No need to worry about this far in advance, Paris is too big and too rich in what it offers to worry now.

No need to take the métro just to go eat modestly - just walk away from the Champs Elysées, you will quickly get a sense of the patterns: Near intersections mainly you find lots of moderate eateries, in all parts of Paris - the prime spots right on the corner of the big intersections are not necessarily what you are looking for, the real estate dictates that those are more expensive, but a few doors down into the side streets you find all kinds of options.

Note the three-tier pricing in cafés: Cheapest is standing up at the counter, second-cheapest is sitting down indoors, most expensive is sitting down on the terrace or sidewalk. Don't order at the counter then go sit down, you'll get an intense language lesson or worse...

If you go for the plat du jour or the assiette du jour ("plate of the day"), the daily special, you can eat for a lot less than fifty bucks, and there are many "ethnic" eateries where you either buy take-out or they have a few tables for you to sit and munch, some of these are simple but very tasty, like Lebanese falafel places, Turkish kebabs, and on and on.

There are also tons of bakeries, boulangeries, usually two per intersection, on opposite sides, and they have sausage rolls and little quiches and other such goodies, not just the sweet stuff, and paninis - you also get paninis (sandwiches) from many stands, often a café or brasserie will have a panini and sometimes a crêpe stand outside for those in a hurry - the nearest park bench will make for a relaxing and cheap meal!

Just go and look and check the menus in the windows and go for it!

Lots of discussion here on this subject; for example: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34965189. And don't linit to yourself to a "few metro stops"! One of the joys of Paris is exploring, and finding soon-to-be-favorite local places in all parts of the city - but still only a short walk from some metro station.

Two excellent very reasonably priced places in the 7th, St. Dominique are Christian Constant's Les Cocottes and Cafe Constant. No reservations, so need to be early for lunch and/or dinner..

http://www.leviolondingres.com/

Enjoy...

Joan

bookmarking

$50 per person on lunch and dinner combined? So does that mean $100 total for two persons each day?

My experience with cafes last trip for petit dekuener (coffee, croissant and OJ) is about 10 euros. This was sitting indoors, in a very non-touristed area. For lunch, I could get a ham and cheese sandwich, soft drink and a sweet for under 10 euro. So you are up to 20 euro for first two meals.

In restaurants, I could see menus for 15/20/25 euros as being possible. Last time I had a nice meal of the 20 euro menu at the Bistrot de la 7ieme: Terrine de porc (big piece), veal Escalope + allumette fries with really good cram + mushroom sauce, not too rich)
,Bread, 1/2 bottle vittel, ½ bottle Saumur, Espresso, and Positano dessert for a total of 35,30. Cut out wine and espresso and you are under 30 euros.

You might want to look at he Leeds Guide:

http://www.insiderparisguides.com/guides/restos.htm#anchor11

I like the Paul patissrie chain. They are a sandwich and sweet shop with 75 outlets in Paris. But you will find many sandwich and crepe sellers as you walk around.

From web...

Paul - Champs-Elysées
84, Avenue des Champs-Elysées
Paris 75008
Métro 1 @ George V


Paul, Maison de Qualite
63, Rue Montorgueuil
Paris 1 (first arrondissment)
Nearest Metro: Les Halles

Since 1889 this company has been producing top quality breads and pastries around France. Yes, they are a chain (75 locations in Paris alone), but their stuff is so good I can't avoid recommending them. This particular location, on the bustling market street of Montorgueuil, is a fabulous place to get a cheap lunch while wandering Paris, and is a favorite of locals and tourists alike. I try and eat a Tart au Frais every day, and they have one of the best ones I've tried. In addition to fabulous sweets, they have great breads, and at lunchtime, excellent sandwiches and quiches.

My husband and I went to Paris in May and I did worry about food prices before we left.

We brought from the US many lunches with us in the form of foil packs of tuna or chicken breasts and pre-packaged nuts and cookies to which we added some french bread.

IN Paris, we found many sandwich shops especially in the Mont Marte area where we could pickup a sandwhich and drink and bring it to a park for lunch. Also street vendors selling crepes with fruit or other fillings.

In Mont Marte, many restaurants were offereing fixed price dinners for around 10 euros. There was often someone outside the door on the street with a menu to show the dinner choices.

Beware of the COCA COLA prices though, while our dinner was 10 euros at one place, the accompanying Cokes were 5 euros each. My advice - wine or tap water.
And don't be afriad to ask the price before ordering.

Just look outside the cafes, menus are usually always posted. Lunch can be a picnic or a crepe from a stand. 20 Euro prix fixe menus are common. Some places have a 35 Euro 3 course menu with wine included. Off hand I can think of Les Ministeres in the 6th, Bistrot de Breteuil in the 7th and Gallopin in the 2nd.

Good point avalon,

All restuarants that I have been to will post their menus outside, so not only can you see prices, but translate and decide what you want.

Many restaurants will have 'menus', not in the sense of a paper listing of their selections, but these are meal plans, at varying price points. You'll get an appetizer, entree and desert. Drinks are usually extra. These are, from my experience, the best deals. You can still order "a la carte", but would be hard pressed to match the deals.

NOte that the OP is asking for a daily combined budget of 77 euro for two--for lunch and dinner; at least that is how I read the query.

Go to Monoprix, Franprix, or even the Food Halls at Galleries Lafayette and get takeaway food.

In the 7th is Pizza Tina on Avenue Bosquet. Good Italian food and not expensive at all.

For Chinese in the 5th, The Rose of Summerard on Rue de Sommerard, close to the Cluny Museum.

The Welcome Cafe on Rue Rivoli, just down from Angelina walking towards the Louvre. They have lots of specials and the waiters LOVE to speak English.

Thin

Everyone, thanks for all the helpful information and advice.

To answer one question, i did mean $50 usd per person for both lunch and dinner total, so around 100 used/day for the two of us (we don't really eat breakfast). It doesn't mean I want to end up spending that much, but just set that as an easy round number to get a feel around. And i don't plan on drinking wine with every dinner (maybe just during one or two of four dinners?), but just need a basic entree with the most economical beverage... i guess tap water.

From Leeds website....

Good Value Restaurants

You don't need to be rich to dine well in Paris - you just need to know where to go. Enjoy fabulous three-course meals with wine for just $20 to $30. Explore more than 200 hand-picked great-value restaurants. Plus, get a glossary of common dining terms—your own pull-out menu guide.


There is also the Sandra Gustafson's Cheap Eats guide.

I had dinner here upon the recommendation of Thin on this board it was very inexpensive.

La Rose De Sommerard.6, Rue Du Sommerard

Paris has a number of high-end cafes like Cafe Constant(a personal favorite) and Cafe Hugo and Cafe Creme in the Marais. Eat your main meal at lunch, and drink the house wine, generally much better than the jug wine they pour here in the States. You can make your budget; but just barely.

Cafe Hugo..located Places des Vosges, in the arcade, outdoor table. I had lunch there for 17 euro: bavette de veau (veal) with lots of veggies and potatoes dauphinoise, mineral water, glass of wine.

Very reasonable and Florent(owner) is great.

Flirt'The like Flirt Tea
3, Ave. Duquesne 75007
01 47 05 51 05

Open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. This means that you can have a late lun c, if you want. He has a board with a list of plats for 12, 13,14 euros.

Enjoy...

Joan

what are the general expectations for tipping at restaurants in paris? and western europe overall (belgium, germany, england, netherlands)?

Le Petit St. Benoit, on street of same name, in the 6th. It's an old fashioned bistro with a prix fixe of around 15 euro. Lunch or dinner; no reservations so arrive early for dinner.

Our fall-back is always Vesuvio, just across the street from the St-Germain métro station. It has a lengthy menu of Italian and French food; student meal cards are accepted, which gives you an idea of the affordability. The restaurant is very lively and lots of fun.

Tipping: You can get away with a few euro--like 5%-10% of the total. Service is already included in the bill. Some people just leave a couple of euro..

niteflite - check these threads

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=35130365

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=35126211

the subject has been dealt with a lot.

Tipping...I would not leave 5-10%. Round it up to the nearest euro, unless you feel it was special service, then be generous

Just came back from Paris, and posted the places we ate on my blog. You might take a look and see if anything suits your fancy: http://kylemcnichols.blogspot.com/2008/12/paris-dec-30-2008-jan-4-2009.html.

Hope it helps!

I rarely tip in Paris, and certainly wouldn't if I was eating on that budget in real cheap places. Even when I do, I sure wouldn't tip 10 pct of the bill!

YOu don't have to tip at all, there's no law that you have to tip. Service is already included in the bill, unlike the US and some other countries -- at least in France.

There isn't any European rule, it varies by country and whether service is included or not in the bill. It isn't included by law in some countries, but it must be included in France.

You can always eat in the cafeterias in the deparment stores. I like the one in Galeris Layfayette. Happy Travels!

FWIW, my daughter and I were able to eat quite reasonably in Paris by sticking mostly with crepe stands (Oh how I miss those ham and cheese crepes!) and the little sandwich place near our hotel. We had a couple of cafe meals and a wonderful lunch at a Jewish restaurant in the Marais. But I was amazed at how little we wound up spending. And how much we enjoyed what we ate!

Bookmarking!

Monica