Last-Minute Paris Day Trip Questions (from London)
 

DH and I leave tomorrow for London (SFO-LHR) to visit DS( who is working for a year in London). DS was given next Friday off work rather unexpectedly (Dec. 23rd), so we thought "why not take the Eurostar to Paris for the day?"

I have a few last-minute questions for anyone who might care to comment:

(1) Our apartment is in St. Katharine's Marina, adjacent to the Tower, and we need to be at St. Pancras by 6:30 am for our 7:01 train (only train left at a reasonable price). I've checked "first train times" on the TFL website, and wonder if we should walk to Aldgate East or try Tower Hill-to-Monument-to-Bank at that hour.

(2) DS is longing for steak-frites in Paris after living on the cheap for several months. Any recommendations for a bistro or the like which would not require reservations for lunch and not have a long line on the Friday before Christmas? Probably general vicinity of St. Germain, but that's not too important. Is eating "early" a better idea than "late"(1:30-2:30)?

(3) Any other hints for a successful day trip? We are hoping for good weather but are prepared for anything - after all, we get to go to PARIS!!!

The fastest route would be to take the circle line from Tower Hill - I show a 14 min journey time. I would aim to be at Tower Hill for by 6:05ish to get there by 6:30. The trains should be fairly uncrowded as a lot of people will take that day off.

This place is quite popular - they only serve steak frite with their special sauce: http://www.relaisentrecote.fr/

Have fun!

Looking online for the price of the dinners at the place above I ran across this site:
http://parisbymouth.com/five-great-steak-frites/

Thanks so much for the quick responses!!

I had good S&F at Brasserie de L'ile,on Ile St Louis right at bridge to Ile de la Cite.
Relais de L'Entrecote is often mentioned.

Thanks, Michel_Paris! We'll check that out. The Relais de l'Entrecote website looks wonderful too - all of the locations would suit us, especially if the weather turns out to be anywhere close to the latest forecast!

The Relais de l'Entrecote does well for a cheap meal, but don't presume this is some haute cuisine restaurant. I just wondered because you said you wanted steak frites due to living on the cheap for many months. That dish in cheap cafes is cheap, it is often very tough, fatty meat. It is okay in the Realis de l'Entrecote, though (they cut it into strips and cover it in sauce so it's not as obvious that it isn't filet mignon). Their frites are very good, though, I think, and I don't like them at most places in Paris.

If a really good, high quality steak frites is important to you then I can recommend La Vache au Comptoir at 13 rue d'Odessa in the Montparnasse area. It gets 4 out of 5 stars on lafourchette.com with 581 reviews. They specialize in beef and don't have an extensive menu so they concentrate on doing a few things well. I was speaking with the owner and he told me how he bought a patented "secret recipe" with 18 spices that only three other restaurants in the world have. He also told me his beef is imported black angus and where he imports it from and all kinds of other details. Nice ambiance, good service and good food. The menu, I think, would be less than 30 euros for a 3 course dinner. Here are some reviews (in French):

restoaparis.com/page/cdc-la-vache-au-comptoir

http://www.lafourchette.com/2_restau...Comptoir/6668/