Paris restaurants

Cafe Varenne!

You are one of those super planning tourists( I admire that but can’t do it ) I’ve been to Paris so many times like maybe 20 times and I’ve literally only booked three reservations ahead of getting there. And one of them was for a Michelin star restaurant.

Generally, we just walk around and look at menus and see what hits our fancy. I will tell you this though avoid the restaurants in the little warren of streets in the Latin Quarter. They’re just such tourist garbage you’ll know because the menus will be laminated plastic with pictures and five different languages translated onto them not a good choice..

It might be nice to go and try a very old and traditional brasserie like La Coupole (in The 14 th you can probably walk to it easy )

And basically if you’re sitting somewhere and there’s a view of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, you’re probably in a tourist trap not always but it’s the most likely .

Go to Les Frenchie on YouTube. If you can’t find a restaurant there you’ll never find one. They feature the different foods, prices, and rate the restaurant. I love seeing the foods not reading about them.

I second Cafe Varenne. Also Georgette near Jardin Luxembourg. Breizh Cafe for crepes which has a few locations.

Thank you for your suggestions. We at least like to have a place reserved on our first night in a new town so that we aren’t tired, hungry and lost looking for a place to eat!

We got caught in Annecy without reservations last summer on a night France was playing Portugal in soccer. There were zero seats to be had in any restaurant. In retrospect, we should have ordered a pizza to go and taken it to the lakefront to eat. Live and learn - noted for future trips!

I had looked on the Les Frenchies website but forgot about YouTube. Thanks for the reminder!

IF you are in the Eiffel Tower area, avoid the restaurants at the intersection of Rue Saint-Dominique/Ave Rapp/Avenue de la Bourdonnais. One of these is listed on the Les Frenchies for avoiding as they overcharge and are one of the ones where waiters try to get tourists to leave tips. I think it is Le Champs du Mars but am not 100% certain so I just avoid anything there.

From the Eiffel Tower, walk east along Rue Saint-Dominique and there are a couple of well-reviewed restaurants along there. Les Cocottes and La Fontaine de Mars are good. Continue east to Rue Cler and take a right. I enjoy Cafe Roussillon on the corner of Rue Cler and Rue de Grenelle. I never make a reservation unless I am meeting others as I will go just before 7 and can always get in as a solo diner. I also really like Di Felice, an Italian restaurant just east on Rue de Grenelle from Rue Cler. I also never reserve here as, again I go at 7. If you continue on Rue Cler, there is a small cafe Calle Le Petit Cler that has good food.

If you continue down to Avenue de la Motte-Picquet there are some restaurants along here where friends have eaten that they enjoy. The menus are a bit "meaty" for me as a vegan. I suspect you will need reservations if you think these sound interesting and you will be in the neighborhood.

Le Florimond

Auberge Bressane

I've also always wanted to eat at Cafe Max across form Auberge Bressane due to the history:

https://www.sortiraparis.com/en/where-to-eat-in-paris/restaurant/articles/282172-cafe-max-generous-french-cuisine-in-this-resistance-stronghold

https://www.cafemax.fr/en

And sigh...I'm not crazy about Les Frenchies. First, I can't stand to watch people eat/moan/eat/wave their silverware around. 2nd anything they recommend is going to be overtaken like their earlier recommended La Jacobine.

But you do you and if their recommendations sound good, go for it.

Thank again for the advice. I’ve made reservations for 2 of our 5 nights in Paris.
Pam, thanks for your suggestions - and I agree, shouldn’t be a problem getting a table if we get there at 7. I think we’ll wander through the areas you suggested!

We are just back from Paris visiting from Friday to Tuesday. If you don’t have a reservation there is a good chance you will be turned away, even at 7 pm. We saw this in mid March! You can wait until you are there to make reservation for the last two nights if you want to check out places ahead of time. But weekends are a must, and many places are closed on Mondays.

One of our favorite experience ever in many trips to Paris was http://www.lespapillesparis.fr/. Unique, prix fixe, exceptional.

We also have enjoyed a wonderful Italian restaurant with a definite French twist at https://ilsorrentino.fr/ in the 7th (near the tower) and fine Lebanese at several places.

You cannot go wrong with moules at Leon De Bruxelles, which has many locations. Great for lunch.

For true French, https://www.leptittroquet.fr/ and https://lescocottes.paris/ have never disappointed and Le Comptoir du Relais Saint Germain is a no reservations place worth seeking out. https://www.hotel-paris-relais-saint-germain.com/restaurant-le-comptoir

Finally, some of the best Sardinian food we’ve ever eaten was at Sardegna a Tavola near Gare de l’Est. I don’t think they have a website and we were really lucky to get in without a reservation. Really lucky.

I would highly recommend making reservations anywhere that takes them.

I also think people should take Les Frenchies with a grain or salt. They are heavy on scare tactics and the way they peddle their materials and tours seems dishonest. Their whole mentality on tipping is off and the main woman can't pronounce a french word to save her life.

But they are mostly light-hearted and they do a great job filming (except for the never ending tastings).

Really hate to give up this great bistro - Le Bon George https://www.lebongeorges.paris/
You will feel like you are in Paris -experience.
Extensive wine list, seasonal french dishes. Excellent service - enjoyed by tourist and French. (we were seated between a table with French business men and young group of tourist from England.)
Lunch is a good option or dinner as it is a subway ride (20min) from Saint-Germain.
Reservations are needed.

An update re Laurel's suggestion of Leon de Bruxelles. They changed names a few years ago to simply Leon and closed a bunch of restaurants.

There are still some though - Montparnasse, Clichy, rue du Rambuteau and a few others.

You can type Paris in their search page and find the locations. "Fermé définitivement" means permanently closed.

https://www.restaurantleon.fr/

Bravo Alexander. That’s exactly what I and a lot of others with extensive Paris experience think. Nobody here has a financial interest in the suggestions they are sharing with others.

Ooohhhh Kim, sorry to hear Leon has been down-sized. We love them for lunch! Of course, moules are available many places but their spin was good and economical.

My 2 most hit Léon's closed (Mabillon and Champs-Élysées). Lots of these chains seem to be going the way of Chez Clément (who I miss!)

"Pam, thanks for your suggestions - and I agree, shouldn’t be a problem getting a table if we get there at 7. I think we’ll wander through the areas you suggested!"

To me this is a good plan. Wander a little before 7, look at menus and see if a place has the ambience you want. The more upscale restaurants like Les Cocottes and La Fountaine des Mars may need reservations but you will be able to find plenty of places for a good meal.

I'm sorry others have had difficulty getting in to restaurants at 7P. I know this is an issue with places that Les Frenchies have popularized like La Jacobine. Some friends were in Paris last Fall and could not even get reservations there for some nights. Also might be an issue if there is a bigger party than 1 or 2 folks.

One caution-our waiter asked us if we wanted the white asparagus that was in season. We said sure, but wow, we should have asked how much it was, it was expensive and our bill was a lot higher than we expected. Nice to try it, but we won’t be having it again!