Help with restaurant in Paris

I'll let the Paris residents and frequent visitors answer your question with respect to the names of specific restaurants, but it's quite common in France to be presented with an option for a forumule which typically includes an appetizer (entrée), main dish (plat), and dessert. Apéritif, wine, and coffee (if any are desired) generally are extra. In many restaurants you'll also get an amuse bouche brought to the table before the entrée. So -- if that counts as "several courses" by your criterion, then you'll have no trouble finding that.

Salmon and chicken are quite common. Pork and veal perhaps more common than beef, but beef shouldn't be hard to find.

As for the salmon, I've only been haunting this planet for 6 decades, so keep my relative inexperience in mind, but I've never seen anyone receive a whole salmon at a restaurant. I can imagine one being offered to a table to share, but as a single dish? No. Salmon tend to be be quite big -- the last one I caught off the Washington coast was 24 pounds.

In France, you'll find fillets more common than steaks when ordering salmon.

salmon generally served as a fillet or does it come to the table as a whole fish?

Even for me a whole salmon for one would be an ask.

Beef is everywhere. Any brasserie will serve beef, la Terrasse du 7eme for example. Chicken is also common, but sometimes you will see other poultry like pintade (guinea fowl) instead, which is a bit more gamey. Salmon is frequent too and always as a slice/ filet, but you'll also find a lot of white fish like Lieu (Pollock), Bar (sea bass), Cabillaud (cod), all of which are mild tasting (milder than salmon IMO). All of those will come prepared except Bar sometimes.

In other words: you'd have to look hard to find a restaurant that serves neither beef, nor chicken, nor salmon!

Thanks for the info. Forgive my ignorance but I don't eat salmon, nor any other type of fish so I was unaware of its size. I had heard that some of the fish dishes are deboned at the table. I'm playing amateur travel agent for two people with conflicting tastes and trying to appease all. The restaurants that my husband and I enjoy have been rejected so back to the drawing board.

What have you suggested so far?

In the 7th:
I mentioned La Terrasse du 7eme: it has a broad menu of mainstream dishes and it is quite good.
Le Bourbon, opposite the Assemblée Nationale, should also satisfy. I used to go regularly when I was working nearby, it has been a few years but the place has been around since times immemorial.
For simpler "bistrot" fare (which is the keyword you're after), Le Bistrot d'Éléonore et Maxence could work too.

In the 1st: sorry no idea.

I had heard that some of the fish dishes are deboned at the table.

So that you know, when you do have a whole fish in your plate like a sole, only fancier establishments will do the deboning for you. 95% of the time, you have to do it. It is easy, but I am aware that fish served whole with head and all is rare in America and could be an unpleasant surprise if you do not expect it.

In the 7th, we have had two lovely meals at Les Cocottes. Reservations essential. The menu is small (as is the venue) and changes daily. Service is top notch. Perhaps stop by and see the menu early in the day and make a reservation in person. We have done so,

Also in the 7th, we have enjoyed Le P’tit Troquet at least three times. A simple menu in a tiny, intimate venue. Again, reservations essential. Prices are excellent.

Meant to add that in my opinion, vast menus with lots of choices are not normal in the quiet, owner-run places we love. These places do a few things very well, have daily specials, and don’t try to have everything imaginable. Some dinners will need to be adventurous.

If you fancy Italian with a French touch, we absolutely adore Il Sorrentino.

Pottoka meets most of your criteria. It is our favorite after many visits to Paris. Reservations essential.

Like Laurel, we love Les Cocottes in the 7th. I’m not sure however, that you will find all 3 of your main entree options there.

For the salmon lover, others may correct me, but as a Westcoaster of North America, I find the salmon in Europe to often be farmed Atlantic (from Norway) and not that great compared to the wild varieties available to us here. So perhaps that person would be open to chicken which might make planning a bit easier?

I'll add Cafe Roussillon at the corner of Rue Cler and Rue de Grenelle which has a fairly wide variety although less so since the pandemic. They may or may not have a formule menu.

I want someone to try this restaurant due to the history, lol!! The menu is a bit meaty to me (vegan) but you might find things for your group.

https://www.cafemax.fr/en

https://www.sortiraparis.com/en/where-to-eat-in-paris/restaurant/articles/282172-chef-frederic-vardon-takes-over-cafe-max-high-place-of-the-french-resistance

I enjoy La Terrasse as well. I recommend not having 2 glasses of wine or like me, you may get carried away and spend 42E for lunch, lol. Included big salad, 2 glasses of wine, one of the best mille feuille I've ever tasted (not vegan), espresso, bottled water...you name it.

I also recommend just walking around wherever your hotel is located to check menus. You may stumble across something interesting.

Also...I have found since Covid that with the smaller restaurants the menus online are not always what they've currently got. And of course some will have a couple of specials.

Unfortunately for the salmon lover, I agree wholeheartedly with @Claire. If your salmon lover is hoping for salmon of the kind we get on the west coast, he/she will be very disappointed. It is, as Claire says, usually farmed and Atlantic which is far milder and less fatty than the varieties we are spoiled with eating.
@Balso knows his stuff. Why not look for the classic sole meunière? Prepared by a French chef in a French restaurant? Yum.

And, I understand you’ve taken on the task of restaurants, but maybe if the other two are more particular, allow them to research and find menus they like. I’m pescetarian and hoping to just find fish on the menu!

We also enjoy the Roussillon, easily our favorite place in Paris to eat. I don't remember if they had a formule, but the food was very good, and the staff great. We have also enjoyed La Terrasse; both of these are in the 7th, just off Rue Cler.

SJS, although my husband and I are both, technically, omnivores, we probably only have meat about once a month, poultry about the same. Beans or something of that sort a few times a month, but otherwise it's fish and seafood for us, and we've never been disappointed in the fish and seafood in Paris.

d.balinksi, I agree with SJS that you get your companions involved in researching.

I also find myself being vaguely troubled by your friends locking themselves into such a limited array of choices. One of the delights of travel is trying new things, and possibly even finding new favorites. For us, snails and duck confit fall into the "new favorites" category. We would never have found them had we not consciously decided to wander off our own culinary beaten path. (My husband, formerly one of the pickiest eaters I have ever known, now amazes himself by ordering steak tartare whenever he sees it on a menu in Europe. Although he still shudders when I order "innards." Lol)

We like taking food tours when we get to a new city. Not only do you get great food but a mini history of the area. The guides are always foodies so they can recommend good restaurants. In Paris we used Paris by the Mouth. https://parisbymouth.com/food-wine-tours/.

You might want to take a look at Le Rubis in the 1st arrondissement on Rue du Marché St-Honoré. I like salmon only when it is smoked so I cannot guarantee that there is a salmon main on the menu and same for chicken. There is always a poultry dish but it might not be chicken. Same thing for La Cordonnerie on rue Saint Roch. In the 7th, take a look at Bistro Saint Dominique.

If I'm recommending a single restaurant on the Left Bank, in the 6th Arrondissement (not sure if this is where you want to dine), I'd recommend the Cafe Allard. I've eaten there often over the years--the first time in 1996, the most recent just last May.

It's an excellent restaurant with a great history; Hemingway was a frequent diner in his day. The restaurant was a stables long ago, and has been in business for over 80 years.

On our recent visit, the manager sent over free appetizers for us--a superb pate foie gras and another appetizer that I forget now.

I don't know if they have salmon, but a thought: if you want to have an entire salmon on your table, expect about 20 pounds!

I feel sorry for you having to deal with your friends rigid dinning rules. Each couple chose a restaurant on alternating nights. They will quickly learn what a difficult position they have put you in. When we travel with our friends I do all the planning and send the information to them for hotels and restaurants to tweek to their likes before I book. .

Paris By Mouth noted above also has lists and reviews of restaurants for each arrondisement for a small charge on Substack (you can sign up for 1 month and cancel).

Another vote for Le P’tit Troquet; we visit it every time we are in Paris. Reasonably priced; excellent food and delightful service. Not sure if they serve salmon. Your salmon loving travel companion may need to compromise for one night. The absolute worst meal we've ever had in France was at Pottoka. Incredibly arrogant and rude service and I did not think the food was commensurate with the prices charged.

I feel terribly sorry for you having to deal with these friends’ requirements. Why are they bothering to travel if they won’t accept “ change.”? They don’t seem to understand that travel is experiencing new things, places and foods. I wish you well and hope they open their eyes to all the wonderful things and foods they can explore!

Au Bon Acceuil, in the 7th on Rue Monttessuy, was always one of our favorites. The offer a 3-course menu or formule, for 42 euros. Good, solid cooking in a nice atmosphere and a fantastic view of the Eiffel tower on this street. Nothing especially inventive, and perhaps a little "bougie", but we've never had a bad meal here.

You are martyrs! But grateful to all who responded to you - I have written many of these suggestions down!

Why not check out Trip Advisor and start drilling down on neighborhoods (1st and 7th Arr.) and types of food with your friends, on-line? Hyperlink to the restaurants and explore menus. Do this together, so it's not all on you.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g187147-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

To extent others have given specific suggestions, this could be a resource for more info. BTW, a couple of the suggestions above were actually not all that well reviewed by T.A. responders. FYI, you can ask TA to just give you reviews in English, or in French, or all languages. Interesting to see the shifts on a few.

Bon Appétit.

As a few others have said Atlantic and Pacific salmon are different species. I remember the first time i had Pacific salmon in Canada, wow, not what I was used to, alot drier and a stronger taste. Not for me. But it would be boring if we all liked the same thing!

Tell your friends to do the research and pick restaurants. Then it's all on them. Order what YOU want and don't share. Just got back from a week in France with a travel buddy. Now I have a dozen more reasons for preferring solo travel.

OP - You have probably been and gone, as have my spouse and I ...

But for others, let me suggest a restaurant in the 5th, a few blocks off of Blvd St Germaine: Hébé.

http://www.heberestaurant.com/en/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187147-d15147797-Reviews-Hebe-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

The food was imaginative, well seasoned, interesting and quite tasty. Squeaks in the requested price range with a 59 Euro price for a more modest, 3 course meal. Lamb (currently), no beef. Pigeon (currently), no chicken. Cod and Mullet (currently), no salmon. Vegetarian and Vegan options.

Staff who want to please you ... and a lovely and reasonable wine list.