Paris - eating out

When one speaks of French cuisine one should always specify whether one means traditional or regional French cuisine or the so-called "nouvelle cuisine". The latter consists mostly of very decorative food, usually in tiny portions on huge dishes, experimental in flavour and overly expensive in price. It is best avoided by those on a budget and with a consistent appetite, that is most backpackers.

Traditional French cuisine consists mostly in meat or fish specialities, and the main condiment is butter. Beside the great classics, such as the "baguette" (typical French loaf of bread, served in restaurants with an assortment of meats and cheese), the "croissant" and the "crêpe suzette" (pancakes), the most renowned dishes are the "cassoulet" (a dish made of pork meat and beans), the "fois gras" (goose liver, not for animal activists), huîtres (oysters, always to be eaten fresh), and a huge choice of cheese (the best are Camembert and "chèvre", which is goat cheese) and all kinds of beef and lamb meat. The ideal drink is wine, which is the best in the world.

The main issue is: how to taste all this without spending a fortune? We have some suggestions! Don’t expect miracles, the most you can ask a cheap restaurant in Paris is that the food is prepared honestly and that the quality is home-like. It’s a very expensive city, after all.

Les Trois Marmites

A great example of good cooking of the aforementioned home cooking, with a jolly atmosphere, kind waiters, all for little money. It is in the beautiful Ménilmontant district, not far from a lot of crowded bars where to go to end the evening in style.

Address: 8, rue Julien Lacroix - XX arr. - M. Ménilmontant Open everyday from 20:30 to 2AM – closed on Monday. 7

Chez Papa

Papa used to own just one restaurant, now he owns a total of four around Paris, but at his places the atmosphere is always young, chaotic and a little "improvised", as in every good small town "bistro". The kitchen serves recipes from South-Western France and is quite good, and most of all abundant!

Addresses: 1. 29, rue de l’Arcade - VIII arr. 2. 101, rue de la Croix-Nivert - XV arr. 3. 6, rue Cassendi - XIV arr. 4. 206, rue Lafayette - X arr. (The original...)

Le Petit Prince de Paris

This is a place where t find original and refined dishes with good value for money. The atmosphere is really warm (which means little room, quite a lot of smoke, and very nice waiters who take their time), and is ideal for those who love company.

Address: 12, rue Lanneau - V arr. - Nearest Underground station(s): Maubert Mutualité Open until midnight.

Au Virage Lepic

This is like the previous one, with good quality food, a nice atmosphere and always a bit crowded. Fun is guaranteed. The area in which it is situated is one of the best for a round of drinks after the restaurant.

Address: 61, rue Lepic - XVIII arr. - Nearest Underground station(s): Blanche or Abbesses Open Daily except Tuesday 7pm–2am.

Le petit Saint-Benoît

It is an institution of sorts in the St. Germain area, and exists since the beginning of the 20th century. Traditional quality cooking for affordable prices (15-20€) in a quiet environment.

Address: 4, rue Saint-Benoît - VI arr. - Nearest Underground station(s): Saint Germain des Prés Open from 12 to 22:30 every day apart from Sundays.

La Cale aux Huîtres

Fish and seafood, with some Japanese touches If you want to eat fish in Paris, this is the ideal place! It is also in one of the best areas for an evening round of drinks, especially in the area near Canal Saint Martin. It has its own site at www.lacale.fr, where you can see the menu and book your table on line.

Address: 136, rue Saint Maur - XI arr. - Nearest Underground station(s): Goncourt Open 12-14:30 and 19:30-1h30, closed on Mondays.

L’été en pente douce

Far from the main axes of touristic traffic in Montmartre, it is the ideal place where to spend a quiet afternoon or evening eating good cheese and drinking great wine.

Address: 23, rue Muller - XVIII - Nearest Underground station(s): Anvers

Le Hangar

This is a slightly more sophisticated place (more than 30€/32$ per person), but is definitely worth it. It is in a little alley that leads to the Doll Museum ,and has a "terrasse" which is quiet and peaceful. You can eat traditional dishes as well as more sophisticated things.

Address: 12, impasse Berthaud - III arr. - Nearest Underground station(s): Rambuteau Open until midnight (the "terrasse" is open from May to September).

As in all big cities, ethnic restaurants are very common in Paris, and often significantly cheaper than French ones.

Asian restaurants (Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Tibetan and Japanese, the latter of which are the most expensive) can be found anywhere in Paris, especially in the takeaway variety. Keep in mind that the original flavours of all oriental dishes has been adapted to French taste and the same dishes tend to taste the same in all restaurants, also due to the fact that precooked ingredients are the norm. If you want to taste the best quality, you need to go to higher quality restaurants, which are obviously more expensive. The highest concentration of Asian restaurants is in Belleville and around Place d’Italie.

Another kind of restaurants and eateries that are almost everywhere in Paris are the Greek-Turkish-Lebanese ones that sell mostly Kebab (grilled meat, usually mutton, served in sandwiches with various vegetables and yogurt sauce) and Falafel (chick peas balls with lots of garlic, the ideal alternative to Kebab for veggies). If you want to taste the best Kebab, avoid the mos touristic areas (St. Michel or les Halles) and choose the eateries in the districts that have the highest density of Middle Eastern or Norh African population, such as Barbés, Belleville ir Montreuil (which are great also for flea markets, in French "marché ax puces").

In the last few years, some restaurants have launched a nice initiative: some evenings of the week they offer free couscous and one pays the beverages only. The atmosphere gets pretty jovial and friendly quite quickly, as you can imagine. The most famous of these is La Chôpe de Château Rouge, 40 rue de Clignancourt, nel XVIII arrondissement, nearest Underground station(s): Chateau-Rouge/Barbès.

If you like Arabic atmospheres, and you are on the "rive gauche" (the southern bank of the river Seine), a nice thing to do could be to have a fresh mint tea in the cool and quiet courtyard of the Mosquée de Paris (at the crossing of rue Daubenton and rue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, nearest Underground station(s): Place Monge – Censier – Jussieu). There’s also a restaurant (serving tajines, couscous, oriental patisserie, but it can be a bit expensive), a hammam and a souk, giving an almoust authentic oriental atmosphere. The Bagdad Café is a more intimate place, where you are surrounded by the smoke of water pipes and you can eat good food with generous dishes .(44, rue de la Montagne Sante Geneviève, nearest Underground station(s): Maubert Mutualité)

There’s a lot of Indian and Pakistan restaurants in the Brady passage (Nearest Underground station(s): Château d’Eau) The quality is not always of the Maharajah level, but prices are more than often very low! You can try the warm Karah, the minimalist Pooja or the Roi du Kashmir, if you’re going for the real kitsch atmosphere.

If you want to eat the best Falafel, the right place is in rue des Rosiers, in the heart of the Jewish district in Marais. The most crowded place is L’As du Fallafel at number 32. Another good alternative, still in the cheap range of Jewish food, is Chez Marianne (2, rue de l’Hospitalière Saint Gervais, nearest Underground station(s): Hôtel de Ville

For what concerns African and Antillan cuisine, you should try the Complèt Mandingue (96, Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, XI arr.), the Mono (40, rue Véron, nearest Underground station(s): Abbesses) e the great La Jungle (in Montmartre, but not in the most crowded areas: the address is 32, rue Gabrielle, nearest Underground station(s): Abbesses).