We will be spending 6 nights in Paris from Dec 26th - Jan 1st. There are 4 adults and 4 teens in our party. Would love to get dinner recommendations that would accomodate a party our size. We are also open to splitting up into two tables if that allows us to get access to better restaurants. Open to trying any kind of food - Parisian/French, Middle Eastern, Italian ideally.
Ideally, the budget is around $30/person w/o wine. Happy to spend more on a couple of meals.
Parisian/French:
Middle Eastern:
Italian:
Even if $30 is USDs, that's little more than 25€ which is now very modest for evening dining. I might plan closer to 35€ to 45€ for an average evening meal. Crêperies, cafés, or brasseries might work better for you than restaurants. Under 30€ which I might recommend in the 8th would be Chez Léon, Le Petit George, or the Relais de l’Entrecôte.
Les Frenchie and Jay Swanson are YouTubers who do excessive videos on restaurants throughout the city. We enjoyed their picks last fall and winter. That least you can see the restaurants and servings.
Thanks Lifetime Travel!
I was at Bouillon Republique last week. The food is good--hearty "workingman's" French food, and reasonably priced for Paris. However, be aware that the restaurant does not take reservations, and it's very popular. We ate a bit earlier than is typical for Paris, arriving at 6:40, so we didn't have to wait, but there was a lineup when we left.
I haven't been to Paris in recent decades, but this summer I spent a lot of time in Brussels and Amsterdam as well as in smaller cities in Belgium and the Netherlands. I was also in Lille (France) and some nearby cities for about two weeks. I think Tocard's price warning is spot-on. My meals, including those in Asian and Middle Eastern restaurants, often exceeded 30 euros by a considerable margin, and I wasn't ordering the menus' expensive options. Most of the time I ended up paying for bottled water, which is an annoying (to an American) extra expense of 4 or 5 euros; a large bottle shared with others would have saved money.
French restaurants often have weekday deals at lunch time that are considerably less expensive than ordering a la carte. I struggle to break free of my sightseeing activities long enough to sit down to lunch, so I totally understand why you're focusing on dinner as the time for a nice group meal. However, if you can manage to get your main meal at lunchtime once or twice (probably needs to be on weekdays), that will help your budget. Alternatively, a couple of dinner-time meals not eaten at full-service, sit-down restaurants will help. Creperies and pizzerias will probably be less expensive. Be careful about ordering desserts in restaurants, though; they'll probably cost at least 8 euros. A selection from a patisserie should be less expensive.
Another place I tried last week (again, no reservations) is a brunch restaurant called Kafkaf. It serves brunch food with a Middle Eastern twist. https://thehungryfamily.com/menuKK
I had the "Baklawa Pistachio Berries Pancakes" (also available in French Toast) and the Rose Latte. Very decadent!
Both Bouillon and Kafkaf were recommended to me by a friend who has been living in Paris for 4 years and who met us for dinner at Bouillon. She also recommended this Georgian restaurant, but we didn't make it to that one: Georgian restaurant https://maps.app.goo.gl/uoifB5ZSwPWCVhqs7?g_st=ipc
