Six of us are meeting up in Paris late in the day, too late to shop for and prepare our own dinner. Does anyone have a recommendation for a casual, friendly, neighborhood bistro for us to enjoy our first night in Paris? Preferably in the 7th arr.

A bistro is a bar.

If you mean a brasserie the Suffren is perfect. Good quality price ratio on avenue Suffren and grenelle (?) close to Ecole militaire.

that's not in the 7th but in the 15th, Wo! I mean, where in the 7th?

Not sure what part of the 7th....Cafe Varenne has excellent food and is a great place for meeting friends for dinner. 36 Rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris, France.

Another idea is Cafe Constant (139 Rue Saint-Dominique, 75007 Paris, France) or Les Cocottes (135 Rue Saint-Dominique, 75007 Paris, France). I believe both have continuous service until 11pm and no reservations.

True Menachem.
I realize I have not eaten anywhere in the 7th or bothered to keep track of it.

Suffren is quite good though. Used to be in the 15th quite a lot. No hardship at all. The 7th is a large area...

I was invited by my boss at Le 'Bon accueil' rue Montessuy close to champ de Mars.
More of a restaurant and beat to make a reservation. Very good.

Can't remember the name but at the Ecole Militaire metro there is a nice brasserie.
There is also Fontaine de Mars.

Isn't Wo a woe. So tiresome.

Do you mean tonight?

Bistrot Belhara is a little fancy but not too, the food is excellent and the prices are around 40 EU for lunch without wine. Haven't been for dinner. Right near rue Cler - but check to see when they're open.

Otherwise, all of the Christian Constant places on rue Saint Dominique will be open and are casual and the food's good.
Only Violon d'Ingres takes reservations.

Auberge Bressane. They have a lovely coq au vin and other cuisine de grandemère dishes. Or yes, La Fontaine de Mars, but it's become a bit pricey - really good food, though.

Wo is actually a sweetie, not tiresome at all, just sometimes opinionated like all the rest of us.

<i> Bistro in the 7th?
Posted by: JaniceGo on Dec 29, 16 at 8:02pm</i>

The 7th is a large area, from the Seine to the Seine. To narrow it down, what is the nearest Metro?

<i>WoinParis on Dec 30, 16 at 12:21am
A bistro is a bar. </i>

A bistro can be far more than a bar. On of my favorite places, http://www.montparnasse-1900.com/en/, was known as Bistro de la Gare for decades. It has a new name but the same decor for a century.

L'Affriole, 17, rue Malar, 7th--casual and very good. Not very big, so good idea to reserve.

Auberge Bressane looks lovely. Will definitely go there while I'm staying in the 7th in May. And probably some of the other places mentioned here. Thanks!

Thanks everyone. Sorry for misunderstanding the term bistro. The nearest Metro is Invalides and the meet up will occur in February.

Le cafe de la Gare can also be a restaurant.

Oh please, a bistro is not only a bar!

Two recommendations, L'Ami Jean. Make reservations. I promise you will have so much fun. Or, Truffes Folies. I had lunch there today. The smell alone will make you think you went to heaven.

Un bistro est - en France - un bar. Et encore. Je vous invite donc à lire la définition du Larousse - une référence de la langue de Molière.
Toutefois en 3ème définition le terme bistro tend à définir un type de restaurant dont l'ambiance se rapproche des bistros d'antan.
Je suis donc outre pédant vieux jeu...

��.

This being said a bistro is a bar in the mind of 99% of Frenchspeaking.
Who may send you to a bar.
But ok if englishspeaking want to correct my French so be it.
Don't want to appear grumpy or a woe - which I don't understand in this context. I thought it meant misfortune.
But surely Gretchen can clarify.

A bistro or bistrot /ˈbiːstroʊ/, is, in its original Parisian incarnation, a small restaurant, serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting. Bistros are defined mostly by the foods they serve. French home-style cooking, and slow-cooked foods like cassoulet, a bean stew, are typical. [1]

I "think" this is the way Americans understand it. And how it got its name from Russian.

Yes, traditionally a bistro has been considered to be a bar. But over the past decades, the term has come to mean a small, family-run restaurant. Nowadays, I've noticed that some of these eateries cover all bases, calling themselves "cafe, brasserie, bistro, restaurant".

Aber meine liebe Gretchen, wir sind hier keine Amis.

As you point out, the term Bistro is supposed to come from Russian troops stationed in the capital after la commune. Because they could get a quick 'shot' of alcohol. Not because thay ate there.

Cassoulet being cooked in Paris looks also strange to me... where did you get this definition ?

Anyway... Est ist uns auch ganz Wurst... I've shown my grumpy side ;-)

I've never eaten in a bistro and when I hear somebody say 'tu connais un bistro dans le coin' I know I'm in for a beer.
When I hear 'On se ferait pas un petit restau' I know we eat.
Served me ok for some past decades. I'll readjust in a few more if young guys start saying they eat in bistros - I mean not brachouilleurs who would say 'Eh, y a un buzz d'enfer sur un bistro à SoPi'...

But ok, locals can evolve and may eventually start talking like tourists want us to talk ;-)

Do I get the medal of the most opiniated poster of the week on a subject of absolutely no significance ?

Ps : Tomorrow I'll eat in a bistro actually. We invited the owner but we added some of his own friends and we end up too many so he opens his bar for us to eat in.
And drink...