Tom's Guide to Paris
Right Bank Restaurants
Montmartre, the Grands Boulevards, the Louvre, and the Champs Elysées are surrounded by terrific restaurants.
The Right Bank has the reputation of being elegant and sophisticated, mainly because of the wildly expensive shopping areas around the Champs-Elysées, the Place Vendôme, the Avenue Montaigne, and the Rue St. Honoré. That doesn't mean, of course, that everything on the right bank is like that, and the restaurants Tom presents here are good culinary experiences and mostly pretty affordable.
Starting in the center and branching out: Ile Saint-Louis
A great place to start exploring the Right Bank is on the impossibly charming Ile Saint-Louis, the smaller island in the middle of the Seine and in the middle of the city. Why is that Right Bank, you ask, if it's in the river and not on a bank at all? The answer is simple: C'est comme ça. It just is.
A nice and solid brasserie with an unbeatable view for outdoor dining is the Brasserie de l'Isle Saint-Louis at 55, Quai de Bourbon (métro Saint-Michel Notre-Dame or Hôtel de Ville, (01 43 54 02 59). This establishment
has been around for at least a half century, and it's still run by the same family. Because it's located right where the Pont Saint-Louis joins the island, you'll get great people-watching and spur of the moment entertainment by musicians and other generally talented folks, and the view looking outward is simply splendid. The menu is classic brasserie (along with the daily specials on the slate), including salade frisée, pâtés, chicken, steaks, veal liver, and their specialties, various forms of sauerkraut, cassoulet (bean and pork stew), and grilled pork. The waitstaff are attentive, helpful, and knowledgeable.
Across the street, at the angle of the rue Jean du
Bellay and the Rue Saint-Louis en l'Ile is Le Saint-Régis (6, rue Jean du Bellay, métro Saint-Michel Notre-Dame or Hôtel de Ville, 01 43 54 59 41). While this place in its current iteration is only a few years old, they've done a truly fantastic job of giving it an old-time flare. It's beautifully crafted from floor to ceiling and it's a pleasure
to sit there and admire your surroundings. The food here is simple and solid: think sandwiches, pâté, snails, eggs, salads, with main-course dishes such as steaks, duck, chicken, and fish. And Tom knows from personal experience that their burgers aren't half bad. You can also get yourself a really good drink here: the bar offers tremendous choices of beer, wine, liquor, as well as traditional and inventive (and punnily named) cocktails (Porn Star Martine, Moustache Gracias, and Pardon My French). Location, ambiance, and quality of food and drink make this worth the visit.
The Marais/Place des Vosges
One of Tom's new favorites in the marais is Capitaine, at 4, impasse Guéménée, 4th arrondissement (01 44 61 11 76; métro Bastille). Le Capitaine is situated in an impasse, which, while the somewhat harsh-sounding English translation would be "dead end," is actually a lovely and quiet escape from the city. Capitaine values fresh and seasonal ingredients, and their menu reflects this in the periodic rotations you'll find there, which is likely why you won't find their menu or carte posted on their website. The delicious and downright healthy experience you'll have will also be very reasonably priced. And the chef is quite friendly.
On a warm summer evening head over to the Place du
Marché Ste. Catherine in the 4th (metro Saint-Paul), just off the rue
Caron. A half dozen decent restaurants occupy this charming, quiet
little square that seems totally removed from the busy city around it, and
they spread out into the space with overhead lights, plants, and just
about everything you'd want that screams with charm and ambiance. You won't
believe you're in a huge city here.
Although the restaurants are hit
and miss—but all perfectly serviceable—they're reasonably priced and
you simply can't do better for incredibly lovely ambiance in the
summertime. Tom recommends in particular Le
Marché, at 2 Place du Marché Sainte-Catherine (01.40.09.05.33). The outdoor seating is marvelous, the service is
friendly and a bit humorous, and the food, which ranges from old stand-by
traditionals such as foie gras to burgers and on to rich meats and
delicious pastas. Get a dessert here, especially if you like
chocolate. If you want slightly less atmosphere (i.e., you'll be eating inside)
but slightly better, perhaps more interesting food, check out Les Bougresses (at 6 rue Jarente, just at the top (north end) of the square; 01 48 87 71 21). Tom loves Les
Bougresses. The staff are friendly, a bit sarcastic and funny, and the
food is very carefully prepared, it's delicious
and inventive, and
they have great apéritifs and deserts. That means you start well and
finish great. The diverse menu offers choices for most palates, including vegetarian. Check the place out. (And by the way, "bougresses" is somewhat hard to translate; it's a slang and generally derogatory word for women, and the closest word Tom can think of is "wretch" (one of the dictionaries Tom consulted suggested "trout," which I'm pretty sure is British and pretty surer is stupid. As is often the case, the offensive word can be commandeered and ironically used against those who would deploy it objectionably. Pretty sure that's the case here.)
When you're in the marais, check out the rue des Rosiers ("Street of the Rosebushes"), which has carried this name as far back as the fourteenth century. The rue des Rosiers is the heart of the Jewish quarter, and as you're walking around you'll see delicious bakeries and synagogues, and all kinds of restaurants. Two Tom likes to point out are L'As du falaffel, at number 34 (01 48 87 63 60), and Chez Marianne (which is actually on the corner of the rue des Rosiers and the rue des Hospitalières St Gervais—01 42 72 18 86; métro Saint-Paul). Chez Marianne offers up scrumptuous Mediterranean and Eastern European cuisine, specializing in delicious pitas, keftas, and falaffel. Deserts include halva and loukoum. L'As du falaffel offers exactly what they say, and you'll see large numbers of people lined up outside waiting for what many consider to be the best falaffel in the world.
Some time back, friends took Tom to the Café de l’Industrie (just a short walk to the east from the Place du Marché Ste. Catherine), and Tom has championed it ever since (16, rue Saint Sabin, 11th, métro Bréguet-Sabin, 01 47 00 13 53). This is the place to go for your grab-your-friend-after-work dinner where you can relax and gossip in a chill environment with food you can always count on for excellent quality at a really reasonable price. The décor is a kind of “found object” motif, reminiscent of some non-specific time or times in the past, and the menu is good, basic French fare without fussiness or fanfare: the food stands on its own. The restaurant also offers a Parisian and a continental breakfast, as well as a Saturday and Sunday brunch. You’re just a stone’s throw to the Bastille, so you can go clubbing or bar-hopping after dinner.
Les Halles/Pompidou Center
Just to the east of the large Les Halles complex is the truly lovely Epi
d'Or. Located at 25, rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the first arrondissement (01.42.36.38.12, metro Louvre-Rivoli). L'Epi d'Or is the best kind of
mix of old-fashioned and cutting edge. You will be greeted unusually graciously, especially if you have reserved, and you may even be asked which of you in the group is the host. There are delicious and suptuous (and reasonably priced) prix fixe menus that change daily, each offering 2 courses for 37 euros or 3 courses for 46. You can also go à la carte as simply as a green salade and a croque monsieur, or elegantly and gourmandly with foie gras in pastry and blanquette of veal. Whatever you choose, you won't go wrong.
Au
pied de cochon is located at 6, rue Coquillière, right near the Bourse du Commerce (formerly a commodities market and Chamber of Commerce for the city; now a museum) and Les Halles in the 1st, Metro Les
Halles (01.40.13.77.00). This is an old favorite, and it belongs in
the same category as Flo and Julien, described above. This restaurant used to be very
popular with the market regulars when Les Halles was still functioning as a farmers' market
(Les Halles was the open market that had been functioning on this site
since the twelfth century), and the restaurant is a striking mixture of elegance
and casual chic. You can go there any time of day or night—it's open
24 hours—and gorge out, or pop in simply for a bowl of onion soup. If 
they
try to seat you upstairs, refuse adamantly—insist on a seat on the
ground floor.
If the Pied de Cochon doesn't move you, or if it's just not what you're looking for, you'll find that any of the restaurants in this little cluster (just look to your left as you're facing the restaurant) are quite good. In the summer they all have outdoor seating (this is a very nice street), and they're all pretty much in the same price range (expect to pay 40–55 euros). Nearby, in the Montorgueil/Les Halles district is the splendid Pharamond, at 24 rue de la Grande Truanderie (01.40.28.45.18, metro Etienne Marcel). This restaurant, which serves in a lovely courtyard during the summer, is a classified historical monument inside: its turn-of-the-century decor is beautifully impressive, and the staff are extremely friendly. The menu is more or less classic French, and prices are in the neighborhood of 25 euros per person. This is one of Tom's new favorites. Oh, and by the way, Pharamond has private rooms upstairs that are done up in a gorgeous late nineteenth-century style that you can reserve (see photo).
In the Montorgueil
quarter, make sure to visit Au Rocher de Cancale at
78, rue Montorgueil, 2nd arrondissement (01 42 33 50 29, metro Sentier or Etienne Marcel). This establishment dates back to 1846, and it has
a fascinting history.
Here they serve more or less traditional food with modern twists. They
have really appealing and large salads here, and if
you get a table
facing the street you're in for some very first-class people watching
(figure about 30 euros). At night this place becomes a pretty hip café
for your evening drinking and viewing pleasure. It's a fairly young
and mostly local crowd, but reasonably friendly.
From Pharamond (or for that matter Le Pied de Cochon) you're only a stone's throw to the Pompidou Centre, which houses a restaurant on its top floor that you should know about. It's perhaps unsurprisingly called Georges (you know that France's President Pompidou, in office from 1969–1974, was named Georges, right?). Georges is considerably better in almost all regards than most museum restaurants: the food is terrific, the bar is great, and the view from the rooftop of the Pompidou Center is especially commanding (although some of the images from the website make it appear even better than Tom thinks it really is). Tom goes to this restaurant not infrequently for all of the reasons just outlined, but he also thinks you should be warned that the people who greet you when you arrive are almost insufferably pretentious. Ignore their silliness and enjoy yourself anyway.
Near the Place Vendôme
Someplace you're not likely to find that has a nice concentration of interesting restaurants is the area around Saint Roch and the rue du marché Saint Honoré (1st arrondissement). Take the métro to Pyramides, and then go down the rue des Pyramides to the rue St. Honoré. Turn right and head over one block, just past the church, to the rue Saint Roch. Turn right again, and head up the rue Saint Roch. Here you'll find an unusual mix of traditional auberge-style restaurants with new wave Japanese restaurants. If none of these strikes your fancy, keep going straight until you get to the rue Gomboust, turn left, and proceed on over into the square ahead. You'll find the Marché Saint Honoré here, and all around it, particularly heading down the rue du marché Saint Honoré, a collection of upscale restaurants, each in a different style. Look especially at L'Ecluse and L'Absinthe. You'll likely agree that Nomad's is a good place for an after-dinner drink, and they often have live music with no cover charge (and you're in for a special treat if René Miller's Wedding Band is playing).
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You Don't Know What You Want, Part II
There are other restaurants like this. See "Left Bank Restaurants.
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Some
of the most creative young chefs, who for reasons I don't
understand but approve of have quite small restaurants, are
building your menu for you and not giving you much of a chance
to say what you'd like to eat. Tom's favorite restaurant
of this variety won "best new restaurant of the year" in a few years back,
and it's called 
reservation
+33 1 71 24 58 44). Readers might be amused that on the
English menu there's a disclaimer asking people not to bring
their ill-behaved children; no such request appears on the
French version of the menu. Thank you, Robert and Jessica! When you sit down, assuming you're
going to get the chef's menu, they'll come out and ask you if
there's anything you simply won't eat; what you really like;
what you're not sure of, etc. And then they'll craft a meal
for you to your liking. It's truly extraordinary, and the
chefs, Robert and Jessica, are so unbelievably charming and
friendly (and they speak English) and skilled and you just
want to applaud them. We had a lobster and hand-made pasta
that sounds so simple—and it is—but it was unbelievably
good. The waitstaff is friendly and helpful, and the whole
experience in this establishment of no more than a dozen
tables is memorable. Near the Grands Boulevards
Chartier,
7, rue du faubourg Montmartre. An institution (metro Grands
Boulevards). This is a restaurant that you really should go to, just
because of its history (they claim three centuries of service to 50
million people!) and its strange, loud, hectic ambiance.
The food
isn't remarkable (but it's certainly quite decent). This is one of the
rare occasions when you should order à la carte (and they post their
very reasonably priced menu
on the web daily). People will begin lining up for dinner very early—think 6:00 or so, which is crazy in Paris—but because this is a pretty large place the line moves reasonably quickly. The dining room is very crowded and noisy in a very festive way, the waiters will be
gruff but charming, and they'll write your order directly on the paper
table cloth.
If you're young and/or on a budget, you'll absolutely love this place
(pictured here). Chartier is the sort of
grande dame of the
great inexpensive restaurants. If you are alone or with only one other
person, expect to be seated at a table with someone else. This is OK,
so just cool out, will you? You'll probably actually enjoy yourself.
Two especially interesting
brasseries (that belong to the same corporate family) are Brasserie
Floderer (7, cour des petites écuries, 10th
arrondissement, Metro Chateau d'eau or Strasbourg Saint-Denis [07 82 97 73 80]); and Julien,
16, rue du faubourg St. Denis, at Metro Strasbourg Saint Denis (01 47 70 12 06). For Floderer, don't confuse the COUR des petites écuries with the
RUE des petites écuries (you want the COUR). If you do, you'll never be seen again (idle threat). Floderer is a bit hard to find,
but keep looking, because I guarantee you, it's worth it (and by the way, some of you
may know this place in its former incarnation as "Brasserie Flo"). To gain access to the Cour you have to
go through a little doorway that looks almost like a regular entrance to a building either at 20, rue d'Enghien; or at 63, rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis. Julien is easier to find (and
that's Julien below),
and you ought to know that some people find the neighborhood a little down-trodden. It's true that there are prettier streets, but the dining experience at both of these places is well worth it. Neither of these places is
cheap—probably about 50-80€, depending on how excessive you feel—but
well worth it for the big splurge, such as last night stuff,
celebration, etc. Get a Kir Royal as an apéritif if you feel festive—it's one of the house drinks and it's made of champagne
and crème de cassis (black current liqueur). Both of these
are 19th-century restaurants, kind of loud and the waiters are a
little gruff; this is the way it's supposed to be, and the service is
usually
quite good (although a waitress at Julien spilled a half glass
of red wine on me once (I was wearing a silk jacket)—but to their credit, the management took care
of it immediately). The food will be really good, carefully prepared, and nicely
presented. On top of it all, you can dress rather casually here, too
(but don't get carried away). Unless you frequent 4-star restaurants a
lot, this may be the best food you've had in a very long time. I think
I prefer Julien just a bit to Flo, maybe only because
it's bigger, a bit more bustling, and for some reason, even though
these are owned by the same company, the food seems just a little bit
better prepared here.
Just a tad to the north, you'll find good couscous, and surprisingly cheap, at Le Delly's, which bills itself as a "restaurant africain"(5 rue des deux gares, 10th arrondissement, metro Gare du Nord or Gare de l'Est [01 40 34 90 74]). It's in a neighborhood you otherwise might not find, between the Gare de l'Est and the Gare du Nord, and there's a somewhat raucous crowd up front downstairs, and a quieter dining room upstairs. The staff is friendly and bantering, and they might offer you a snort of fig liqueur after dinner. Expect to pay about 30–35 euros all included.
Trinité/Saint-Georges
If it's outdoor dining weather and you have the good sense to be in
the 9th arrondissement, there's a quiet and charming area that Tom
recommends (but you don't have to dine outside to enjoy these). You're not going to dine on the most exotic and sumputuous
of morcels, but you'll have very good, solid, reasonably-priced French
food in picturesque and calm surroundings. The Eglise de la
Trinité overlooks the Place d'Estienne d'Orves,
which was named
after a French resistant fighter who was killed by the
Germans in 1941. It is surrounded by good restaurants, including La
Rotonde, at address number 2 (and the architecturally
beautiful apartment building
next door is listed as a French
historical monument; Le
Royal Trinité at 59 rue de Chateaudun (but facing the
Square); and the Café
du Mogador (Tom's favofite) at 57 rue de Chateaudun,
also facing the square. These place are all good spots for lunch, but
they're especially good for a late evening meal.
For a chill experience right nearby on a quiet street in the ninth arrondissement, take a shot at Le Pantruche (3 Rue Victor Masse, metro Pigalle or Saint-Georges, 01 48 78 55 60). Laid-back ambiance and equally laid-back (but efficient) staff will greet you and you’ll experience fresh takes on classic dishes beautifully conceived, plated, and flavored. The menu changes all the time—heck, it’s not even on their website—and they’ll have the classic slate on hand for you to make your choices. “Pantruche,” by the way, is an old slang term for Paris (another one, which is Tom’s favorite, is “Paname,” which is the name for Panama). The restaurant is less than a stone’s throw away from a truly excellent market street—the rue des Martyrs—which is in itself worth visiting.
Gardiens of the Dining Experience
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A good many restaurants have fluffy guardians. Cats are no strangers to Parisian restaurants, and owners and patrons are equally fond of them. Someone once told me she thought that restaurants that have cats are unclean (because they have mice, hence the cats), but I haven't noticed any correlation between restaurants with cats and lax health standards. Cats are, in general, very much fawned over in France, and one of the world's best poets—the nineteenth-century genius Charles Baudelaire—wrote some great poems about cats. My favorite restaurant cat was Polo, who owned Le Train Bleu. Polo has gone on to a better place. To the right is Alex the restaurant cat at Chez Bébert (see Left Bank Restaurants).Montmartre
Try in particular the Villa
du Poulebot, on the Place Charles Dullin, (technically
at 10 Rue Dancourt [metro Anvers]). There are two menus, both quite
inexpensive, and they're both very good. For a selection of appealing restaurants, some of which come and go, try also the Rue des Trois
Frères, Metro Anvers. Go up this street, and you'll find many
interesting, quirky, and reasonably priced restaurants. If you don't
want to spend much money, you might
want to try Le Buffet,
at 18, rue des Trois Frères. They have a reasonably priced menu which
does not, you should note, include dessert, but you can order the
"Buffet" for your first course, which is sort of like a French salad
bar—very unusual, actually, and with lots of good stuff on it that you
can load onto your plate. You can also try the restaurants all the way up
the hill on the Place du Tertre, but they're not my favorite. Too many tourists, really (don't you love it when someone says that?). An interesting
place just off of the top of the hill is La Maison Rose,
which is, in fact (as the name says), a little pink house—it was also
the subject of a Maurice Utrillo painting. If you're at the top of the
hill, at the Place du Tertre (where all the artists are), go down the
very busy Rue des Norvins
and turn right onto the Rue des Saules. Go down the hill to the corner
of the Rue de l'Abreuvoir and you'll see the little pink house at
number 2 (01 42 57 66 75). It's very good, quite charming, and it's a
terrific place to have dinner outside in Montmartre on a warm summer's
night. Again: go late.
Oberkampf/Canal Saint-Martin
The Oberkampf area has a number of great restaurants that you should know about. Look in particular at Astier, at 44, rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud (metro Parmentier, Oberkampf, or Goncourt [01 43 57 16 35]). This fantastic restaurant (one of the 100 best restaurants in France) looks like a little house in the middle of Paris, and when you're dining, whether downstairs or upstairs, you feel like you're in someone's country dining room. The rustic décor features local woods, and the close and comfortable surroundings make you feel like the other diners are your friends. The place has been around for over 50 years, and they feature what they call "nouveau bistro" cuisine: traditional fare injected with more basic elements. Menu and à la carte; figure about 50–70 euros, and reservations are recommended (which you can make on line).
Still in the Oberkampf area is the strangely named Ave Maria, at 1 rue Jacquard (opposite 61 rue Oberkampf, 01.47.00.61.73 metro Parmentier or Oberkampf). This restaurant has accomplished the difficult task of being one of Tom's new favorite restaurants. It's world cuisine, which means a cool mishmash of Mexican, Brazilian, French, and whatever. You're likely to find watermellon, passion fruit, chicken, piquant sauces and who knows what else in the earthenware crockery your food comes in, and the absolutely charming waitstaff will go out of their way to help you. Do go here.
Bercy
Sort of off the beaten path is the medium to big splurge Le
Train Bleu. This place is quite over the top and
weirdly elegant, and it's right in the middle of the ornate mid-19th century train station, the
Gare de Lyon (pictured here; the restaurant's official address is 1,
place Louis Armand, but
it's in the Gare de Lyon, 12th
arrondissement, metro of that same name [01 43 43 09 06]). My guess is
that this is where wealthy travelers dined before boarding their
first-class trains headed to the Riviera. The gilded vaulted ceilings
and ornate lighting certainly recall an earlier (and richer) era, but
the menu is contemporary traditional. The food is carefully
prepared and presented (although the service can be somehat
indifferent), but the reason to go here is for
the combination
food–décor. It's sort of like entering another world, really (but it's
too bad the staff don't all appreciate it: one night I was there one
of the hostesses
whipped out a spray bottle of kitchen cleaner right
at the front door and started cleaning the menus, which makes
you wonder what people were doing with them). Make sure to go the
bathroom so you can check out the Big Ben Bar (which is coterminus
with the restaurant). It's got these big old fantastic leather chairs,
and the brunch rooms, with their windows opening out onto the square
below, are luxurious and evocative of something
well-heeled and tastefully lavish (you can also polish your shoes
right outside the bathroom). All of this doesn't come cheap: expect to
pay in the neighborhood of 80 euros or significantly more. Some say this restaurant has gone downhill; Tom thinks it's still worth a visit.
OK,
here's another challenge to Tom's readers: for years I've wanted to go
to Chez
Julien, pictured here, but somehow just never made it there. (1 rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, metro Pont-Marie or Hotel de Ville, +33 1 42 78 31 64). It had
always looked completely charming to me, but for whatever reason I just kept putting it off. I finally went, and I have to say it was a pretty
mixed bag. On the one hand, the ambiance is absolutely charming. You
can see from the photo here that it’s a beautiful little establishment—turns out that it was founded in the 18th century—and inside it’s as
nice as the outside promises. It’s quite small and intimate, so you
might well be forced to listen to your neighbors’ conversation. The
food is beautifully prepared by someone who quite clearly knows what
s/he is doing, but all of this was marred by indifferent service. I’m
not especially fussy (God, I hope none of my friends is reading this),
but the service wasn’t bad—it was simply rude. When our waitress
brought the wine, she held it backwards so we couldn’t read the label,
and she quite literally threw things on our table. At desert I ordered
the mousse au chocolat and my companion selected the cheese, and the
bread for that course was given to me. I just hope it was a bad night, because I really want to like this place and I think it can be special. Check it out.
Readers Chime In
Leslie was impressed with Breakfast in America, at 4 rue Malher in the 4th (01 42 72 40 21; metro Saint-Paul—but there's another one at 17, rue des Ecoles in the 5th, metro Cardinal LeMoine or Jussieu [ndlr]). Leslie writes: "My friend, who does not like croissants, pain au chocolate, etc., was looking for a restaurant where we could have eggs, bacon, and toast. We discovered the Breakfast in America restaurant and she was delighted! Needless to say, we ate there several times for breakfast and lunch (the cheeseburgers and milk shakes were delicious)!"
Dave D likes Le Chateaubriand, at 129 avenue Parmentier, metro Goncourt (01.43.57.45.95): "Le Chateaubriand with Chef Inaki Aizpitarte at the helm. One of the best restaurants in town for those wanting to experience Parisian fine dining (rather than casual bistro fare) without spending too much. 55 eurow for a 6-8 course prix fixe no-choice dinner of a lifetime. Although no Michelin stars as of 2012, it has been ranked among the top 50 restaurants in the worldfor a few years running now. Also highly regarded among chefs around the world. The chef's newest venture is 1 or 2 doors down called Le Dauphin. Prix fixe lunch and à la carte tapas-style dinner menu. Even more affordable. Both top notch cooking but casual setting. Reservations highly recommended—2 weeks in advance maybe." Tom has been to both of Dave's recommendations, and he heartily seconds them.
Sue is especially impressed with Zinc Zinc, at 209 Ter (209C, basically), avenue Charles de Gaulle in Neuilly sur Seine (Neuilly Sur Seine is a suburb of Paris, but it's so close that you won't even know you're not in Paris—and the metro will take you there without any special ticket or anything—Just get off at Pont de Neuilly). Sue writes: "Food excellent, service superb, prices resonable, atmosphere relaxed. And even though their English is as limited as my French, they are very patient and downright nice. Big thumbs up every time I go there."
An anonymous reader (who I'll bet is French) is extremely enthusiastic about L'Ambassade d'Auvergne, at 22, rue du Grenier Saint-Lazare in the third arrondissement (01 42 72 31 22; metro Rambuteau). "This is really my favourite restaurant in Paris. Typical food from the Auvergne region (you must eat an aligot once in your life, that is, mashed potatoe with a special cheese, but really more sophisticated than that), the lamb is excellent, in a superbe decor, delicious food, neat service and not that expensive especially as they offer lot's of small things during the meal : terrine with the aperitif, fouasse and conquises with the coffee. Very pleasant, relaxed-smart atmosphere. And it's opened on sundays."
Colin enjoyed the Auberge Nicolas Flamel (51 rue Montmorency, third arrondissement, metro Arts et Metiers, Etienne Marcel, or Rambuteau: 01 42 71 77 78), in the oldest house in Paris: "I thought I'd made a huge mistake when I went into this street but the reality was something else. Home to Nicolas Flamel, a 16th-century (I think) french alchemist it's supposed to be one of the oldest residential houses in Paris. Inside it's huge guilt mirrors, candel light and very few electric lights. Service was first class. The floor is run by one very efficient lady. There are only 12–15 tables downstairs so it's very intimate. Food is exceptional (try the pot au feu seafood casserole). My girlfriend said it was THE most romantic restaurant she'd ever been to and it made her cry. Booking is strongly recommended.
Dan in Florida likes Ma Bourgogne, at 19 place des Vosges in the 4th (metro Saint-Paul, Bastille, or Chemin Vert: 01 42 78 44 64). Dan writes: "This place has been there for a long time in any area that has seen a lot of changes. An inexpensive (well, considering the location), traditional Burgundian place on one of the most beautiful little squares in the city—a 17th-century gem. Order a bottle of chilled Brouilly and something off the list of hearty, country-style dishes!"
Patou writes about the Auberge Pyrenees Cevanne, 106 rue de la Folie Mericourt, 11th, métro République or Parmentier, 01 43 57 33 78. "This absolutely charming, warm, authentic resto in the 111th is run by the amazing Françoise and her family. Delicious Lyonnaise specialities, like the fantastic cassoulet, and calves liver. Charming decor, non-touristic. This is a must for us every year when we rent our apartment in Paris."
