norween

The BHV's name is Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville, but it's a depatment store, oriented toward home improvment, harwdare, electric appliances, not a restaurant, Sure, there is a cafeteria inside, but far from cheap and the food is, at best , mediocre.

norween

Sorry, i forgot to mention the BHV's address : 52 rue de Rivoli

kerouac

I have stopped going to Chartier over the years, because the quality of the food has declined enormously while the prices went up. But everybody should go to Chartier at least once.

My own budget recommendation for Paris is the "Chez Papa" chain, now with about 10 locations. And the best value on the menu is the "Boyarde" salad, a strange mix of salad, country ham, cheese and roasted potatoes in a big bowl. A "Boyarde complète" has an egg or two thrown on top.

hopscotch

We won't be seeing norween at the BHV Cafe.
http://www.bhv.fr/Pratique.42.0.html. (S)he will be at an undisclosed location eating better and cheaper but not sharing the information with Fodorites.

The BHV address she gives won't do you a whole lot of good. If you want to try the cafe and the interesting shopping, the actual location is right across the street north of Hotel de Ville.

lincasanova

ditto for "le preverre". 5 rue de thenard. st. germain, rue des ecoles area.

papagena

Hi Cymbeline,

There are loads of good, cheap cafes in London, the main thing as ever is to get off the major tourist routes. You don't have to stray far; one or two streets is usually enough.

A few suggestions, sorry about the vague descriptions...

If you're at the Science/Nat Hist/V&A museums...
Actually I quite like the science museum and V and A cafes. But alternatively, if you go to the parade of shops around the South Ken tube building, you have Daquise (Polish, about £10), Little Japan (um, Japanese, about £5) and a chinese restaurant on the corner (can't remember the name) all of which are budget and good.

If you're on Oxford street...
My favourite for a quick cheap lunch (under £5) is the Japanese cafe on Thayer street, I think it's called Donburi. There are various cafes and restaurants on St Christopher's place and if you have a look at the menus you can eat at many of them for under £10.

If you're at the National Gallery...
The cafe in the crypt under St Martin in the Fields church is v atmospheric and a meal is about £8-£10.

If you're at Harrods...
Go up the pedestrianised alley on the opposite side of the road - my A-Z doesn't give the name unfortunately but it's between a juice bar and a pub - and there are a number of good value cafes and sandwich shops. The pub also does cheap food.

If you're in Covent Garden...
Ponti's (in the central market) does meals for about £8 and, as previously mentioned, Food for Thought is great.

Also, all over London you can go to the Pizza Hut lunchtime buffet for about £5, and pubs which are part of chains tend to have cheap OK food. For sandwiches Pret a Manger has the advantage of providing seats and very fresh food, Benjy's tends to be the cheapest. If the weather is good Marks and Spencer do a really good range of picnic-type food.

walkinaround

if you are REALLY on a budget, the krishnas usually serve lunch from a bicycle on the campus of the university of london (just behind the senate house). pretty good veg offerings, it's totally free...just queue up and get your meal (no religious pitch at all). long queue though.

lawchick

You can learn how to cook your lunch here - and then eat it for 15 euros.

http://www.atelierdeschefs.com/agenda.php?atelier=2

kasperdoggie

I'd second suggestion for Louvre's food court if you are looking for non-vile cafeteria food It was not dirt cheap by any means, but the food quality was better then average cafeteria/food court and they also have a great variety of food. I remember a very nice quiche Lorraine from one of the vendors...

we might check out cafe at BHV this time since I plan to investigate their hardware section...

Naturaltan

I haven't seen anyone mentioned Chinese restaurants in London Chinatown for cheap eats in london. The restaurant I go for a quick lunch is called Young Cheng, they do lunch for £5, free soup and Chinese tea. Now I call that a bargain. The menu for this lunch special runs into four pages ( 6 pages if you read Chinese) so there is plenty to choose from. And the food is good too. Many students and office workers go there for their lunch. There are two Young Cheng restaurants (same owner), one in Lisle Street and the other Shaftsbury avenue. I prefer the one in Lisle street, it is more spacious.

Gretchen

Haven't read all the replies but we often eat DINNER in Paris for 20E. You can eat lunch at pretty nice "known" places for 20E.
Au Piano Muet on rue Mouffetard, Auberge du Jarente on rue Jarente, Bistrot du 7eme all have dinner menus under 20E
You can also eat a la carte at a cafe or bistro for under 20E for dinner. Paris is the bargain destination for food in the world (or "my" world!!).

marianne38

Hi Cymbeline,
We were in Paris in fall, and again in January. Both times we went to Le Petit Keller (metro Bastille), and were not disappointed. The ambiance was great and the food was absolutely delicious! Especially the home-made deserts.
The restaurant now has a web site at:
www.lepetitkeller.com
Check it out!