CANETON AU SANG
La Tour d’Argent, Paris

While there are almost certainly better restaurants in Paris than La Tour d’Argent, you might struggle to find one that is more Parisian. Elegant to the point of decadence - the motto of André Terrail, the third generation of his family to act as host, is “Nothing should be taken more seriously than pleasure” - La Tour is a somewhat traditional establishment, and has been, in fact, since the year 1600, when there is a record of Henri IV ordering the heron pâté. It is not known whether he adhered to the dress code, but you would be unwise to turn up today without a tie.

You might start your meal with quenelles of pike in a mornay sauce, or foie gras des trois empereurs, created to celebrate the occasion when Tsar Alexander II of Russia entertained the king of Prussia and the prince of Bismarck, but the grand event is the caneton au sang: the bloody duck. They serve other dishes, of course, but frankly it would be a waste to order anything else.

For more than a century, it has been the tradition that anyone ordering this dish is presented with a numbered tag certifying the origins of the fowl. Bird number 380 was served to the future Edward VII in 1890, and number 938,451 to Mikhail Gorbachev a hundred years later. They’re well past the 1.2m mark now.

The complete guide to Paris style hotels

In the past four years, we've reviewed more than 50 style hotels in the French capital. So which are the best of the best?

• Hot, hip and historic French hotels

10 classic Paris travel ideas

We've a bateau mouche load of features and ideas on how to make the most of the capital - here are the best

5 Paris spas

From five-star hotels to beauty day spas, five places to get pampered in Paris

Related Links

• The perfect Paris patisserie

The dish involves a whole Challandais duckling from the restaurant’s own farm. First, the breast and legs are removed. Then the carcass is placed inside a solid-silver duck press, a fearsome-looking object the size of a small mangle. As the bones and internal organs are crushed, the blood and juices ooze into a silver dish, which is then gently warmed over a burner.

All this is performed by a bow-tied maître d’ standing on a small pedestal in the centre of the restaurant, while waiters in full tails glide around noiselessly on the carpeted floor. Beyond the picture window is a backdrop of the River Seine and the stone buttresses of Notre Dame, illuminated as if for a son et lumière - the restaurant pays part of the cathedral’s lighting bill. (If it looks familiar, it may be because La Tour d’Argent was the basis for the restaurant in Pixar’s animated movie Ratatouille.)

As the blood sauce coagulates, other ingredients are added - a little cognac, madeira, foie gras. Finally, it is poured over the still-almost-red breast meat and brought to your table. The legs are taken to the kitchen to be crisped: they are served later, with a pile of pommes frites. There’s a cheese trolley the size of a hospital bed, and a variety of flambéed puddings - served after the cheese,naturellement.

What to drink: where to start? The cellars hold more than 400,000 bottles, many dating back to before the war - André’s father, Claude, personally spent the night of June 14, 1940, building a false wall down there, so that the Germans wouldn’t get their hands on his most treasured wines. A Château Kirwan 1858? A Romanée-Conti 1854? Bien sûr - the wine list is more than 500 pages long, and comes to your table with its own stand. Château Lanessan 1999 from the Haut-Médoc, a classic left-bank claret, might be a better bet at £60.

When to go: now that the Eurostar terminal has opened at St Pancras, you could lunch at La Tour d’Argent and be back in London in time for dinner - if you could manage any. Duck is served (for two people) all year round, but the view of the Seine is at its best during summer.

Insider tip: don’t expect change from £100 a head, although lunch is cheaper. Book in advance and ask for a table by the window, for the view.

Getting there: Eurostar (0870 518 6186, www.eurostar.com ) has return fares from St Pancras to Paris from £59. Or you can fly with British Airways (0844 493 0787, www.ba.com ), Air France (0871 663 3777, www.airfrance.co. uk ), Flybe (0871 700 2000, www.flybe.com ) or Aer Lingus (0818 365000, www.aerlingus.com ).

La Tour d’Argent, 15-17 Quai de la Tournelle, 75005, Paris; 00 33 1 43 54 23 31, www.tourdargent.com

Times recommends

• Burma: to go or not to go?
• The 8 best wintersun city breaks
• Dubai: the insider's guide