese with fresh fruit – and a special note from Rémy himself!

My dining companion and I both selected the Rémy menu, which includes a starter and main dish of your choice. I opted for the smoked cod with mashed potatoes in a buerre blanc (white butter) sauce and my friend chose the grilled beef with the chef’s sauce and french fries.

Of course no meal in Paris would be complete without a glass of wine, so we treated ourselves to the Cuvée Bistrot Chez Rémy, a Bordeaux wine produced especially for the restaurant by Cheval Quancard. It was absolutely delicious and highly recommended.

Mixed green salads began our culinary adventures at Chez Rémy and included fresh lettuce, shredded carrots and beets, a few tomatoes, and grated cheese covered in a sesame/soy/balsamic vinaigrette. The ingredients were light and refreshing, a very nice start to our meal.

Next up was the main course. While the cod was well cooked and lightly seasoned, the real star of the show was the mashed potatoes. Soaked in a buerre blanc sauce, they were fluffy and delicious. I probably could have eaten about six more bowls! Just to note here: the side of ratatouille that comes with the cod is included in the same pot as the main dish and potatoes. If you are hoping to experience the ratatouille on its own, go for the beef.

The grilled beef was cooked medium as requested (fun fact: those colored Goofy picks in the beef indicate how the meat is cooked) and the sauce (delivered in a tiny chef’s hat no less!) was fantastic and really made the dish more than just a simple steak.

The cup of ratatouille (vegetables topped with a roasted tomato) while small, is flavorful and no doubt fresh, coming from Rémy’s own garden not far from Disneyland Paris itself!

When it was time for dessert, the tough choices began. We’re in France so you know the odds of disappointment are slim to none and we really couldn’t go wrong. Plus we could spy the dessert case on top of a larger than life butter dish not far from our table.

Ultimately, we ordered the tiramisu which came in a large glass and was topped with a white chocolate Rémy himself. More than enough for two, this was the highlight of my dinner. It’s a good thing we were in Disney and calories don’t count there.

Overall

As we left our table and headed back out into Walt Disney Studios, we took a few extra minutes to wander around the restaurant and take in all of the fabulous Disney details this new location has to offer.

Overall we enjoyed our meal at Bistrot Chez Rémy. The menu, though small, has enough offerings to please everyone in your party. The only thing to note would be that there are absolutely no substitutions here, so what you see is what you get. That said, the food really does play second fiddle to the surroundings. It is a bit more pricey than other table service restaurants around Disneyland Paris, but the atmosphere and complete immersion into a beloved film are where most Disney fans will find their value. The setting is what you will come for and you will not be disappointed. A chance to dine at Rémy’s restaurant is a special experience and is worth a visit in itself.

Mark currently lives in Paris and is a frequent visitor to Disneyland Paris. He writes about his love of all things Disney and his other adventures abroad at paradisefoundaround.com.

Is a visit to Disneyland Paris on your wish list? Let us know what you think about Bistrot Chez Rémy.