anyone know of a good cafe or restaurant for lunch or dinner on Isle St Louis in Paris?
We have eaten at Brasserie Isle St Louis but it is just ok....good place for a glass of wine only. Any place off on a side street off the beaten path in that area or around Notre Dame that is not packed with tourists?

I do not have any experience with this restaurant but plan to go in two weeks. The Trip Advisor reviews look pretty good!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...de_France.html

http://www.lerelaisdelisle.fr/plan.htm

There is no such thing as "off the beaten path" or "on a side street" in the Ile St-Louis. The place is the size of a postage stamp. Le Relais de l'Isle is good, but I like l'Ilôt Vache better. And of course there is Le Tastevin.

I like the Brasserie isle St Louis. I had a Steak Tartare that was very good plus the bonus of sitting outside, I got to see and hear the jazz group playing on the bridge

I agree, actually. The food's not brilliant, but being able to watch the performers on the bridge - the last time we were there there was a woman about my age doing a sort of tap dance routine - is priceless and such a Paris experience.

Le Tastevin has the advantage of being open Sundays, if that is your schedule. We found Madame to be wonderfully welcoming and the food traditional and well-prepared.

Not too far away, on rue du Jessieu in the 5th, is le Buisson Ardent, which doesn't show up on a lot of forums but serves inventive cuisine in an intimate, warm setting. (Inside, that is, the street is nondescript.)

www.lebuissonardent.fr

What about:

http://www.mon-vieil-ami.com/

We enjoyed Auberge de la Reine Blanche when we were in Paris a few years ago. The food is good, traditional French cooking and prices are reasonable. Tables are close together and the restaurant has a cozy friendly feel.

Just across from the Isle St. Louis on the left bank is the very good restaurant Itineraires, 5 rue de Pontoise. Reservations essential at 01 46 33 60 11.

Yes Nikki!!

Or if you are committed to the isle

L'Auberge de la Reine Blanche‎

I think the the Chocolat Chaud à l’Ancienne at Le Flore en l’Île is the best in Paris, and I recently discovered I'm not alone

http://www.elliotthester.com/column_paris_04.html

I also think they serve a wonderful omelette, big enough to share (and it's on the pricey side, so you may want to share).

My vote goes to "l'Ilot Vache" on Rue St. Louis en Ile. We have had dinner there 3 years in a row. They have 36 Euro price fixe, 3 course dinner. Each time I had the escargot, lamb chops, and creme brulee. They have other choices but that was so good I had it over again. They also have a great choice of wine. The room is very stylish but small so you probably shoud reserve. We did so just a few days in advance when we arrived.

Many people like "Mon Veil Ami" but it was our least favorite in all of Paris in 7 trips. IMO, the food was very heavy and the service was terrible----maybe they just didn't like us for some reason.

A less expensive place is just a couple of blocks inland from Notre Dame. It's "Au Bougnat" at 26 Rue Chanoinesse. It's a small, kind of plain dining room behind a little bar. They have a great ribeye and frittes for 19 Euro, but I've also had some great scallops in puff pastry and other things. They have a nice wine list with many by the glass. It's our "go to" place when we don't want to spend a lot, probably been there 10 times and have never been disappointed. If you go say hi to "Boom", the cute little Asian girl who runs around like crazy doing everything.

Another one we like there is "Sorza", again right on Rue St. Louis en Ile. It's sort of fancy Italian. The pastas and lamb shank are great.

Re: Le Tastevin
Don't play with your fork! From my Christmas 2006 Trip report:

"Now, I have never been known as Mr. Etiquette, but I do have a sense of decorum and have not embarrassed anyone too much at a meal (well, since I was 40). I have never noticed that in some restaurants in Paris, the forks by your plate are turned downward.

We ordered our dinner and a bottle of wine, and as we sat there chatting, I fiddled with my turned-down fork. Suddenly my mother was reincarnated in the form of the restaurant owner. If she’d had a ruler, she would have smacked my hand.

“You are in Paris. In Paris, the fork is always turned down,” she said, and she didn’t have that Colgate smile when she relayed this startling information to me. Needless to say, I didn’t move that damned fork until my dinner came, because I think she had a secret peephole in the wall to spy on unsuspecting Americans who play with their forks when she leaves the room.

The dinner (except for the fork incident) was uninspiring, but the molten chocolate cake for dessert was phenomenal. I would not recommend the place, even if the owner was a tad less obsessive-compulsive about her forks. Not until the last night of our trip did we encounter another restaurant where the fork was turned down. Fortunately, that restaurant was sans peepholes."

maitai -- great story.

La Charlotte de l'Isle is wonderful for hot chocolate and desserts:

http://www.chocoparis.com/la-charlotte-de-lile/