Hello all,
i will be traveling to paris in less than a month. i have my itinerary set and planned. The hardest part about planning the trip is deciding where and what to eat.
I consider myself a foodie and looking for some high end suggestions, but also some good restaurants at a good value.
I don't want to miss any experiences so any suggestions from the best restaurant in france to street food would be appreciated.
The Michelin guide has an app that will show you all their recommendations, including some menus, locations, etc. Very handy.
Our favorite dinner last summer. Very memorable food. Small, so reserve. http://pottoka.fr/pottoka-paris/
We recently ate at L'Initial near Notre Dame and it was excellent; the chef has been rumored as a contender for a Michelin Star. Menus at 36 and 48. Excellent.
Note that many lower priced/mid range restaurants in Paris serve airplane food i.e. preprepared frozen dishes and if they have a large menu, you can count on it. It is easy to get mediocre food in Paris. So it is worth doing some research and choosing a place with a chef driven, small menu card.
When you say menu at 36 and 48 is this a pre-set menu, just different number of courses? is wine typically included in set menu meals?
Yes, those French "menus" will include 2 - 4 courses and sometimes a glass or small pichet of wine. Two courses is more common at lunchtime and might be called a "formule rapide." Four courses may often be entrée (starter) + plat (main dish) + fromage (cheese) + dessert. The same restaurant may also offer different menu-option-sets at different prices, but one is a "menu terroir" or "menu tradition" reflecting the region, while another is based on the offal-meats-of-the-day, or another is more expensive because it offers a choice of pheasant, truffles, or lobster.
Three starting points for food searches:
Paris by Mouth http://parisbymouth.com
Hipsters in Paris http://hipstersinparis.com/
David Lebovitz http://www.davidlebovitz.com/
You now have an embarrassment of riches. Happy eating.
Thank you I have been religiously reading all of these specifically paris by mouth. Im just going to draw out of a hat and I don't think I can go wrong
Places we ate recently and liked very much include Le Petite Pontoise in the Latin Quarter (their escargot in cream sauce is to die for), Chez Janou on rue Roger Verlomme (admittedly for the chocolate mousse), and La Cuisine de Phillippe near the Odeo Theater. Previously we also liked le bistro d'Henri on rue Princesse and Marco Polo on rue Saint-Sulpice, though we did not go to either on this most recent trip.
According to TripAdvisor, there are over 14,000 restaurants in paris so selecting places can be overwhelming. On the high end side, I have enjoyed Arpege, Restaurant Guy Savoy (when it was in the 17th arrondissement but I am guessing it is just as good now that it is in the 6th) and Epicure. In the mid range (under 40€ per person for 3 course menu) which is my sweet spot for dining favorites are A la Biche Au Bois, L'Affineur' Affine, Les Papilles, Vingt heurs Vin (more of a wine bar and in Montmartre), Bar Italia Brasserie, Le Percolateur, Café Varenne and La Casse Noix, Le Pantruche, Miznon and Le Richer. Places where I spent a bit more than that but enjoyed and can recommend are La Fontaine de Mars, La Table d’Hôtes d’Hugo Desnoyer (in the 16th), Bourgogne Sud, Bistro Paul Bert, and Josephine Chez Dumonet. I had some great pizza over in the 11th at Acqua et Farina and East Mamma. I also highly recommend L'Avant Comptoir and L'Avant Comptoir de la Mer in the 6th but these are wine bar type places with small plates and no seating. To avoid the crazy crush, I usually go on a Tuesday or Wednesday at around 2 PM for a late lunch. For street food check out L'As du Fallafel -- my husband who is an avowed fallafel hater loves their fallafel.
I recommend Patricia Wells app Food lovers Paris.
