Martini Temples

Ralph's, Paris

Ralph Lauren is a great guy; not only one of the most successful industrialists in the world, he's also a lover of beautiful things, a formidable classic-cars collector (we were very pleased to award the Prize of the Jury to his mgnificent Bugatti 57SC 'Atlantic' during the 2013 Concorso d'Eleganza 'Villa d'Este') I really like this guy.

Anna with Ralph Lauren in Villa d'Este, May 2013

Ralph Lauren owns hundreds of splendid shops around the world; the one at 173 Blvd St. Germaine, in Paris, is not so flashy, being almost hidden from view, and recently a charming restaurant has been opened in the premises.
Obtaining a decent Martini here was quite problematic. The first bartender apparently thinks that a 2:1 mix is dry enough and couldn't understand why I did complain about it. Luckily a younger, smarter guy understood that I was about to explain my views a bit more vocally and corrected it. The second Martini was acceptably dry but as you can see it was brought to the table without any olive, no french fries, nothing to go with it. And when Anna asked for a Virgin Mary they simply brought to our table a bottle of tomato juice and an empty glass, this being sorts of a 'do-it-yourself' offering....! Strange behaviour of a young and probably not very experienced crew. They were not really rude, they didn't know any better: simply, they were not up to Ralph Lauren's expected high standards. Too bad, as the place is nice and the 'Ralph's burger' quite palatable.
In short: not a place to go only for a Martini, but you may try to have one before your burgers. If you find the 'right' bartender, and are prepared to have a discussion about it, it might be acceptable and then you will probably enjoy the dinner as well.