Dining recommendations please

For your budget, your best bet is to simply stroll around, looking at the menus (La carte) posted outside each establishment. Also check the chalk boards. This will give you an idea of the offerings and prices, and a you can also check out the ambience. I sometimes peek at what others are eating. If you find a likely spot while walking during the day, you can always go back in the evening. If you want a splurge meal, consider having it at noon when prices are lower but the food just as good. We have rarely been disappointed choosing dining spots this way and often go back when we find a place we like.

Thank you Carol. We intend to do that in Paris, and can probably do so in some of the twons mentioned.

Some of our least expensive dinners in France were in Asian restaurants. Excellent quality. We just looked at the menus and picked one. I can't give you any specific recommendations but you should ask at your hotel.

In that price range odds are very high you will be getting airplane food i.e. pre prepared or frozen entrees plated but not created by the restaurant. Look for places with very small menus that are in your price range.

In the smaller places such as Janette describes, you will often find a cheaper but just as good menu offered at lunch-time. Look for menus entirely in French with a 'prix fixe' menu. If you think your French isn't up to deciphering them, have a read of this.

For anyone travelling in France with children, a slightly later post on the same blog covers restaurants, eating times and even play-spaces.

One thing though, the factory prepared dishes found in some cafes or restaurants are good quality. A friend of mine who has lived in Beaune her whole life ate a beef burgundy in a cafe with us one day. We all found it good. Also, many of the well-known restaurants in Paris with lines of tourists outside are serving factory pre-made. If the menu is long--it's not made in their tiny kitchen. But that's ok if you're hungry and it fits your wallet. Some dishes are even better made in the big factory kitchen vats, like fish soup.

Thank you all. for your suggestions and thoughts. Although my husband and I are not averse to spending more for dinner some nights, I am trying to take into consideration others traveling with us. I don't want to overwhelm them with too many expensive meals on a three week trip. It would be easy to spend more on dinners than on two round-trip air fares (I booked early on Air France and got a great deal!) I have checked places in areas where we will stay and have some "possibles," but will walk around checking the prix fixe menus posted each evening (or midi, depending....). If we find something worth posting, I'll follow up here after our return.

In both Dinan and Bayeux, crepes and galettes are good values and very tasty. Several places served a menu of salad or appetizer, galette and a dessert crepe with a glass of wine or cider for under 20 euros. Also in those towns we had meals of moules and frites for under 20 euros.

Bayeux - We had an excellent galette & cider lunch at the small mill right across the street from the Tapestry museum. It was charming & very reasonable (but it was for lunch). As elsewhere in Normandy, sticking to ciders, especially local brews, instead of wine will help keep the price down.

Dinan - A bunch of places, especially down at the Port. One that sticks in memory is an Italian place on Rue du Petite Fort, just where it ends at the harbor. I can't remember the name, but it had a beautiful '70s Kawasaki just inside the door. (Atmosphere enough?) plus, you can work off the dinner climbing back up to the Haute Town.

Beaune - This will be tough. It's a high-end foodie Mecca. This is where it may be worth it to bust the budget.

Colmar - I'd be willing to bet you could find several items under 20 euro on the menu at Hotel Rapp. 2 years ago we found it to have loads of atmosphere & excellent food. & my wife had a breast of duck that looked like a T-bone steak. I think the duck must have been 4 ft. tall!

Wow! Good ideas. Yes, cider and crepes in Brittany and Normandy, and my hubby will go for the moules/frites. Sausages and sauerkraut in Colmar! Thanks for the ideas and encouragement. We leave in two days. Hooray!

The only places I could recommend are on the port in Dinan. As I recall the place I was recommended (red awning down by the port) was closed (midweek in last half of September) so I went to another mostly outdoor restaurant on the port. Virtually anywhere you can get mussels (Moules) for less than 20 euro, I'd guess in the 12 -14 euro range. Moules Breton, includes some bacon (I liked it but your diet may be different), other version don't. The portions are healthy and the meal includes bread. Add either a beer, wine or cider and you should still be under your 20 per person goal. Most of these restaurants have options that may include a salad, soup and/or desert, drink along with your entree for a fixed price that will likely still be around what you are looking to pay. It's perfectly okay to just order Moules and a drink though.

I had Moules here because I had eaten oysters up at Cancale. Oysters are another good option here and I believe you can get a plate with maybe 8 oysters with a drink for well under 20 euro. Up in Cancale, I think I had two plates of six oysters each and a beer. The total was around 20 euro.

Merci! We leave tomorrow and can't wait!

Rouen: The creperie called Le Mouton Noir, on rue Percière. Excellent. We had first savory crèpes (they call them galettes there), and then sweet crèpes for dessert. Plus drinks as you wish. Cozy, warm, informal. Very pleasant.

In Reims, check out La Cantine du Coq (3 Rue des Élus). It’s a tiny local spot with a warm, welcoming ambience. The lunch prix fixe was 15 euros for 2 courses and 19 euros for 3 courses; not sure about dinner prices. Their hours are a little tricky: they're open for lunch Tuesday to Saturday and dinner from Thursday to Saturday. It was recommended to us that, for lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday, you should arrive close to when they open because it quickly fills up with locals since they're not open for dinner those nights. Have a great trip!

Judy: we found several good restaurants in Bayeux near the cathedral - just walk around, look at the menus, and see who is inside eating. If it looks like all tourists, I would beware. If it looks like French people, I think it is a better bet. but it also depends on what is on their menu that particular day, and what your tastes are. Peter

In Bayeux we enjoyed our dinners at L'Assiette Normande. It is near the cathedral. Several prix fixe options and many other choices around your price point. Nice meals, ambience, and helpful and friendly servers. We returned a second night and had the same experience. In Colmar, we liked Chez Hansi and the outdoor seating at Schwendi. We are in the " eat to live" camp and essentially choose restaurants based on price rather than "cuisine" and were not disappointed. The nephew became less and less enchanted with galettes and crepes as we moved through Normandy and Brittany, but he wasn't paying. Have a wonderful trip.

Thank you all! My tummy awaits the good eats of France.