Here are the restaurants we like.
Note that prices followed by a + have not been updated since at least
early 2004, and have probably increased since then.
1ST ARRONDISSEMENT
An friendly little restaurant is LE RELAIS DU PONT-NEUF, on the right
bank in a row of sidewalk cafes and restaurants that all look about the
same facing the Seine in the first block downstream from the
Pont-Neuf (A bridge and Métro station). It’s very
reasonable and the co-owner (Mme Marie Bertin) is a delightful
woman. Three-course menu, 12.50 €. 18, quai du Louvre; telephone
01 42 33 98 17. Open every day. Métro: PONT NEUF.
3RD ARRONDISSEMENT
LES EPICURIENS DU
MARAIS, 19, rue Commines (3rd arrondissement). Lunch 13.50
€; dinner 25 € to 30 € and up. Excellent Web site:
http://lesepicuriens.com/ €. 01 40 27 00 83. Exquisite food,
small; reservations recommended. Dinner at 7, closed Sundays.
Between Métro stops ST. SÉBASTIEN-FROISSART and LES
FILLES DU CALVAIRE.
4TH ARRONDISSEMENT
(Marais)
One of our all-time
favorites in this area is LE
PETIT PICARD. A great 3-course lunch is €11 or €13,50;
and the dinner menu is €16, with a more expensive
“gastronomique” menu at €28. Wine of the month
(“vin du mois”) is €11. Get there at noon or 7:30 p.m.
(19:30 h) or shortly after, as they do not take reservations and it
fills up fast. The atmosphere is bright and it is not quite as cramped
as some restaurants. Waiters are hard-working, jovial, friendly and
helpful. 42, rue Ste.-Croix de la Bretonnerie (this is the Castro
Street of Paris); Métro: HÔTEL DE VILLE or RAMBUTEAU. It
is sort of “behind” (easterly of) the Pompidou Center.
Telephone: 01 42 78 54 03. Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through
Friday; dinner only Saturdays and Sundays; closed Mondays.
Nearby are LE GAI
MOULIN and LE PETIT MOULIN, 4
and 10, rue Saint-Merri, a block-long street that starts
“behind” the Centre Pompidou (southeast corner) and
continues as rue Saint-Croix de la Bretonnerie. €20.
A few blocks away is L'EGLANTINE, offering a
"traditional" French dinner for 19,30 € up. Don’t go here
(or anywhere, in fact) if you’re in a hurry. Operated by three
sisters, and very congenial. The restaurant also has a cozy cellar
dining area. 9, rue de la Verrerie (across from Bar Quetzal); telephone
01-48-04-75-58; Métro: HOTEL DE VILLE.
Another good restaurant in this area is LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN, a Belgian chain
with some restaurants in the U.S., 18-20 des Archives. 01 44 54 03 07.
Table d’hôte around €14+, bread made on the premises.
Also at 33, rue Vivienne in the 2nd arrondissement; and 138, rue
Mouffetard in the 5th (as well as 9632 Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills
90212).
For Moroccan food, L’AGRANIER, 19,
rue Sainte Croix de la Bretonnerie, 01 42 72 08. Open every day. Around
€15+. Métro: HOTEL DE VILLE.
LE GÉNIE
D'OR, 9, rue de la Bastille, 01 42 71 85 20. Has upper level
dining room. 15 € and 20 €. Métro: BASTILLE.
5TH AND 6TH
ARRONDISSEMENTS (Latin Quarter, Left Bank)
There are a lot of good inexpensive restaurants in rue Mouffetard. Métro: PLACE
MONGE.
One we tried was AU PIANO MUET,
48, rue Mouffetard, 01 43 31 45 15. About €15+; specialties are
raclette and fondue; excellent entrées (example: “moules
à la crème,” mussels with a cream-celery sauce);
desserts include “tarte Tatin.”
And there are a dozen restaurants in the rue Pot-de-fer, which intersects
with rue Mouffetard. One that was very good is CHEZ ROBERT AU POT-DE-FER, 12, rue
de Pot de fer; 01 45 35 83 65. Menus at €12+, €14+ and
€16+. Waiters are really characters; a fun place.
LE PETIT PRINCE DE
PARIS. 12, rue de Lanneau, 75005 Paris, 01 43 54 77 26;
Métro: MAUBERT-MUTUALITÉ. A venerable and excellent
restaurant that’s has been in the gay guides forever. Two course
dinner about €22+. Very busy, and reservations should be made.
ST.
MICHEL AREA: A very crowded and touristy restaurant area is just
east of Place Saint Michel, rue de la Harpe, etc. Because of intense
competition, you can get some good bargains here. You can eat for
7€+ in some of the Greek places; but there are also some good
traditional French restaurants as well.
LA TOURELLE, 5,
rue Hautefeuille, (a street running towards the Seine from Boulevard
Saint Germain, just west of Boulevard Saint Michel), near rue Serpente,
lunch €10 and dinner for €14.50+ to €20+, recommended by
Michael C. 01 46 33 12 47, noon to 2 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m.
Métro: ODÉON or SAINT MICHEL.
15TH ARRONDISSEMENT
Favorite restaurants in “our area”:
LA CUILLÈRE
EN BOIS, 108, rue des Entrepreneurs, 01 45 31 62 01. A wonderful
little restaurant specializing in buckwheat crêpes (galettes
sarassins), where €12.70 gets you a three-course meal,
including beverage (cider is a specialty). “Salades” are
huge. Open 7 days. Dinner starts at 7:15(?).
Nearby is CHEZ
PAPA, 101, rue Croix-Nivert; 01 48 28 31 88. Specialties of the
southwest part of France, starting at about €12+. Huge sort of
potato salads, etc. Claim to serve “non-stop.
L’HEURE
GOURMANDE, 12, rue Beaugrenelle. Métro: CHARLES-MICHELS.
01 45 77 89 24. Reservations recommended. Extensive basic menu, with
supplemental menu that changes with the seasons: 3 courses for
€28. Closed Sundays. Dinner at 7:15 p.m.
TY CRÊPE (formerly
Restaurant Plein Sud, and before that Villa des Anges), 45 ave. Emile
Zola Métro: CHARLES-MICHELS. 01 45 79 98 52. Good
crêperie. 2-course lunch or dinner about €18.
BEAUGRENELLE
TROPIC, 8, rue Beaugrenelle, Métro: CHARLES-MICHELS.
Closed Sunday. Cuisine from Mauritius (in the Indian Ocean). Lunch
€13-€16. Dinner, including self-serve hors d’oeuvre
table, €22. Reservations recommended; 01 45 49 98 52.
Métro: CHARLES-MICHELS.
RESTAURANT
STÉPHANE MARTIN, 67, rue des Entrepreneurs, 01 45 79 03
31; fax 01 45 79 44 69; resto.stephanemartin@free.fr. Métro:
CHARLES-MICHELS. €28. Excellent. Specialties of the house include
“jarret de porc” (a roasted pork shank for two),
spectacularly served with a flaming decoration). Closed Sunday and
Monday. From 7 p.m.
RESTAURANT CHAINS
Here are a couple of restaurant chains that are good and where you can
eat well for 12+ € to 25+ €:
There are a lot of Bistro
Romain restaurants, which are quite pleasant and very good.
About 12 € to 25 €.
Another chain, specializing in mussels and other
shellfish, is Léon de
Bruxelles. Very good and very busy. There’s one near Les
Halles, and another on Boulevard Saint Germain, just as you exit the
MABILLON Métro station. About 12:50 € to 20 € or more.
Wonderful, especially if you like mussels!
16TH ARRRONDISSEMENT
- ARC DE TRIOMPHE.
COMPTOIR DE L’ARC, 73, avenue Marceau at rue Newton;
large salad €11; entrée €12.
|
|
|
