Recommended restaurants near Rue Cler

The scene with Marie-Alice was filmed many years ago (I'm thinking of the episode where she repeated her line about cheese smelling like the feet of angels). The LaSerre restaurant is (was?) a couple of blocks from the hotel. Rick ped the hotel from his recommendations at least before 2003 - guest reviews uniformly reported hostile service. We stayed there and experienced that atmosphere first-hand. Don't know if and why he severed ties with the restaurant.

La Varangue at 27 rue Augereau, run by Phillippe; it may not be for the locals but we enjoyed the food. On the other hand, we're not experts, simply loved his enthusiasm.

I second La Varangue. It was our favorite meal in Paris. We were staying on Rue Cler and it was a couple blocks off. Phillipe was so fun to watch.

Try Chez Pierrot at 9 Rue Amelie. Nothing fancy, just a small charming bistro with very good food.

Daniel,, can't help with that particular place, but I encourage you to set off and find your own places. Places featured in mainstream guidebooks will be filled with tourists, and sometimes service and food suffer as restaurant now doesn't need to work to fill tables.. that can also happen sometimes to hotels promoted in guidebooks.. Interestingly, I have only taken one RS tour, and every hotel we stayed in was not listed in Ricks books.. and they were fine.. so you don't need to go by the book all the time, Rick doesn't. If you want to go where the locals go then I suggest you avoid restaurants with huge english signs outside,, just a thought.

Echoing Pat, I´ve found Rick Steves´restaurant recommendations to be more safe than memorable. In Paris, if you really want amazing food, go with the Michelin Guide.

I find RS' books to be very good at practical things like where to catch a taxi, where to do your laundry, buy ticket here to avoid long lines, etc. But he is not a foodie. Go to parisbymouth.com. There are listings of restaurants, bakeries, patisseries, and ice cream by arrondissement. These places are reviewed by food critics, such as Patricia Wells, John Bitterman. There are local bistros listed that are not too expensive. Some serving good traditional French cuisine, like coq au vin and roasted chicken. Or, you can try "modern" French with inventive combinations of flavors and ingredients. There's even Japanese fusion.
Bon appetit.

Last summer, we ate at two restaurants in the Rue Cler area. We enjoyed Cafe Bosquet, about three blocks from there on the way to the ET. We were NOT impressed with Cafe Central right on Rue Cler-skimpy over-priced portions served at tables that were way too close together even by Parisian standards and way too much cigarette smoke, even though we were eating outside. You will NOT be part of the local scene if you eat on Rue Cler. Most of the people on Rue Cler seemed to be American tourists. You might want to eat somewhere else where you get a mix of locals and tourists from many different countries.

Another clue as to how" authentic" (as opposed to tourist catering type place )will be the menu itself.
The french prefer to eat what is in season,, and some choices offered in touristy places are definately not seasonal offerings. Onion soup in July?? No. That is considered a "winter dish" .