Hello. I am traveling to Paris soon and will be staying at Hotel Saint Jacques on Rue D'Ecoles. Any tips on eating inexpensively (but well!) in that area? I've read that because it's a student area that there are many inexpensive places, but I'd like to avoid the bad but cheap.

Also, anyone have any experiences at Hotel St. Jacques?

Thanks for any tips,

Le Petit Prince de Paris, a reasonably priced bistro with very good food at 12 rue de Lanneau.

Le Pre Verre, 8 rue Thenard, with a very good bargain menu at lunch. Modern French with Asian accents.

saramd - There are plenty of reasonable dining places all around you from the very famous (but not too expensive) Brasserie Balzar, 49 rue des Ecoles to places in the side streets near you.
Your hotel will also give you the lowdown on best choices.

The only area to avoid are the tourist traps in the maze of lanes around Rue de la Huhette/Harpe/Privas where the waiters stand outside trying to pull you in on the promise of a cheap three course meal - cheap maybe, nasty definitely!

My big reccommendation of Blvd St.Germain inbetween the Odeon and Mabillon metros in Rue Gregoire de Tours (near rue de Buci) is L'Insulaire - a small little place with a friendly staff and good food at low prices.
You also have Le Metro right on Place Maubert just a short walk away.

Bouillon Racine is not too far away. It was on my list of places to eat but we didn't make it.

I can second Le Petit Prince de Paris!

Near Pre-Verre is a Chinese/Thai place called The Rose of Summerard on Rue Summerard.

Cosi on Rue Cujas.

Papille on Rue Guy Lussac.

There is a Starbucks close to you on Blvd. St. Michel if you need to have a coffee.

Thin

As tod says, just do NOT patronize those godawful places on and around the rue de la Huchette with the waiters who stand outside and try to lure you in. Otherwise, following the advice above, you'll be fine.

Oooh, we loved Bouillon Racine!

Also don't miss the bakeries. Many have really good sandwiches already made up. One chicken salad on wheat bread that we took and ate on a park bench was quite memorable.

Wow! Thanks to everyone for the great tips.

Good point!

Not too terribly far away is Gerard Mulot. Patisserie extraordinaire.

http://www.gerard-mulot.com/

It is walking distance from the Luxembourg Gardens and Saint Sulpice. Pastries, chocolate, macarons to die for... and a variety of sandwiches too.

Bookmarking