We have a concert at the Théâtre des Champs- Élysées(8th)on a Saturday night starting at 8pm, and are trying to find a place for dinner that opens sufficiently early. This is proving quite difficult in Paris. We do not want to dine after the concert. Any suggestions? Perhaps we should go to a café like Ladurée that is open late. Budget open. Thanks.

FOr one place, the Grand Cafe on Boulevard des Capucines, one block from the Opera Garnier, serves all day.

We love LaDurée! You probably won't get the dinner menu at 5 or 6, however. They have a very nice website that has all their menus and a view of their various salons. For the Champs d'Elysée the main floor is great for people watching, but upstairs is more elegant. Also, if you ate elsewhere early and felt you needed a little something after the concert, La Durée would be great. We stopped in late one night and only got dessert and coffee. But you risk not being able to get macarons at that hour.

You can get lighter fare at any café or wine bar, of course. We usually eat our first meal at Léon de Bruxelles (there are several in Paris) because we are "off" the usual meal times and they serve non-stop from lunch to closing, many with outside seating in good weather. For the non-mussel eater, they do have available steak or carbonnade flamande (a stew and my son's favorite), wonderful fries and delicious desserts, great beer choices-all for a reasonable price.

Another options is Paul's (several around Paris) that proved to have one of the best "simple" meals we've had--homemade soup (wintertime only), salads, omelettes and their glorious breads and pastries. YUM!

I'm sure others will have more suggestions. Good Luck and enjoy!

Most any cafe will serve all day and that is your best bet. Very near that theater (down close to the river near the Alma metro) is a nice cafe with a great view of the Eiffel Tower -- I think it is Chez Francis. If I were you, I'd go there. It has a decent inside regular restaurant section also, although they might have dinner hours in there. I've only eaten outside.

IN fact, I did eat there after a performance at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees. I love that theater, what a treat -- it is just beautiful inside.

here is Chez Francis contact info from the Paris Tourist Office

http://www.parisinfo.com/paris_resta..._action=detail

If interested, you could stop by or have your hotel make a dinner reservation for you--probably a good idea for Sat if you want to dine inside in the nice section, and you can find out if they serve dinner starting at 6 or not. It is only a few minutes walk from that theater.

Lucky you! First, the theatre is lovely. Second, it's across the street from my favorite casual restaurant in Paris, the Bar des Theatres. Casual but chic (most of the regulars are workers at the designer boutiques that line the Ave., staff from the nearby Plaza Athenee, and locals who live in this expensive neighborhood). Good Parisian comfort food (escargots, poulet roti, salade chevre chaud, etc.). Their steak tartare is reputed to be among the very best in town. Nice wine list. Continuous service from noon until 1 am. Friendly, funny staff. It's one of the places I always manage to fit in whenever I'm in Paris.
http://www.annuaire-parisien.com/534...-theatres.html

FYI, if you wish to reserve a table (advised, as it's always busy before a performance), the number is: 01.47.23.34.63

Did not have a chance to check back on my question until now. Thank you all for your great suggestions! This website is truly the best for travel afficionados (sp?) like ourselves.