Paris Restaurant Challenge

Pam? You're up!

What is mid priced in euros?

Ok, I don’t eat fancy but I can find something vegan in nearly every restaurant.

Where are you staying? If I’ve eaten around there I’ll be happy to share the name of the restaurant.

Sometimes I look at Happy Cow if I’m going to an unfamiliar neighborhood other times I’ll just walk and look at menus. Last time one of the standby restaurants in the neighborhood where I stay had a delicious truffle pasta. I don’t really even like truffles but it was so good I had it 3 times, lol.

I did notice during my last trip in October than many restaurants seem to have cut down their menus and where I might have had 2 or 3 choices of a main I might only have one. Not sure what I’ll find this trip.

I think your best bet for restaurants will be more towards the 10th and La Marais since its a bit younger and trendier. Places like Bob's Juice Bar, Hollybelly, Ob-La-Di, Bodhi vegan, Kapunka Vegan, Tien Hiang, Aujourd'hi Damain, Hank Burger (vegan options), Jah Jah By Le Tricycle, Comptoir veggie, 42 Degres, Soya. Obviously didn't have time to try them all myself but I like to do my research and had all of these ones bookmarked from recommendations online.

One I did love personally was Hebe, an awesome restaurant with vegan options, 100% recommend: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187147-d15147797-Reviews-Hebe-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

I think you will be surprised how many vegan options and fully vegetarian or vegan restaurants you will find. The older and more established restaurants you might have not have as many options but you will always find something on the menu. There is a huge movement of young chefs that are really making a splash in the city. Very creative menus made from local, sustainable sources. The New Paris is a great book if you have a chance to grab a copy.

Make sure to keep an eye out for Lebanese and Vietnamese also very tasty and you will find veggies galore. Falafel is a must so make sure to grab L'as Du Fallafel. Just make sure to ask for no sauce so you can turn the vegetarian dish into vegan. There is a guy standing outside to take your order that speaks very good English (he basically deals with American Instagram girls all day) so just make sure to tell him that you are vegan.

Also, after visiting Spain I became obsessed with Hammams and mosques so I did find this awesome place called La Mosquee de Paris which is right on the edge of Jardin des Plantes and right by the National Museum of Natural History. Which, that statement alone makes for an awesome day of food, garden walking and museum hopping. Typically you will find a lot of vegetarian and veggie forward foods in Moroccan and Middle Eastern cuisines (probably since beef is a no no?). The cafe has great tea and a place to relax on a rainy day. I didn't book a hammam here since they don't allow men (female only) so I booked a hammam elsewhere but the atmosphere is really cool for lunch: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187147-d718701-Reviews-La_Mosquee_de_Paris_Aux_Portes_de_l_Orient-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

Vegan food bloggers in Paris:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_nIcdlnohg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuyKaHkIjbA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVxR5jfXxF0

David Lebovitz's list of vegetarian restaurants in Paris includes some vegan choices

https://www.davidlebovitz.com/vegetarian-rest-1/

Sol Semilla 23, rue des Vinaigriers, Tél: 01 42 01 03 44. Vegan restaurant with emphasis on “super” foods.

42 dégres Vegan restaurant focusing on raw foods.

Vegan Follies: 53, rue Mouffetard, Tél: 01 43 37 21 89. Vegan cupcake shop on the rue Mouffetard.

Loving Hut: 92, boulevard Beaumarchais, Tél: 01 48 06 43 84. Vegan and vegetarian foods.

Wild and the Moon (Vegan and vegetarian)

VG Patîsserie Végétale (Vegan pastry shop): Homemade croissants and other French pastries.

*This list is from 2018, so you should check to make sure they are still open/in existence.

I do love falafel in Paris. I've moved away from L'As du Fallafel and thanks to another RS forum poster, Donna&Denis, prefer the place across the street, Mi-va-mi. Their falafel mix is a little spicier and tastes better to me and it's not quite so frantic. You can eat there or get it for takeaway and head down the street to the very private walled garden area called Jardin des Rosiers Joseph Mignaret.

https://goo.gl/maps/jAMomX99YuEsnqDB6

I also like the little takeaway falafel place called Maoz. I has a few stools and small counter but mainly caters to the takeaway crowd. I usually go to the one on Rue Saint-Andre des Arts.

https://goo.gl/maps/ftsc1g64CFrUhqMMA

BTW, the gelato chain, Amorino, is excellent. They generally have their vegan sorbettos labeled. There are a few flavors that have milk in them so it's good to ask if they don't happen to have the labels out. These are in every neighborhood in Paris, I think. The chocolate sorbetto paired with the banana sorbetto is outstanding!

Although I don't usually go for chain restaurants, one that is in several locations in Paris and other locations in France and Belgium and generally has some excellent vegan selections is Le Pain Quotidien. Their vegan chocolate brownie/cake thing is so delicious I have to hold myself back from being piggy and only getting one to takeaway instead of 2, lol.

As you can see, no huge problem with vegan food in whatever neighborhood you are in!

We prefer to cook most of our meals, and when we do go out, it's not fancy and it's at lunch, not dinner. So I'll just add another thought, Paris' wonderful outdoor markets. We shopped at Popincourt and Bastille for our produce needs. Both also sold some prepared foods, like hummus and couscous salads. Both were two mornings a week, but I don't recall the specifics. Also, we did find a south Indian restaurant, which I didn't write down, for masala dosa and idli meals.

Pam already covered the falafel! And, if you're willing to cheat, Florence Kahn, a wonderful bakery, is near Mi-Va-Mi.

I've always thought the term "tasty Vegan" was an oxymoron.

Eric, next time you’re in Coeur d’Alene come on by for dinner. I’d be happy for you to join us in a “tasty” vegan meal that I’ve prepared.

I'm a tasty vegan, Eric. ;)

Definitely check out VG Pâtisserie in the 11th. I went with a vegan friend to Paris for NYE 2018. We had trouble finding what we called "bi" restaurants, we often just met up before and after dinner. I did try joie gras (yuck...give me the real) and a pâtisserie at VG...but to me it just isn't as good. But my friend loved it.

We found for NYE an amazing restaurant called Niébé in the 14th. Not sure if they're still around but they offered plates both vegan and not and it was excellent.