Can't Miss Paris Restaurants/Bistros

[tkrongold]

Hello. Coming to Paris next week for business/pleasure. Have 3 days on our own before business kicks in. Would love some recommendations for the restaurants and bistros we should not miss. Thanks!

[Bux]

I think there are several current threads running with this exact information and there's a lot more in the list of recent threads. It's going to be hard for most members to work up the enthusiasm to repost what they just said elsewhere in the Forum. "Can't miss" is very personal, but most people's short list is too long to cover in a week let alone three days. I'd also suggest that any place in the "can't miss" category is likely to need a reservation well in advance. You're in some luck as some places may just be reopening after vacation and you might slip in a reservation.

[Ocean_islands]

Here's the quick list:

Walk down an attractive street at 8:45 pm. Go into the restaurant that has the most people in it. You will have a great evening.

[GG Mora]

Here's the quick list:

Walk down an attractive street at 8:45 pm.  Go into the restaurant that has the most people in it.  You will have a great evening.

Yes! Paris is all about discovery. You can take someone's specific recommendations and then be stuck trying to make the experience measure up, even when it doesn't...or you can go out and find your own treasure. There are SO many good, unsung, local restaurants, bistros, brasseries and cafés in Paris that it's nearly criminal to rely on someone else's sensibilities.

That said, on my last trip to Paris, my husband and I used "Le Methode Ocean_Islands" and discovered the prefectly delightful Brasserie Fernand, at 13 rue Guisarde in the 6me. We had an excellent 3-course prix fixe, bottle of wine and fizzy-water for 69 euros (spring of '02). The place was packed with a lively, young, local crowd.

Edited August 29, 2004 by GG Mora (log)

[Underhill]

Here's our don't miss, the one restaurant to which we keep returning: Au Petit Marguery, in the 13th. Fine traditional bistro food, warm and friendly atmosphere; everyone there always seems to be having a good time.

[Kenny]

l'Astrance for me - there's a good thread on it - suggest that you perform a search.

It's quite modern cuisine, but wonderfully executed. Chic, but not stuffy.

[Bux]

I have a few more thoughts on this subject and one is that Ocean_island's method has worked well for me in the past and will again in the future. Even when I have my meals all reserved, I can't pass a restaurant without looking at the menu displayed on the street and should it be dinner time, I will also slow my pace to take a good look inside. It's a method that works well enough for many visitors to Paris. Of course the more familiarity one has with dining in Paris, the better one is able to gauge a restaurant from it's looks.

Still, Paris is one of the world's great gastronomic destinations and so much has been written about its restaurants that it's almost hard not to fall over professional opinions and guides. I would not turn a blind eye to them in favor of the comments of those who may just happen to tune in to this thread. I've already emphasized a reason why some knowledgeable members may not chime in here. Another reason may be that the question is so vague that it doesn't stir members who are unlikely to recommend a favorite to someone whose tastes are still a mystery. There's always the problem of recommending the right restaurant to the wrong person.

I've seen unhappy tourists in restaurants I was enjoying and I've seen service disrupted by tourists so ill matched to the restaurant. Often enough these are not restaurants one would find off the street. They're on unattractive streets far from the destination zones of the city. I also wouldn't expect a visitor to enter a restaurant where 90% of the menu is unintelligible to him, yet there they are having been given the address by a "friend" or copied off a message board. I'd urge those making recommendations of a particular restaurant to add a bit about the food and the pricing.

[Laidback]

For rapport qualité prix I would endorse La Grande Rue in the 15th. It is another of the new young husband-chef/wife-hostess à la Clos des Gourmets. The decor is inauspicious but comfortable, there is a true non-smoking area, and as of last April reservations could be obtained in a day or so. The chef trained under the requisite culinary rock stars...Ducasse and Robuchon if my memory is correct. I have been there 3 times and as of yet haven't hit a sour note. If you like this place then venture out to the edge of the 17th for another similar price/quality treat, husband/wife combo called L'Entredgeu.