Heading to Paris for a few days and looking for suggestions for very simple, primarily local clientele, hasn't changed in years type of bistros serving classic French comfort food for lunch and/or dinner. Willing to travel widely within Paris to find them. Any little finds along these lines would be much appreciated!
Merci in advance! :)
“Very simple, primarily local clientele, hasn’t changed in years type of bistros serving classic French comfort food…”
That reads like it was written by a movie location scout.
Restaurant Ville de Provins at 74 bd de Strasbourg right in front of the Gare de l'Est hasn't changed in decades---except they moderized the toilet soap and towels about 10 years ago. A friend of ours has eaten lunch there every weekday for years and years. A different plat du jour daily and the rest is pretty basic.
@Kenko haha and yet I'm just someone who loves French comfort food, dislikes hype and haven't been to Paris in a while :)
@Bets thank you!
Go down a side-street and look for a small restaurant. Look at the menu outside and the prices. When you see one you like, go in, perhaps as they are finishing the lunch service, and make a reservation for the evening. Accept the time they offer, not when you would normally eat at home. Be willing to try different cuisines.
Le Petit Broc is another very long-standing local restaurant, even though it's in an area of famous restaurants and chains. It's at 206 Bd. Raspail just south of Bd. Montparnasse. Metro: Vavin.
Kenko….as a former location scout let me say we don’t write the location descriptions. Writers do. Its merely a scout’s job to find the place. As I’ve often said after 30 years in the biz, the location scout finds the canvas for the other departments to create their artwork.
OP: Au Petit Tonneau ( near the Invalides). Tres bon.
Bistro des Augustins. Tiny little place that serves great potato gratins.
We like Petit Canon in Batignolles. They do a very nice duck confit and we have had good cassoulet there. They have a zinc bar, are very picturesque, have a nice cheese tray and a very wide selection of wines by the glass. I usually reserve to be sure of a table in the front more charming room.
Chez Paul on Rue Charonne.
Café Poussin (2, rue Poussin - Auteuil) in the 16th definitely has this feel. I had the best quenelles of my life there last Thanksgiving. Not to mention, mouth-watering desserts.
Also, not far is Polo (109, avenue Mozart) . It's a very, very chic restaurant with a local crowd. Amazing, innovative as well as traditional cuisine. I had a Pavlova that changed my life a few months ago.
Well they are cliches, but there's always Cafe de Fleur and Deux Magots with Lipp across the street. You might also wander around the Ile St. Louis.
