Les Ombres, Paris

If you're looking wholly and solely for gourmet gratification, this top Paris restaurant choice at the Musée du quai Branly may not be for you. For an only-in-Paris experience, though, the setting is the stuff memories are made of.

Both the restaurant and museum—which showcases indigenous art and artifacts from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas—were designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel. Surprisingly, the menu only hints at flavors from the continents the museum represents (such as salmon with green mango and shiso), while mostly sticking to French dishes. Surprisingly too, not all continents are represented on the wine list.

But the biggest and by far the best surprise is the view of the Eiffel Tower, a few hundred yards away, which is rarely seen from this angle (Les Ombres' latticed metal-and-glass roof reflects the tower's fretwork). Time an evening stroll on the terrace when it glitters on the hour.

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