One nice dinner in Paris - where to spend money?

My husband and sister-in-law enjoy L'Atelier Maitre Albert - "A highly contemporary rotisserie in the heart of old Paris, a stone's throw from Notre-Dame". This Guy Savoy restaurant is very sophisticated and friendly. They specialize in roast chicken with mash potatoes to die for (it's the butter). We enjoy the atmosphere as well as the variety of choices for dinner. A trip to Paris would not be the same for us without having dinner here. Or you might look into lunch at Le Grand Vefour- truly for a grand memory.

Hi Raven, with so many great restaurants in Paris, and with the experience so completely unique to what we find in the states, your idea of dining at "midrange" spots, in my view, is the way to go. The cash you lay out for one night at a Septime, or Spring, or Tallievent will easily buy you three or four GREAT midrange meals. I consider midrange to be 25-45 euro menus, plus wine, for 80 to 100 euro or so total, midrange is also incredibly great food, again, compared to what we are accustomed to. I was in Paris for the first time last year for five nights, and we dined at three really good and unique restaurants, for around 100e each time. Each one was a knockout and an event we will remember forever.
I suggest that you look around a bit, and zero in on a few that look good. Take reviews with a grain of salt-especially on Yelp. Here are a few good places to start, have a look and post again if other questions, note that on Yelp and Alec Lobrano's site you can filter by Arrondissement, price, etc:

http://www.alexanderlobrano.com/index/
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/paris/
http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Dinner&find_loc=Paris%2C+France&ns=1&ls=d587b3e0c282244d

Wonderful recommendations!

I don't know how I forgot lunch -- some of my favorite meals have been midday, with great deals at more expensive restaurants, and afterward walking around a city with a little buzz from a lunch glass of wine. :) And the rotisserie place looks excellent. If I promise my husband buttery potatoes, I'll have no problem getting him in there. Thanks, Gail!

Dave, thanks for the input. I won't feel bad for visiting the land of Michelin stars and skipping a pricey meal if more-reasonable places will still be excellent and interesting. David Liebovitz's recommendations look great!

Alexander Lobrano's blog (see previous post) is very good and reliable. You could also go to The Fork, a restaurant reservation site that lists hundreds of places. Many of the restaurants on that site offer discounts. One of my favorite ones is Le Reminet, on the Left Bank not far from Notre Dame.
http://www.thefork.com/city/paris/415144

La Cordonnerie is terrific and located near the Tuilleries; Cottage Marcadet near Lamarck-Caulaincourt metro in Montmartre has an elegant beautifully presented meal. Their lunch is a real bargain at about 35 for 3 courses plus breads, amuse and mignardise. For a spectacular meal, consider booking a great place like this for lunch where the meal is often half or so the cost of a similar dinner -- then have a crepe or sandwich for dinner.

l'Agrume has an evening tasting menu that is excellent as well as very inexpensive lunches. All these places require reservations.

My sister and I had the prix fixe lunch at Le Grand Vefour (in the Palais Royale) about 4 years ago and the cost was $377. This included pre-lunch drinks and wine. It was one of the most satisfying and wonderful dining events of my life. It was a 3-star Michelin restaurant then (now it is 2-stars I believe). The historic decor was fantastic, service was impeccable and friendly.
If you want to go really big, this is one place to do it.

I agree with the previous writers that mid-range and expensive is all relative. Also, you can get some terrific meals for relatively low price. For instance, getting crepes at Creperie Josselin or Breizh Cafe is relatively inexpensive at under 30 euros, including hard cidar. I think that researching Paris by Mouth and David Lebovitz are good choices. That way, you can see what appeals to you. Just because it's French and expensive, does not mean it is to your liking. Think cow brains and intestines and pigs feet.
If you really want to go all out, you can do the Jules Verne restaurant in the Eiffel Tower, or do the Joel Robuchon fixed dinner at their St. Germain restaurant.
I generally use Yelp and particularly Tripadvisor to weed out really bad places, not find good ones.

I agree with David. Check out Parisbymouth.com. Look for the neighborhood favorites. You will get wonderful meals at reasonable prices. Creperie Josselin was delicious with large serving, an entrée was around 15 euro.
For the especially special restaurants (like Michelin starred), you might have to get dressed up for dinner. My husband did not want to pack tie and jacket. You might consider lunch at these more expensive restaurants. Sometimes, you can get a good discount on The Fork.
Making a reservation for Spring may be too late, but it can be done on-line. For L'Agrume just call them on Skype. They speak English. They take reservations a month in advance.
I usually first pick my restaurant from Parisbymouth. Then I go to TripAdvisor to read the reviews. If the reviews are 50/50 positive/ negative, it gets dropped from my list. If it's 80-90% positive, it's a keeper.

Thanks for the tips, Chun! Good point about dress code. A tie is not so bad, but may be a bit much for my husband to pack a jacket just for one dinner.

Thanks everyone!

I would go to Le P'tit Troquet in the Rue Cler neighborhood. Quaint and small but excellent food and service. Good idea to make a reservation since the place isn't very big. 28 rue de l'Exposition Fixed menus around 35 euros.