After cycling past Mollard for years and years and years, we’d almost forgotten that it existed at all. Situated opposite Saint Lazare station, in an area better known for shopping than anything else, we’d just assumed that it was another nondescript tourist trap. Not so, but with drawbacks nonetheless…

Going past late one evening piqued our curiosity. Illuminates and bustling, a peek through the window showed what looked like a spectacular art nouveau interior. Further inspection revealed that the restaurant had been open for over a hundred years (they celebrated their centenary in 1996) and is an official historic monument. This we had to see!We deliberately booked a table early one Saturday for lunch in the hope of being able to take lots of photos without getting in anyone’s way. Stepping into the restaurant was like stepping back in time, with lots of carved wood, painted glass and – above all – mosaics everywhere; the floor, the wall, the ceiling… It is a gorgeous setting for a meal.Also, sometimes when we arrive at a restaurant and start taking photos we get disapproving or inquisitive looks from some of the staff (despite the fact that we always ask for permission). At Mollard however, the staff was all smiles, happily letting me snap away and even telling me what I shouldn’t miss, like four special little mosaics in the corner of one ceiling, or pointing out a pair of painted tile pictures showing a woman arriving at the nearby department stores and leaving again heavily laden down with shopping. Throughout our meal, the waiters were jovial, chatty, very obviously happy to be there, and this changed the entire tone of the place. Although they are dressed in the old-school French waiter attire, there was none of the standard frosty Parisian scowl. Their good humour changed the entire tone of our meal for the better.And indeed, it was time for food. We decided to leave the à la carte choices and good for the three-course fixed menu, not excessively priced at 32 euros. There’s a fair bit of choice, with several fish and meat dishes available, so most people will be able to find something to their taste. Unfortunately taste was to be the main problem with our meal: to be honest, there wasn’t much of it on offer.

My French onion soup was average, but not hot at all.My companion’s green asparagus with spicy crab meat didn’t have any spice or taste to it at all. Copious amounts of salt and pepper were needed to help it along. It looked lovely though…And the main dishes were also pretty blah. My fish fricassee contained three different types, but they were not so much ‘subtle’ as downright dull (even the salmon). Served with rice and drowning in butter, I was crestfallen.My companion decided to try the day’s special, which sounded great: “pavé de cabillaud poêlé avec son jus de serpelette aromatisée” – a thick piece of cod seared in a frying pan with – apparently – a sauce flavoured with wild thyme. Alas, once again, large amounts of salt and pepper were needed to give it any sort of taste.Luckily, things took a turn for the better at dessert. The ‘omelette surprise’ is cake and ice cream enveloped in meringue and set on fire with alcohol, lightly cooking the exterior and leaving the interior cold and sweet. It’s a spectacular way to finish your meal, and pretty darn yummy too.As for the ‘home-made’ cakes, we think they looked very much like they’d been bought in from somewhere else, but the selection – albeit a classic one – was enticing, and our Black Forest cake was rich with liqueur and deliciously chocolatey.Mollard has a lot going for it; impressive seafood platters, wonderful, cheery, quick service, and of course an exquisitely preserved century-old décor that will make any Art Nouveau-lover’s jaw drop. It’s also open non-stop throughout the day, so you can arrive in the afternoon, very early evening or even after a show and still get something to eat (they stop serving at half past midnight). However, it’s a real shame that the food itself is so really, really dull. Perhaps it’s because the place has so many tables, and everything is cooked in huge batches, but doesn’t the chef taste any of what he cooks? We got the impression that people came essentially for the surroundings, and we’d probably even do so again ourselves, but our time there could have been so much more memorable with lovely food to go with the lovely setting. Once you know that you’ll be drooling over the setting and not the cuisine, you shouldn’t be disappointed.Mollard (here) is open 365 days a year from midday to 00.30am non-stop.

Telephone +33 (0)1 43 87 50 22.

Official website: www.mollard.frTo see the complete photo gallery (yep, there’s more!), click the play button on the slideshow below, then click the four little arrows bottom right to go into fullscreen mode (much better for seeing all the details of the mosaics).