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Lunch in Paris recommendations needed

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Lunch in Paris recommendations needed

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Old May 12th, 2009 | 03:51 PM
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Lunch in Paris recommendations needed

We will arrive at our hotel around lunch time and I thought it would be nice to already have a reservation or a special place picked out for lunch. Our hotel is in the Latin Quarter on Rue Bernardins and I think after such a long flight we won't want to stray too far from there.
Something light and contemporary would be good.
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Old May 12th, 2009 | 04:31 PM
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We always find it best to keep our arrival day without plans. It's easy enough to find a nice place for lunch without reservations, and I'm sure they're plentiful in the LQ. You'll probably get a number of Fodorites suggeting nice spots. Lately, we don't make dinner plans for arrival day either. There have been trips when we've reserved a special resto for dinner on arrival day... and can hardly remember what we ate. Just a waste of money in my view. We generally unwind, get to know the neighborhood, and eat when the spirit moves us. Have a wonderful trip. EJ
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Old May 12th, 2009 | 04:53 PM
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I agree with Elsiejune. There are restaurants about every five feet in Paris; you won't be in want. I would just stroll around and find a place with a menu you like (most are posted outside the restaurants).
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Old May 12th, 2009 | 05:00 PM
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I would never plan a special meal upon arrival in Paris. For one thing, your body clock will be totally off and you might not even be hungry - I never am. Save it for when you're over jet lag and just go someplace nearby that has a pleasant menu posted outside.
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Old May 12th, 2009 | 05:22 PM
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Normally, I never do anything like that either. In fact, I never go to any of the "in" places that are mentioned on this forum or in the guide books and think that spending hundreds on a meal is not for me. I have rarely made a dinner reservation in Europe at all, actually.
I prefer simple food that is simply prepared with fresh ingredients. Yet, I read so many posts about meals and reservations made in the different cities and the details of what people eat. I thought, well, maybe I'm missing something by being so "spontaneous". But I see by the responses that I have received thus far, which were not at all what I expected, that I will just stick to what we normally do which is go by our intuitions about which restaurants to choose.
I will add, though, I've been to Europe over 20 times and I'm always starving when I get there!
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Old May 12th, 2009 | 05:44 PM
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Well, I'm always starving when I get there, but that's at about 7 am. Lunchtime on the first day I'm usually pretty ambivalent.

I agree you should just wait until the hunger hits and do something spontaneous.

There is a certain subset of Fodorites that goes to Europe specifically to eat and try certain restaurants. They post wonderful reports about their meals, which I always enjoy reading. I'm not one of them, though I AM a foodie and love to eat and cook and try new places. But when I'm actually "on the ground," I tend to go back to old places I've loved over the years or just check out menus and walk into someplace that seems to have a good atmosphere, decent prices, and a menu that appeals to me
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Old May 12th, 2009 | 06:26 PM
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Here are the names of some restaurants in the 5th. I don't know if they are all open for lunch:

Les Papilles at Rue St. Jacques/Guy Lessac
Pre Verre on Rue Thenard/Rue Summerard
The Rose of Summerard on Rue Summerard/Rue St. Jacques
Cosi on Rue Cujas

Thin
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Old May 12th, 2009 | 06:37 PM
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I agree not to make a reservation, I always walked around til hungry and luckily always found a delightful place. This gives you a chance to actually look at the buildings and the intersting details on the top as you look where to dinne.
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Old May 12th, 2009 | 07:20 PM
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Maybe a not so stupid question...
Are posted menu's in English?
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Old May 12th, 2009 | 07:35 PM
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No,menus are posted in French. If they are posted in English, you don't want to eat there.
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