I miss Paris.
Starting thinking about the places we ate and places we missed.
We ate a L'as du Fallafel and Les Deux Magots........
Need to make a list of others to try and have that quintessential Parisian experience.
What are to you the most iconic places to eat in Paris???
I'd choose the restaurant Le Volcan and the bistro La Contrescarpe, both in the Latin Quarter near Place Contrescarpe.
For us (early 70s), in May 2016, two of the most memorable were:
1.
Sorry, first attempt escaped prematurely. Two "iconic" restaurants for us in May 2016, both with long histories:
1. Bouillon Racine. Excellent food and service; beautiful surroundings. Request upstairs seating. Reservations highly recommended. Latin Quarter. http://www.bouillonracine.com/en/
2. Polidor. Just a great experience; food, service, atmosphere. Somewhat crowded; no reservations; no credit cards. But well worth those old-school policies. Also Latin Quarter: http://www.polidor.com/en/
Polidor is our Paris standby -- at least once every trip. Other than that, we wander around the prix-fixe restaurants near Boulevard St Michael and go into one that looks good. (Not foodies, obviously -- but we enjoy the experience.)
I appreciate the list of good restaurants but I was thinking more of Iconic places that would be recognizable places for Paris.....seen in Movies, mentioned in a lot of books etc.....historic and cool to say you have been to......les Deux Magots was very cool to us. Seeing Hemingway's spot. Loved it. Thankfully the food was also good.
Closerie des Lilas, Le Select, La Rotode, Le Coupole, Le Dome, Terminus Nord, Cafe de Flore, Hotel du Nord (film called Hotel du Nord), Le Sarah Bernhardt, Maxime's, etc. But note that if it's historic, it's probably been bought by an investment group by now.
One featured in a Jack Nicholson movie (the movie is running on a tape loop in the restroom) is Grande Colbert --- we had lunch with a friend once and the food was fine if not memorable. Another iconic place with the best view in Paris IMHO is La Tour d'Argent -- we had lunch last year for our anniversary there.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/anniversary-lunch-at-la-tour-dargent/
Another is Les Ombres with its stunning view through the ceiling of the Eiffel Tower and then of course the two restaurant ON the Eiffel Tower. Chez Dumonet Josephine is a pretty well known place with good boeuf Bourguignon. And of course the great brasserie in Montparnasse -- Coupole, Dome etc. and then the great crepe places on Rue Montparnasse (not Blvd -- but Blvd is where the great Brasseries are) Josselin is the best known of the crepe places but I suspect others on that street are also good.
Food can never be iconic because it is intended to be consumed -- but memorable, yes. For famous surroundings, there are the Jules Verne up the Eiffel Tower and Le Train Bleu in Gare de Lyon, both in striking surroundings and with prices gauged to what you see as well as what you get on your plate.
"...movies....":
Polidor was in a scene in Midnight in Paris. (Gil meets Hemingway.)
L'Escargot Montorgueil was established in 1832 and is considered iconic by some.
Has anyone mentioned Montmartre's Café des Deux Moulins used in the film "Amelie"?
I try to avoid the "iconic" restaurants and look for small local places that are off the beaten path.
Cafe Procope is the oldest restaurant of Paris in continuous operation, frequented by Voltaire, Rousseau, Ben Franklin. As iconic as it gets, though the food is rather mediocre. Still, I was glad I went because of the amazing history - where coffee was first consumed and fired up two revolutions.
Although opinions on the quality of the food differ, frequently seen in movies of the Belle Epoque era is the Bouillon Chartier.
