jahlie

Four friends will be staying at the Mayfair in the 1st arr. and need some advice on good reasonably priced restaurants in the area. It's a high-priced area but our pocketbooks will be spent on the hotel. Memorable and not too touristy would be just the thing.

elaine

please give some indication of what prices pp you had in mind for dinner

euroenvy

chez marianne in the marais on rue de rosiers? has wine cellar /lively atmosphere and you can get 4 or 5 items per plate from the deli(liver pate,roasted red peppers,& just all kinds of jewish deli stuff with great bread and wine or beer.You can see it in the window out by the street and see if it's what you would want..makes a great cheap dinner and you can share...we even took a sandwich with the leftover pate with us in a napkin.they have other stuff for people who do not want to order the deli stuff..yeah its not "french" but deli with a french twist.Its really popular so go early or be prepared to wait a few minutes

jahlie

Chez Marianne is mentioned in many guide books and sounds interesting. For dinner price pp under $50 would be great. That should give us some good choices. But if not, we can splurge once or twice. Thanks for the advice

SuzieC

Yep, when my ship comes in... or I've won a lottery..and return to Paris a millionaire, even then, I've been reading about a falafel shop in the Marais that sounds incredible.

Otherwise, in the 1eme, I can recommend Le Fumoir almost at Rivoli on Adm. Chaligny Blvd. (across from the east facade of the Louvre)... very chic crown and I could afford it so it is not that expensive!

mamc

We enjoyed L'Ardoise in the 1st. It is at 28, rue Mont-Thabor, not too far from the Place de la Concorde. Good and reasonable.

Underhill

We liked L'Ardoise also, but be sure to have a reservation--preferably for the section on the ground floor, not the basement.

Christina

I think Le Souffle restaurant on rue Mont Thabor right near L'Ardoise is also considered fairly decent, and it's in the same general price range (around 30-35 euro for dinner). I know the specialities are souffles, but I believe they have other food also (Auvergne cuisine -- confit, pate, etc.)

elaine

I haven't been at Le Souffle for a few years, but even a few years ago the dinner tab added up to 40-50 euro pp--maybe we didn't order as economically as we could have.
Anyway, I think it's good there, but not the greatest value--overpriced for what it is, imo. I wouldn't call it non-touristy by a long shot, unless you dine there relatively late.

Not unknown to tourists (it's been in Gustafson's "Great Eats in Paris" for years), but a good value imo, is Lescure, rue Mondavi, quite near Place de la Concorde.
A small place, kind of hole-in-the-wall, simple food, some if it is okay, some if it is excellent.I don't think they take reservations. To leave there and see Place de la Concorde at night is a combination that is well worth the price of dinner. If you like, walk in and have a cocktail at the Crillon Hotel bar--you'll pay a high price, but it's only a cocktail, not dinner and it's quite a beautiful hotel.

Iregeo

I know that no place pleases everyone, but I had my least favorite meal in Paris at Lescure. Perhaps if you go, ask for a table in the smoking section. If you ask for non-smoking, you are seated in the back, at communal tables with all Americans! The waiters kiss all the American women and joke, in French, and all the french customers laugh, while the Americans remain clueless! If you understand French, perhaps you'll enjoy it more. I was left with the sense that the whole (french) dining room was laughing at us!

jahlie

Yes, I have Great Eats in Paris but somehow I suspect EVERYONE will be eating in the restaurants she mentions. Also, I like to get tips from "real"people with "real" experiences that aren't in a guide book.

Thank you everyone and I'll scribble a trip report when I return.

RonZ

In the 2nd, the brasserie Le Vauveville [on rue Vivienne across the street from the Bourse] has good food and terrific atmosphere. Also a no smoking section which opens to the sidewalk in good weather. Our dinners for two, with an appertif and the house wine, usually run about 90€ or so. Suggest getting there about 8pm, because later on it is usually packed.

Le Grand Colbert, right down the street is a second choice.

jpie

Hello Jahlie:

You might want to read this thread:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...amp;dirtyBit=1

It is from Missdaisy and she mentions a number or restaurants they tried in the 2nd near an apartment they were renting. I also mention a favorite thai restaurant (we live around there, in the 3rd though. In general, in the 2nd check out the area of rue Montorgueil, which is a wonderful walking street, and look for rue tinquetonne which crosses it and has a number of good little "restos" on it, some of which missdaisy tried. Some people complain that it borders on rue St Denis which is a bit seedy, but Montorgueil itself is really nice.

Also, our favorite "good deal" in the Marais is the Dome Du Marais, 53 bis rue de Francs-Bourgeois, 01 42 74 54 17, metro rambuteau. We especially like it for lunch to take visiting friends from the US. The food the times we have been there has been terrific and is really a good value for price. Plus, we like the building itself. It has this large dome in the middle that is lovely, and has the added benefit of helping to keep the environment relatively smoke free, a added plus for most our US friends.

Another favorite of ours is Le Hangar 12, impasse Berthaud also in the 3rd at metro rambuteau. 01 42 74 55 44. It is a small place next to a doll museum and they have a small lovely menu that changes seasonally. Really nice owner as well.

Also, if you decide to branch out from French food, go check out rue St. Anne in the 2nd. It is a small street running north and south starting at the Avenue de l'Opera just to west of the Palais Royal (metro Pyramides. There are tons of wonderful Japanese retaurants there, in different price ranges.....Also, as an interesting aside, our uncle (who is 80) told us that during the war, this was the gay area of Paris, before the Marais took over that title

nancy

In the Marais, La Bastoche on rue St. Antoine near the Bastille metro for lunch. I had excellent scallops in truffle sauce. My sister had excellent salmon. We opted for the 2-course menu (no dessert) at 89FF plus ¼ liter of wine. This was in 2001 - at the time 7 francs = $1.00).

jahlie

Thanks all. We definately want to try ethnic foods; Japanese, Thai, Vietmanese or North African would be a treat. I was afraid that we wouldn't be able to find reasonably priced food near our hotel, but it's nice being wrong once in a while. Non-smoking is preferable, but we won't give up ambience for a few puffs.

By the way jpie, I tried the link but it was about transportation from CDG?! Do you have the other link? If not, I have so much to go on right now - thanks to Fodorites.

Underhill

Le Soufflé is one restaurant that we keep going back to. Another, on the relatively inexpensive side, is Le Pain Quotidien, on the Place du Marché
St-Honoré. It's a bakery cum café with great breads, croissants, pains au chocolate, and sometimes other pastries. Wonderful place for breakfast; you can even get soft-boiled eggs of a quality I haven't had here at home for a long time. Lunch is also served, with salads, sandwiches, and soups, along with patisseries. The café is open until 7:00 p.m.

Right around the corner is L'Absinthe, where you can get a one-, two-, or three-course meal as you choose. Down the street is the Pont Bar, which is run by the daughter of Jean Bardet, who has a famous restaurant in Tours.

jpie

Hi Jahlie:

Sorry about the link issue. I have the same problem. I just tried again and got the same transportation thread. Maybe someone can enlighten me on the correct way to cut and paste a thread in the forums? I must be doing something wrong...

I emailed it to myself and here is the correct thread:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34586498

If that doesn't work, type in miss daisy in the search box and it is the thread called trip report March 8 to 12.

Also, just FYI there is a cous cous thread going on at the moment that might interest you if you type in cous cous paris.

jahlie

jpie - Yes, the thread worked and what a time she had! I'll check out the cous cous thread as well. I had Moroccan food in Paris a couple of years ago - don't remember the name of the restaurant but it wasn't great - somewhere in Montparnasse. I've got to give it a second try.

Thanks again.