prism789

Hi,

This is my first time posting here. Thank you in advance for any advise. We are taking a 1 week family vacation to Paris this summer with 2 kids (3 and 5) and 4 grandparents - 8 of us in total. We are celebrating a 40th anniversary while there. I need some help finding the restaurant for the anniversary night - we are staying in the 1er, near the Louvre. We would like it to be walking distance to there if possible. Also, I need the restaurant to have a vegetarian option for 1 person and I need it to be ok if the kids are not 100% quiet. I am having trouble finding a restaurant that is about $$$ and fits all of these desires.

Any help is appreciated!!

Thank you,
prism

StCirq

Well, of course you're having trouble. The 1ère is a business district and you've got two little kids with you plus a vegetarian (that's the least of the issues). You might try Macéo, but do realize that apart from a neighborhood café or bistro, any true restaurant is going to expect you all to be quiet and behave for 2-3 hours. Maybe you should rethink the whole idea and celebrate the anniversary at a $$$ place when the kids aren't with you. It's not going to be fun for them in all likelihood.

Rastaguytoday

Try the restaurant listings shown by Gayot.
http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/searchresult.php
Note that there are 48 to choose from in the 1er.

Pull up the websites and look for menus. When you find at least 2 places you like, try to get reservations as far ahead of time as possible.

I've been ignored by many French restaurants because I'm an American, even though both my first and last names are French. Go figure.

annhig

hi prism, welcome.

i don't have any specific restaurant recommendations that fit your bill, but you could try looking here:

http://www.thefork.com/1_restaurant/Paris_restaurant/1/

you can search under various criteria - arrondisement, type of food, budget, vegetarian, and look at reviews, etc.

also you could look on trip advisor for reviews of places you think you might be interested in.

you won't get anywhere that says it likes noisy kids, but most places will be pretty indulgent of there are 6 paying adults!

it will be essential to book for a group this size - when we did a GTG [get together] for 8 in Paris in March, we had a surprising no of restaurants say that they couldn't accommodate us.

if you are staying in a hotel, your concierge may be able to help too.

good luck!

nytraveler

Agree that a nice restaurant is going to take 2 to 2.5 hours for dinner and expecting 2 small kids to sit quietly (even if you bring coloring books or ???) - esp since you can't start dinner until 7 pm at the earliest. It isn't really fair to them to expect this. And it isn't fair to other diners to expect them to listen to kids whine or cry.

If you really want a nice dinner one night I would find a baby sitter for the kids - feed them at 6 pm and then let the adults go out at 8pm.

Gretchen

I hate to be the "piling on", but children in Paris restaurants are well behaved and quiet, in our experience. We have one grandchild that "might" have done this, but the other two wouldn't have lasted 30 minutes--nor would we!!.
And it is sort of too bad that they are too young to really "get" the occasion.
When I read the original post ==40th and 8 people (hadn't seen the kids)--I was going to suggest where we did ours with our family (adults), but it is a small quiet wonderful place, and the kids just would not be "right" for you, them or the other diners, as someone else said.

ACDB

I would suggest contacting your hotel for possible help? I'm sure if you used a travel agent to book any of your trip, they could assist you.

nukesafe

As one who once traveled through France with four tiny ones, I second the idea of a baby sitter. Here is a link I found on line for a baby sitter service. I understand they are strictly regulated in France, so you could feel that they supply competent, responsible people. This service even sends sitters to hotels, I think. Perhaps other Fodorites have more suggestions.

http://www.babychou.com/index.php

nytraveler

Sorry - a travel agent can't change the behavior of small kids - or the requiements of having dinner in a nice restaurant, There are many pleasant places you can take the kids for a casuale, early dinner - but not a special event restaurant.

prism789

Thanks for all of the advice. The grandparents would never allow us to leave the kids with a babysitter, so perhaps lowering our restaurant expectations to $$ would be a better idea. I did try to get reservations at Maceo, but have not been successful so far.

Any other suggestions?

Suspaul

If by chance your party is staying in apartments maybe it would be possible to have a chef come in and prepare a special dinner. Just a suggestion. I don't know how practical this would be in Paris, but it could be the answer to the vegetarian and the children. How this helps,
Susan

tailsock

Sorry, but i don't see how this is going to take place without icy glares from other diners and restaurant staff. Hippopotamus near the Pantheon maybe? it's kid friendly

cigalechanta

Why do grandparents rule rather than you?
Are they paying?

Ackislander

Why don't you look up Cafe des Musees on Google and try Temps des Cerises at the same time? There are places like this all over Paris, but these are both in a neighborhood I know, not yours, malheureusement.

Both have good food, though not by any means haute cuisine, and both are family friendly. Cafe des Musees has an exceptionally crowded upstairs but has a lower level where there is plenty of room for groups, and we have seen faimilies there whose children were not exceptionally well behaved. They are willing to accomodate children's bizarre eating habits. Temps des Cerises has gone ambitious, but I think a family would be quite happy there early in the evening. People bring dogs and kiss each other's babies. It looks like a Jersey City Pizza parlor on the outside, but the food was good last spring. Reservations are essential both places.

Ackislander

My other suggestion would be any of the big brasseries. They can accomodate a group of your size and menu needs of any kind.

Gretchen

Maybe Les Ancestres de Gauloises? It's a fixed price for all the appetizers and salad you can eat, choice of grilled meat, and all the wine you want. Big cavernous. Large groups (when we went last there was a choir from Holland there singing for the crowd). It is NOT haute cuisine, but it is fun.

Patty

<i>I did try to get reservations at Maceo, but have not been successful so far.</i>

Are you trying to call or email? Many restaurants do not or are slow to respond to email. Calling is usually better. Or if you're staying in a hotel, have the concierge call. I believe Maceo has private rooms which I think will work better with kids.

Christina

I think you can go out to restaurant in a place that routinely has children, if you forget the $$$ requirement. YOu need to go modest, you can't take noisy children to upscale expensive restaurants, and they don't open until late anyway. Toddlers usually eat earlier, don't they (that is part of the problem with screaming kids in restaurants, it can be worse if they aren't on their normal schedule and out too late). So go to a more family restaurant or brasserie that is open earlier and not so expensive (as that goes with expectations). Toddlers often aren't quiet, that's the problem. People who are spending that much money want a very nice evening out in adult company, relatively quiet. Besides, a big family celebration with kids and two couples would work better in a more reasonable restaurant anyway, I would think.

So, if you are willing to go to a more modest restaurant, I would highly suggest Chez Clement.
http://www.chezclement.com/
It has pretty decent food for its level and nice decor, and does have kids menus, is open long hours, and has vegetarian options. It is attractive enough to be okay for an annniversary dinner IMO. The Bastille location would probably be closest (near Bastille metro on bd Beachmarchais). It would be more like a $$ restaurant (ie around 30 euro per person). They may not have vegetarian main dishes with beans, etc (only fish or poultry or beef), but if the vegetarian will do with a salad and a couple entrees plus maybe cheese, they could put together something vegetarian.

I was also going to suggest Bofinger brasserie in that same general area as it is large with lots of rooms and they have arrangements for groups (and it is somewhat noisy anyway). It is quite attractive and has excellent food, also. But I don't think they have vegetarian plats principals. Again, you could put together something vegetarian with the entrees (eg, onion soup plus haricots verts salad, cheese).

Maceo doesn't have any vegetarian menus, anyway, as far as I know. Their main dishes are entirely meat and fish.

My final suggestion is Le Souffle which is very near the Louvre. http://www.lesouffle.fr/ So you could walk there, and they do have a private room which might work. And you can get all kinds of souffles, including vegetarian, of course (such as cheese, or spinach and goat cheese). It isn't an expensive restaurant, though.

Phread

I would try the Cafe Marly, over looking the pyramids at the Louvre. Its swanky and beautiful, but service is quicker than traditional restaus and the kids should live the view. Because its outside, they don't have to be completely hush, hush. Because it is under the arcades, you don't have to worry about rain.
Le Saut du Loup is another museum restaurant in the Louvre palace that may work for your group. Its in the UCAD museum and the design is über modern, but its a special place where you'd feel comfortable with kids.
Finally, the new restaurant in the Opéra Garnier would be a good place for a multi-generational group. I was surprised at the quality of the food there. The decor is très modern.
Café de la Paix is all about old world elegance and has an elabotrate menu for dinners. I had lunch there once and was disappointed, but the decor is sumptuous, and I'd try it in a pinch.
Not at all in the 1st, but a GREAT place to take family for a special occasion is Le Train Bleu. Gorgeous decor, good food (not great, but good) and if you ask for a table over the quais, your kids will spend their evening watching the trains come and go. Its a white linen, silver cloche kind of place, with penguin suited waiters, but because its in a train stn, the kids fit right in.

Cathinjoetown

What about a celebratory lunch? March before last we took 6 adults and one three year old to lunch at Le Tastevin on the Ile St Louis. Madame (warned ahead) was most gracious although her idea of a child's meal was a smaller portion of steak-frites for 12€. Must say, GS loved it.

He was never loud but when he got restless someone would take him out for 15 min, on 2nd stroll, he fell asleep in his stroller for the rest of the meal.

This was a Saturday, the small restaurant was only half full, good time was had by all.