budget eats in the 7th/Paris?
 

I found a great apartment to stay in Paris in the 7th district. I'm concerned about where to take my two always hungry teenagers to eat. What are some good places for takeout or a quick bite that won't break my budget. Are there any grocery stores nearby? Is Rue Cler a street for gourmands or does it have something for every budget?

I don't have any specific suggestions, but I think you have the wrong assessment of Rue Cler. To my knowledge there are no real upscale places along there, but lots of good eating. We had a wonderful "market" lunch at one spot that was such a bargain.

Rue Cler has a fruit stand, a butcher shop (where you can buy pre-cooked meats), a bakery, a chocolate shop, a wine shop, maybe a cheese shop, and a small grocery. All are great sources of take-away food for picnics and having in the apartment. There is also an excellent little crepe stand outside of the cafe just up the street from the fruit market. We did have a great dinner one night at the cafe there as well. I don't remember it being particularly expensive, but the food was good!

I can't help with any other restaurants in the area, as we never seemed to be near there when we wanted to eat dinner.

We did get breakfast every morning from the fruit stand and bakery and eat it on a bench in the Champs du Mars! :)

The 7th is generally regarded by Parisians as offering the best quality/price restaurants in all of Paris. There are more Michelin "Bib Gourmand" ratings here than anywhere else. Rue Cler is the one area to avoid...it has been overwhelmed by American tourists seeking cheap eats etc. Let us know where, specifically, you are thinking of renting; we will give you some ideas for good spots to frequent. JP

The apartment is on Rue Valadon. According to the owner, it's a half block from Rue Cler.

As mentioned, there are lots of takeout places on rue Cler and close by, ranging from very inexpensive Asian takeout to the very upscale Flo. I can't think of an actual restaurant on rue Cler except for the Café du Marché, which IMO is wretched.
The restaurants on the Place Ecole Militaire are not bargains. The Punjab restaurant on ave. Lowendal provides copious servings of excellent Indian food at very good prices. The little supermarket on the corner of the Place Ecole Militaire and Avenue de Tourville is a great place to pick up inexpensive picnic foods (and great crossants and pains au chocolat in the morning), and there's a Franprix on rue Cler itself.
The Croque au Sel on the rue Ste-Dominique (just a few blocks up the avenue Bosquet from place Ecole Militaire) has inexpensive menus for diners who order before 8 pm - and it's not an expensive place to begin with. On the avenue Bosquet just north of place Ecole Militaire there's the Bistro de Papa, a good Sicilian/Italian place (just beyond Bistro de Papa), and across the street a Chinese restaurant. Also the Auberge Bressane on the avenue de Tourville is a good bargain, as is the Thai restaurant at 123 avenue Duquesne.

For the 7th, you cannot go wrong if one source is Cheap Eats, Sandra Gustafson, mentioned many times before. Earlier in January we used it for four places - Bistrot de Breuteuil, Petit Nicois, Au Petit Tonneau and Bistrot Le P'tit Troquet. Very good, not haut, but great value and great wine selection, lesser areas.

One night we were walking back to our hotel, looking for a place to eat. We had passed by this place many times both to and from our metro stop, and decided to stop there. This was mainly a choice of convenience.

It was Café le Bosquet and we really enjoyed it. When we returned home, just out of curiosity's sake I Googled it, and found its website. Apparently it's a Rick Steve's mention - if that makes a difference to you (good or bad), I'm not sure.

At any rate, I really liked it and the prices were very reasonable. It's located at 46 Avenue Bosquet. The owner was really quite friendly and our waitress was very nice, also.

My kids are pretty adventurous eaters, so thanks for all the suggestions. Any Greek places close by that have the gyros type sandwich my husband and I survived on during our last trip to Paris (15 years ago), or do we have to go to the Latin Quarter for those?

Rue Cler is upscale for groceries and those food stands, stuff is more expensive there than many street markets. However, that's just food and by upscale I mean expensive. I think any take-away stuff you buy there will be cheap in comparison to buying it in a restaurant, probably.

Thank goodness there are no cheap Greek restaurants there throwing plates and dragging in tourists. I think you will have to go to rue de la Huchette for that junk. There are some good gyro-type pita wraps and middle Eastern things in the Marais on rue des Rosiers (4th arr.), I bet your teens would like that and you too, if you like that kind of food.

Thankfully we have a bigger budget now than we did 15 years ago. The gyros did taste wonderful back then, but that could have been because it was our first time to Paris. What's a good place to go for good old-fashioned French food, like cassoulet? Where can you find a good croque monsieur? What's a good place to plop down for my cafe au lait and croissant? I read somewhere that rue de la Huchette was known as "Bacteria Alley" so we'll probably steer clear of that area. thanks so much for all the suggestions.

I cannot say if these are considered budget, but Thomieux in the 7th makes a good cassoulet (according to friends/I don't eat red meat), Cafe Max on Ave de Motte Picquet which is near your flat and Allarde in the 6th..one of my all time favorites.
Get a Zagats Paris..they have a section just for teens.
We will also be in the 7th, staying right off of rue Cler .

We had a delicious but cheap meal at an Asian traiteur called "Ji Li" at 78 blvd de Grenelle (the far side of the metro overpass) last Oct. It's kind of like an Asian "deli" - you point at things you want to eat, they put on a plate and charge by the weight. You can eat well for 7-8€ per person. Similar places seem to be all around - if the food looks good (not like it has been sitting out for days) give it a try.

We have eated dinner at Brasserie Ecole Militaire, where you can more or less order just what you want, rather than going thru a 3-or-4 course 'formal' meal.

It ought to be easy to find a casual place that sells pizza or sandwiches in that area.

We had a Croque Monsieur at a café in 1997 at the corner of ave de Tourville/blvd de la tour Maubourg (I think). I've got a photo of hubby sitting at a sidewalk table there.

I found these in the Yellow Pages (www.pagesjaunes.fr):

Pizzeria / coffee shop -
http://pizzeriatourville.com/index-gb.htm
10 avenue de Tourville

Pizza les Artistes
98 blvd de Grenelle
(near where rue Dupleix meets blvd de Grenelle)

Boulangeries:
Pain d'Epis - 63 ave Bosquet
There are at least 6 different ones on rue St Dominique

Speaking of sandwiches, there is a shop called Cosi on rue de Seine that makes very good sandwiches.

I know StCirq dislikes Cafe du Marche on rue Cler but I always had a good meal which ran around $13 for dinner in 2001 including a bottle of wine. I didn't particularly like the crepes at the stand in front but I only tried the chocolate. I was in Paris for a month a block from rue Cler so was always looking for cheap eats

Another place I liked for cheap eats was Pizza Milano at the Seine and Blvd San Michel. Not like the pizza you order at home and there is patio seating right on the blvd for people watching.

For a great break and people watching, the Le Depart St Michel right across the street from the pizza restaurant has a terrific New York Sundae plus other menu items for lunch/dinner (I always stopped for the sundaes :-)

Rue Cler has something for every budget with lots of food shops and what a great place to buy flowers, cheap, for your apartment (I bought a new bunch every week). The grocery store on the corner of the Place Ecole Militaire and Avenue de Tourville (as mentioned above) is much better than the ones on rue Cler.

thanks for all the responses. I hope I get to all of these places in one week.

Monique, a short walk from your apartment is Le Bistrot du 7eme, at 56 bd la Tour Maubourg, They have menus at 12 and 16 euros and are open every day (except for lunch on the weekend). If you go to lesrestos.com you can access their menus etc. Across the street is La Source, a pleasant cafe for coffee and a sandwich etc. And Cafe Constant is probably the finest Cafe we have ever experienced; food and prices to die for! JP

Oakglen beat me to it but I second the recommendation of Bistro du 7eme. It is very reasonable and the menu vrey typically French and very good. We really enjoyed our dinner there this fall.

Here's another recommendation of Bistro du 7me. If you want to have lunch there, make sure to go early as the place fills up very quickly.
Another one we liked very much is Pasco (Corner Boulevard de la Tour Maubourg - rue Chevert). Lots of locals!

Myriam, we will be eating at Bistro du 7me...and will send a toast to you ((D))
Best wishes in May!

For a fairly inexpensive and filling snack on the rue Cler, I like Cafe Ulysees. It's become a glorified crepe stand, but the crepes are still cheap and somehow taste more delicious on a cold (maybe rainy) Paris day. There's also that rotisserie chicken place!

Scarlett: when I stayed in an apartment close to Cafe Max last October, the place was closed and dark. A sign on the door indicated pending renovation. Don't know if it has since reopened, or if it may be operating under a new name and/or owners.

monique123 (and Scarlett, too!), the best resource I've found for rue Cler shops is at www.parismarkets.net/RueCler.html

This is a 16 page article (which I printed and took it with me) written by an American woman who has shopped rue Cler for twenty years.

She "walks" you along the rue, describing the quality of the wares offered inside the shops. Lots of useful information, including two other nearby markets. Photos, too!

ttt

Thank you Madame! I have just finished painting a brick wall LOL so I missed your excellent advice! I will do the same, print it all out and take it with me.

Yes, there is a good and cheap Greek place nearby, no plate throwing though!
It is on rue Jean Nicot (or perhaps Malar) near the corner of St Dominique

oakglen, How does one log on to lesrestos.com? When I go there, I get boxes asking for "login id" and "password", and no hotlinks to register, or to anything else. Your description of the site sounds intriguing. Can you advise me what I'm doing wrong? Thanks!
Kevin

Kevin,
Try this:
http://www.lesrestos.com/
The one you were trying to log on to is a different website.
Enjoy :)

I like lunch at either Le Recrutement or Le Centenaire, two cafés catty-cornered from each other at the intersection of the Boulevard de la Tour-Maubourg and the Rue de l'Université.

Some friends of mine recently had dinner and couple of times at Le Florimond on Ave. de la Motte-Picquet and enjoyed that.

L'Affriolé on the rue Malar has a good reputation. Friends of mine swear by it.

I've had cassoulet at Thoumieux on Rue Saint-Dominique and enjoyed it.

The big café with the yellow awning on the Place de l'Ecole Militaire (maybe it's called La Terrasse?) is a fine place to eat or to have breakfast. There's a Shopi, I think, supermarket right next door to it.

Bistro de Breteuil is not the finest of the fine, but it is a good deal for the price.

La Poule au Pot on Rue de l'Université is another place that is well known.

To all the posters, thank you so much for your replies. Here's a very touristy question, and no doubt will reflect the fact that I haven't been to Paris for the last 15 years. What cafe can I sit in (preferably not far from Rue Valadon in the 7th) where I can sip my morning cafe au lait and have an abolutely drop dead view of the Eiffel Tower.

If you are looking for cheap, to gorge 2 teenage boys in the 7th, let me offer the following suggestions. Casa Pizza and Casa Pasta on Duquesne, basically the same restaurant with a wall in between. The sandwiches at the sidewalk portion of the Shopi(grocery store) on Motte-Piquet at the metro stop; pick up a couple of rotisserie chickens at any butcher shop. There is no longer a crepe stand at the Café du Marche on rue Cler, but someone mentioned the new one just up the street, Ülysses, which also has an eat-in section; it is owned by a Greek man and his mother and they also offer other steam table type dishes. For inexpensive restaurants, everyone knows of Bistro du Septieme on La Tour Maubourg, it is very popular, and for 3 people you should reserve ahead of time to be assured of a table. For inexpensive Italian with a great view, there is Il Duomo on La Tour Maubourg right across from Les Invalides. Another little restaurant out of sight of r. Cler and thus rather unknown is La Varangue on r. Augereau, just a few blocks on the other side of Valadon from r. Cler. Two other longtime "cheapo" legends in the 7th are not by r. Cler but if you are near the Bon Marché, and you should check out it's Grand Epicerie, there is Au Babylone just around the corner on r. Babylone, and the all-time cheap eat champ is Chez Germaine on r. Pierre Leroux.

Chez Germaine is that tiny place with just 4 or 5 tables just off Rue de Sevres, isn't it? It's an experience.

I had a pretty horrible -- so bad it was comical -- at the Casa Pizza two or three years ago. I'd find it hard to recommend the place. Maybe it has improved since then.

I enjoy the little restaurant right next door to the Duquesne Eiffel hotel on Ave. Duquesne. I've had a couple of good, inexpensive lunches there, and it's a typical bustling Paris place.

Keren, thanks for getting me to the right site: http://www.lesrestos.com/ restaurant reviews, and some menus

Kevin

I forgot to mention the Champ de Mars café and the Sancerre wine bar as good places for a fairly light, inexpensive meal. The Sancerre specializes in omelettes, and the Champs de Mars has especially good salads. Both are on Avenue Rapp, at the end of the rue Saint-Dominique.

check out this link.

http://www.parismarkets.net/RueCler.html

ttt