Bouillons

While the Pigalle bouillon is a plain room unless you are lucky enough to snag a table on the terrace, the food is IMHO slightly better than that at the Chartier Boullons. All are of course industrial food.

Yes, they can be cheap and many Instagrammers love to promote the Bouillons. It's definitely an experience, but I'm not sure I would agree you can it well at Bouillons. There are too many wonderful restaurants at all price points to settle for mediocre.

The food is adequate. It is 'airplane food' i.e. industrial reheated meals but some of it is decent enough. Not the best lamb stew in Paris but decent lamb stew; not the best choucroute garnie -- but recognizable; pretty good desserts. Adequate wine. Cheap, convivial and FWIW Paris is full of terrible restaurants with industrial food for 3 times the price. You rarely get a really good meal in Paris without research and without choosing a real restaurant with limited menu and usually a lot larger price than the places with mediocre food.

The food is adequate. It is 'airplane food' i.e. industrial reheated meals but some of it is decent enough. Not the best lamb stew in Paris but decent lamb stew; not the best choucroute garnie -- but recognizable; pretty good desserts. Adequate wine. Cheap, convivial and FWIW Paris is full of terrible restaurants with industrial food for 3 times the price. You rarely get a really good meal in Paris without research and without choosing a real restaurant with limited menu and usually a lot larger price than the places with mediocre food.

This is spot on. I tried Bouillon République a few months ago, and I was very pleasantly surprised: I've had better meals of course, but I've also had far worse meals at 2x the price point.

Now, for dependable French food at decent prices, I would rather go to the Nouvelle Garde brasseries (Martin, Bellanger, Dubillot, etc.): mains are around or below €20, and the food is definitely a step above ~€12 Bouillon food.

Perhaps my palate is not as sophisticated as others here, but I really like Bouillons. We had a lovely meal at Bouillon Racine back in November and the decor is amazing. Also enjoyed Bouillon Chartier- nice convivial atmosphere and the food comes quickly (tho we did have to queue for a bit to get in).

I was watching a Canadian vlogger who lives in Paris, she said she avoids places that offer 24/7 service since they are definitely in the reheat and sling business. She also hates places covered outside in plastic flowers (finds them Tiktok bait).

Her rule of thumb was, only about 10 main courses should be on the blackboard and perhaps an equal number of appetizers. That shows there's a chef who is making up the menu every day.

Except in pizzerias, a menu with 10 main courses and 10 appetizers is already very suspicious; it's generally a guarantee that a good part of the meals isn't really homemade.
5 main courses and 5 appetizers is more credible in terms of the chef's talent.

I lived for a few years in the 1990s right across the street from a Bouillon in Paris. They were already tourist destinations; every night I saw tourists on organized tours arriving by coach (quite a few groups of Japanese tourists).

Now, it's also, and essentially, a business model that can be found even in provincial towns with fake "typically Parisian" decor from the 1900s, like in Las Vegas hotels.

Went to the Marais-located Bouillon Pharamond the other day to meet up with some friends who never want to spend money on food. I was actually quite happy with my escargots, saucisse avec sa purée, and my profiterole. It may be glorified cafeteria food, but the setting is great and it's better than many restaurants back in the US.

I have been travelling now for 10 years. I vowed never to visit a city twice because I wanted to see as much as possible in my lifetime. I kept to that mantra until I begrudgingly went to Paris. (Somebody that loves me insisted I needed to see Paris). I fell so much in love that I predict I will go back to Paris at least as many times as I will visit someplace new.

But, it can be difficult in Paris to get an outstanding meal. I was "influenced" into going to Bouillon Pigalle. I thought the decor was better than the food (ha). So now, anytime I see someone here on the forum or other similar places recommend a Parisian bistro/brasserie/cafe/restaruant, I mark it on my Google maps. So, wherever I am in the city I have a decent chance of having a nice meal. This is working welll for me.

I would suggest taking a chance at a corner bistro where you don't have to stand in line with other Americans.

We did Chartier because we were at Galeries Lafayette and apparently my google my maps/apple maps guides I had compiled was pretty empty in that area and we had wanted to try one......I actually enjoyed it, it was very quick, and the waiter got onto me when I tried to order a carafe of water.....in Italian....HAHA but we made friends with the French people beside us! It was an experience....nothing I will need to put at the top of my list again, but I had JUST eaten a massive ice cream from Bachir.....so I NEEDED dinner, but not a production.....it worked and it was interesting! No line.....but we saw the stanchions.....we were overwhelmed with the amount of space they had for a line!

10 appetizers and 10 mains is already into airplane food territory. Our favorite little restaurant in the 13th had 5 mains -- one is always steak tartare so that is out for me, and one is vegetarian and so that leaves usually a fish and a pork and a veal or beef dish or maybe a chicken dish. Similarly a handful of appetizers and wonderful desserts. We have never had a bad meal there.

Long menus mean industrial food. Not necessarily terrible but you don't want to pay restaurant prices for it either.

@Janet,

Care to share the name of your gem? I would like to add it to my map. I might end up at a vide grenier in the 13th.

This same vlogger does a LOT of food related videos, there's one where he visits and raves about a place in SGDP called Le Jardin.

We had lunch at Bouillon Racine last month. I chose that location for the Art Nouveau decor but I actually had a very good lunch - Gazpacho made with spring peas instead of the usual tomato, skipped the plat, and enjoyed a strawberry dessert. The location is very convenient if visiting the Cluny museum or Luxembourg Gardens. Many of the other patrons appeared to be business people, not tourists.