You Can Visit The French Restaurant That Changed Julia Child's Life

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Julia Child became iconic for her knowledge of food and her ability to share it with others, primarily through her cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," and her popular show, "The French Chef." But Child didn't spend all of her adulthood in the kitchen. Long before she was giving away her secret to perfectly roasted broccoli, sharing tips for creating the creamiest scrambled eggs, and giving advice on the best bean soaking technique, Child and her husband, Paul, both worked government jobs. But it was when he was transferred to France, and she joined him, that she was inspired to pursue cooking during her very first meal in the country at La Couronne.

La Couronne, situated in Rouen, France (founded in 1345), served a meal so impressive to Child that she described it as, "the most important meal of my life" (via "My Life in France"). The pair began the meal with buttered rye bread that accompanied raw oysters, followed by a main of sole meunière in brown butter — which she described as a "morsel of perfection." Other standouts that she mentioned in her autobiography were a vinaigrette-dressed green salad and fromage blanc. While Pouilly-Fumé, a dry white, was the wine of choice to accompany most of the meal, dark coffee was their pairing with dessert.

Today, you can visit the La Couronne, which still bears a resemblance to its appearance when Child visited. And that's not the only similarity — visitors to the restaurant can order from a prix fixe menu that features the same dishes that changed Child's life.

While visitors to La Couronne can revel in the ability to recreate Julia Child's first dining experience in France, there are also a number of other options at the restaurant. La Couronne features both lunch and dinner menus that change seasonally. The prix fixe lunch menu offers first courses with a vegetable or soup (like the avocado and apple with crab mousse or stuffed tomatoes), and seconds with proteins like mushroom-stuffed guinea fowl or sauce-topped fish. The final course features coffee and desserts like strawberry gratin.

Meanwhile, the restaurant also offers multiple prix fixe menus for dinner, including one that features eight courses. Oysters are a popular inclusion for starters, while other seasonal dishes range from spiced foie gras with apples and curry to roasted monkfish with stuffed eggplants, and turbot piccata — crayfish pie with a dried tomato cream sauce. On the a la carte side, there's a solid list of starters and fish, including the sole that Child enjoyed, as well as specialties like duck, grilled rib of beef, and veal sweetbreads.

Almost 80 years after Child's visit, the restaurant still remains a popular destination. Reviewers mention the beauty of the exterior, the comfort inside, and the quality of the food. Those who have ordered the Julia Child menu have praised it robustly, from the size and quality of the oysters to the perfection of how the fish was cooked. We can't help but think Julia Child would be smiling to know her meal is just as impressive so many decades later.